Chapter 18 Not my boyfriend
Naomi.
There was a heavy knock on my door, which made me stir from my sleep. I sat up and rubbed my eyes.
"Open the door, Naomi." I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath before moving to the door.
What was Ma'a doing knocking at my door like that?
The door opened. I moved to the side to let her in, but she stood at the door, her hands crossed around her chest. She had just come back from work. She still had her work clothes on and her signature yellow work bag slung across her shoulders.
"What is this thing I hear? Are you going to disregard my orders even after I told you about the dangers involved?"
It was my turn to look at her with furrowed brows. What was she talking about? I opened my mouth to ask what she was talking about when she beat me to it.
"Someone told me they saw you at Dean's Diner, serving customers?"
She dragged the last part with so much disgust in her voice, like the place wasn't worth me working there. Of course, I wouldn't mind if only she would look for another place for me to work, because my mind was already made up about this.
"It's true, Ma'a. I now work there. It's just a part-time job with three working hours. It's not a big deal."
Exactly. It was not a big deal, but she was trying to make it look like one, and I didn't appreciate that.
"Seriously, Naomi? How many times should I tell you that..."
"It is dangerous for me to be out there," I completed the sentence for her.
There was unbelievable shock in her eyes as she stared down at me.
"Your life can completely change within the span of three hours."
I didn't bother to ask anything because I was tired of asking. I moved to sit on my bed and just let her talk. She was eventually going to keep quiet when she was done talking.
The weekend passed in a blur, and it was time for me to start work properly. The manager had personally called me to come into his office.
The brown wooden door was locked. I knocked on it and waited. Thinking that he hadn't come to work again, I turned to leave when the door burst open from the inside.
"Naomi, right?"
The man, whom I guessed was the manager, peeked his head out. He smiled at me, and I noticed how white his teeth were. He had a buzz cut and a few strands of gray hair on his head. He didn't even look like he was above thirty-five.
"Yes." I nodded, and he waved for me to come inside.
I took a seat across his table. "I was told you came by on Saturday. I wasn't around since I had an emergency situation to attend to," he explained while searching through the stack of papers in front of him.
"Oh, here it is." He pulled a sheet of paper from amongst the others. He scanned through it, properly making sure the paper contained the right information he wanted me to get.
"Here. Go through it, and if the conditions are fine, you can proceed to sign."
I took the paper from him. I read through the rules, regulations, conditions, and all.
I was aware of the working hours. I had to be nice and cooperative with other workers. Really? The same workers who judged me because of my hands. I didn't raise any alarm on that.
I should give the customer what they want and should always be nice to them. If they offend me, I shouldn't get into a fight with them but rather, I should bring it to the office. I wasn't known for causing trouble; it was the other way around.
The salary was quite encouraging: $75 per hour. And this made me take the job.
"I will take it." He handed me a pen. I signed, and so did he. I was about to ask if I could leave when he started to talk.
"I was told that you have these marks on your hand..." His gaze moved to my hand, exactly where the marks were. It was unfortunate that he couldn't see it because I had a black hoodie on today. However, I took my hands off the table and crossed them on my chest.
Was he going to judge me too? Or send me away?
No, he wouldn't have made me sign the contract if he wanted me to leave.
"I don't care what happened to your hand, and I don't want to see it. If you know that it is going to annoy customers, then you should always cover it before coming to work."
Mandy must have told him. I had a feeling deep inside that she didn't take a liking to me the first time we met.
"If there is nothing else, you can join the others."
"Thank you, Sir." I stood up and bowed a little before leaving for the reception.
I didn't talk much to them. I only asked a few questions from Alice. They gave me the orders, and I served them the customers.
I went to serve the last customer and was about to leave when two people entered. They were a couple. They held each other's hand. They took the table by the door. With the empty tray in my hand, I went to their table.
"Good evening and welcome to Dean's Diner. We have the menu in front of you. You can go through it and tell me what you want, and I will get it for you."
I said that with a smile on my face.
"Okay, thank you."
The guy picked up the menu. The girl drifted close to him, and they began to scan the menu. I waited for them to pick up their orders.
"We would like..."
They started to talk, but my attention immediately shifted from them to the entrance. It started as a faint scent but began getting heavy and thick in the air.
The scent. Petrichor. It entered my nose like the aroma of a delicious meal that even someone who was just from having a stomach full of their favorite meal would crave.
I took one step away from the couple, then another.
"Hey, we would like the beef..."
"Hello, are you not going to serve us?"
"Where is she going?" I heard Alice's voice. I didn't turn back, scared that the scent might disappear into the air if I lost contact with it even for a second.
The tray left my hand on the floor. My eyes didn't look down. I continued down the road to the side that led to Xylos.
Just two streetlights were on this part of the road. It was dark further down, and that's the direction the scent was coming from.
I kept walking, and all of a sudden, there was a flash of bright orange light. It was a car, and it was moving at a fast speed.
I didn't have time to figure out what to do when the car screeched in front of me. I tumbled to the ground and scraped my right elbow on the ground. I quickly stood up when the car door opened.
There was a stinging pain in my elbow. I had to clutch it with my other hand. I felt a sticky liquid which I believe was blood.
I didn't want to think about it. I didn't want it to be true, but there was a part of me that knew it was going to heal before I got home.
For someone who didn't want to believe something like that, I didn't want any more marks on my body, okay? I had too much of it.
A big figure emerged from the car. He stepped to the front, the headlights illuminating his broad figure, almost like what I saw yesterday.
"Naomi." A familiar voice called out. I squinted my eyes to see through the light if it was truly him or someone that had his voice and also knew my name.
But then, I heard Alice call behind me. "What are you doing, Naomi? You left those customers hanging, and you are out here...what are you..."
There was a gentle grip on my hand. I was tucked into a hard chest. A beautiful scent wafted through my nostrils: jasmine, lavender. It must be something expensive. I breathed in, the side of my head pressed against his chest.
"I'm sorry, I almost ran you over. You should always look at where you're going." I glanced up, and it was truly him.
Mr. Rex.
What was he doing here? He glanced down at me, the ends of his red-colored hair falling down his face.
His tongue reached out to his lips. He slid it across them like he was preparing to do…
"You came to see your boyfriend, Naomi?"
Like he realized what he was doing, he let me go.
"She was on the road. And I almost ran her over. Nothing like what you just said," he said and stepped away from me.
I had to swallow whatever it was in my chest and stepped back as well.
"He's right. I don't even know who he is." His brows narrowed when I spied at him from the corners of my eyes.
"You don't?" He questioned, sounding a bit hurt.
Was he being serious right now? He wanted me to answer so that they would think I came out here to see my boyfriend?