38

~ A year later ~

The sound of an alarm woke me up. I sat up, stretched my sore body, and looked around the room. I saw Kevin clinging to me. “Don’t go, babe, please,” he pouted and whined.

“I have to work, Kev. I wish I could stay and give you the attention you need, but I must go.”

“Why do I always have days off when you work? Not fair.” He pouted. With his cute reaction, I kissed him on the forehead and got up for work. While I was in the bathroom, there was something in the mirror. “Something bothering you, my dear sister?” Evan’s voice rang out. I spit my water out and stared at my brother’s reflection in the glass.

“Yeah. I’m alright.”

He walked forward and gave me a “Are you sure” look as he placed his hand on my shoulders. I nodded my head. I wiped extra toothpaste from my mouth and explained it had been a year, and things still felt uneasy. With his warming smile, he ensured everything would be alright. There was nothing to worry about as Brad is dead. I don’t need to be afraid anymore because he will protect me.

“It’s hard going back to normal life. But you’re right. Things can get better. I wish you were here beside me. God, I miss you, Evan— so much.” tears flowed down my rosy cheeks. Evan lifted his hand and placed it on my head.

“I will always be here, don’t ever forget me, sis,” he said.

“Never. Always together but never apart. I love you, my other half.”

He repeats my words as he vanishes from my sight. Even though he is not here, I see him from time to time whenever I feel insecure or doubtful. But these moments make me feel stronger. Kevin knocked on the door to make sure I was okay. Shouting yes, I continued to get ready. Walking to work was depressing; if he were here, we would laugh our butts off. I took a deep breath and sighed. At least the building looks great from the outside and inside as well. All these installments were added to it to make it futuristic. For example, the visitor’s gates and passes, visitors can only go onto certain floors with permission.

Once you enter the elevators, you have to swipe the pass or ID now. The only people with access to all floors are the CEO and workers. New cameras have been installed as well; anything suspicious will be reported. The security stepped up their game and patrolled more. You will be escorted out if the ID is not visible to the naked eye or the visitor passes. Kaylee had changed everything.

As I was headed to the top floor, Ryan greeted me. “Hey, Ells, you are ready for your first day as Team A leader,” he said.

“No, I got butterflies in my stomach. Training for a year put me on edge.”

He chuckled at the answer and said I would do fine. It’s a good job, just a lot of work. We walked out of the elevator, and the secretary told me Kaylee wanted to see me in her new office. Sighing, I sloped to her door. I opened it without knocking and surprised Kaylee.

“Next time, knock. But congratulations on completing the training!! You are off to better things than my office. Here is your task for today.” she pointed to the paper sacks.

Putting on a fake smile, I took the files and walked out. Let’s get this started!! My coworkers greeted me when I entered the workspace. Ryan noticed my struggles with the paper and helped me carry it to my desk. “Thanks for the warm welcome; I’m excited to be your new leader. These are the big shoes that I’m filling in. But, I will be the best, just like my brother was.”

They cheered me on, wanted a speech, and smiled all around the room. We didn’t have time because of the assignments we had to do. So, I shouted, “Let’s have a great workday!” The day dragged a little because I knew I had the overnight shift, which I didn’t want. Kaylee thinks it would be good for me and my health. Tick-tock went the clock, and half of my team was done with their work. With them leaving for lunch, I had to work on coding and design layouts. Ryan was impressed with how well I was doing on the first day.

When my lunch break came, I stayed in the office to eat my salad. I heard the cafe got crowded around this time. “Hey, hey,” Brandon said as he walked in. Seriously? Right when I have a mouth full of lettuce.

“Hey Brandon, is something wrong?” I asked when putting the salad bowl down and wiping my mouth. He shook his head and then slammed more files on my desk. Yay! More work!

“I need this by next week, at least. Bye!” he chuckled. “Do you miss him as I do? Because I see him all the time.”

“Of course.”

Brandon smiled as tears fell and left without a word. Lunch went by fast as my coworkers came back one by one. This was unfair as I didn’t get my afternoon coffee. I can wait for the energy boost. The rest of the day went smoothly; nothing suspicious yet. Today is a normal day that hasn’t happened in a long time. Night falls, and my workers begin to pack up to go home.

“Good luck on your first night Ells, don’t get too scared.” Ryan teased me

“How about you don’t come in with a sore back all the time? What’s wrong? Is the new girlfriend riding too hard?” I laughed. Rolling his eyes, he takes his backpack.

“At least I’m getting some every night,” he said, dashing out of the office. That brat, but he was right, Kevin, and I can’t get intimate anymore due to my experience. Kevin always takes it slow, but I didn’t have it. I don’t know when I will ever be ready again. I do miss going wild at times. Since Evan is gone, we don’t have to worry about making much noise.

As I gathered my work, I headed towards the coffee area. This will be my fifth cup today. I went through my paper while sipping the coffee. The sounds of the pen filled the room; no wonder Evan hates night shifts; it gets boring and creepy. Not a moment later, something knocks over, shattering into pieces. I jumped at the sudden noise; I turned around to see what or who made it fall.

My eyes glanced at the corner for a minute-- this can’t be real. A squirrel came rushing in. Who left the window open?? A jaguar could have come through if they let it. I closed it and then looked in the reflection–

It’s just a dream– I wished.