"You can't quit, remember?"

Elodie scrubbed her body harder, pulse pounding in time with each swipe of the sponge passing over her skin.

"You signed a contract."

She scrubbed harder, mind numbed to the extent that she hardly noticed that the water had changed from hot to cold, and prinpricks were now evident on her skin.

"I own you for two more years."

Two more years, that's how long she had to work for Boss, enduring whatever was tossed her way.

How stupid had she been to think that she could just up and leave?

Boss had laughed her out of her office with a strict warning not to pull that shit again or she'd be up to her neck in lawsuit.

For the first time since she met the formidable woman, Elodie had a reason to be scared.

By the time she made it out of the bathroom, her skin felt raw to the touch, and she just wanted to fall into bed and sleep the whole day away.

But the thought of not seeing Mace for one more day...

Elodie dressed herself in dark joggers, an equally dark hoodie even though it was bright and sunny, and her old pair of sneaks.

Her hair was tossed into a low ponytail, and she grabbed her backpack, along with the extra wad of cash Angelo had sneaked into her purse.

Once outside her building, she pulled the hood over her head, tucked her hands into her pocket, keeping her head down.

Lisa's face betrayed her surprise when Elodie walked into the home. "Hello, Ms. Evans."

Elodie managed a faint smile. "Hey, Lisa. Sorry I haven't been in for a few days."

"The director got your message, so it's fine," Lisa said, then hesitated a bit before adding, "It's just that you've never gone a day without coming to see Mason."

She heaved out a sigh. "I know, but work's been hectic. And I know I've been a bit behind on the payments, but I've got some money to help clear a bit of it."

Lisa watched her reach into the backpack for the hundreds, and took it with a smile.

While she processed the payment, Elodie rubbed her face with the back of her hands, hoping to stave off the pressure building behind her eyes.

"Here you go."

Elodie accepted the receipt. "Thank you. Can I go and see him now?"

"Of course. He's missed you."

Those words helped her takes the steps to Mace's room, and kept her going until she drew up a chair to the bed.

Mace was awake, staring at her.

Elodie imagined he was asking where she'd gone to.

"I know I said I'd always be around no matter what," she started, not able to bring herself to touch him just yet, "but I had to go for a job."

"And what type of job is that?" Imaginary Mace would ask.

"I've been saving up a lot for us," Elodie replied. "It does not matter that I do what I do, all that matter is that you're here."

"I'll always be here."

She swiped the back of her hand across her face. "I know. Which is why I'm grateful for you, Mace."

Elodie blew out a breath, tilting her face up, and drawing in a deep breath before looking back at her brother.

"There are times when I've wanted to give up—I've lost count. Then I remember you...and I imagine how befuddled you'd be if I stopped showing up all of a sudden. 'Who'd take care of Mace?' I ask myself."

She sniffed, swiping her face again.

"I went through hell in the last four days, Mace." Tears were tracking down her face now, and Elodie just let them fall. "I was hurt by someone I put my trust in, and was used as a business strategy. And even then, all I could think of was you. You give me incredible strength. I love you so much."

Then, because she didn't want to upset him, Elodie folded her arms on the bed, placed her face on the crook it made, and silently cried.

Oh, how she wished with all her might that their parents were still here.

How she wished Mace had thought better about taking so many drugs in an attempt to block out his pain and confusion.

And, finally, Elodie wished she'd stop blaming herself for the things that went wrong with her family.

Especially Mace.

While crying didn't magically make her problems disappear, it did lessen the weight sitting on her chest.

Mace was still watching her as she sat up, cleaned her face with the sleeve of her hood.

His little finger twitched.

Elodie's lips quirked at the corner's at that, because she thought it was his own way of comforting her.

"I'm okay, Mace. I just needed to have a good cry," she said, reaching to entwine their fingers together. "Besides, I'm not going anywhere. And, I promise to always do what I can to take care of you."

His fingers twitched again.

It brought tears to her eyes.

"Thank you for hanging on, Mace. Thank you so much." She placed a kiss on the back of his hand, squeezed once, then let go.

With a smile on her weathered face, Elodie reached for her backpack and brought out a new shiny paperback she'd purchased two weeks ago, but kept putting it off because they hadn't finished their current book at the time.

She waved it at Mace. "Lookey what we have here? It's a murder mystery with an element of romance! And it's by...C.J. Truz. Title: Skullduggery."

"Oh, no!" Mace groaned.

"Oh, yes." She showed him the cover, which sported two women—one, an African American, and the other, a white woman with a half skeletal face. "It looks interesting, doesn't it?"

Birds sang their melodious tunes, a soft breeze wafted in through the opened blinds, sunrays casted a soft glow about the room and the tree branches swayed softly.

With a soft sigh, Elodie leaned into her chair, flipped the book open to the first page and began to read.

*

"Girl, where have you been?"  Jean asked immediately Elodie stepped into the employee's room to change into her work uniform.

Elodie, hands raised mid-air, top halfway up her body, paused in the act, dropping her hands to her side. "Jean."

That one word must convey alot, because the next thing she knew, Jean had crossed the room, wrapping her arms around her, and buried her face in Elodie's messy hair.

It felt good to cry without being worried about what the other person thought.

"Sorry," she whispered, face-flaming as she drew back, feeling wrung out, but lighter. "I needed that so much."

Jean eyed her. "You looked like you did. And you even look more pale than ever. How's Mace doing?"

Elodie shrugged as a soft smile pulled her lips up at the corners. "Better. He listens to me reading to him while looking into my eyes."

Jean seemed to know Moore words were coming because she nodded, urging her to continue.

"Sometimes, it feels like he's here with me, almost as if he could understand everything I'm saying. And I just..." Elodie sniffed, digging the heel of her palm into her eyes. "I'm just happy he's here."

"As I am, El," Jean said. "I may give you platitudes about how he understands everything you've been telling him, but we both know I'd be lying. One thing I can tell you, though, is that Mace loves you. He doesn't blame you for what happened to him. Finally, it's not your fault that tragedy struck your family again and again."

Elodie sucked on her bottom lip in between her teeth.

"But, I do want you to take it easy," Jean continued, "Pace yourself. You're no good to Mace if you're lying in a hospital bed yourself."

"I know," Elodie replied, shifting her unseeing gaze to the insides of her locker.

Jean squeezed her shoulders gently, then straightened, a smile blooming on her face. "Now clean your face. Stan's a bit cranky about the short hands for the last four days. I'll be out in the front."

Elodie rinsed her face with water at the basin where they were required to wash their hands before and after each shifts, then went to dry her face with her shirt. After swapping her clothes forr her uniform, she went out front to join Jean.

Falling into the grind of serving customers, clearing and cleaning tables came like an old memory.

She even caught Stan eyeing her from the entrance to his office several times, and tried not to let it bother her.

At the end of her shift, Elodie was weary, and only wanted to fall into her bed and sleep the night away, but Stan summoned her to his office.

He was working on his old, rusty computer when she walked in.

"Sit," he told her.

Elodie did as she was asked, back ram-rod straight in the uncomfortable wooden chair.

She liked to think her boss kept this chair in his office to make his visitor uncomfortable until they were forced to leave before the allotted time.

Finally, Stan looked up from his junk to pin her with a hard stare. "Where the hell did you go in the last four days?"

"I had an emergency."

"Emergency, you say," he said, leaning into the back of his leather chair. "Why was I not informed of this new development?"

Elodie shrugged. "I didn't think it was going to be a problem. Besides, Jean assured me that she'd cover for me."

He eyeballed her. "Jean will be getting half of your paycheck this week. Do you take me for a fool? I know of how you've been missing work each week. Are you planning on leaving?"

She knew Stan would eventually find out, but didn't expect him to know about the other times, too.

"I'm sorry that I've been leaving Jean to pick up my slacks, Stan. And I don't object to you docking from my pay."

Stan picked up the only pen in his pencil holder—a ball pen he liked to brag about getting from the previous owner of this place—and began to press and release the click.

"We could work something out," he suggested.

Elodie tamped down the urge to raising her brow in doubt. "Yeah?"

Stan nodded.

Then, he proceeded to say nothing, still toying with his pen, head tilted slightly.

He wanted her to ask him outright.

She exhaled subtly through her lips, and asked, "What is that?"

"Do you know that you get more beautiful each day?"

Her brows were well and truly raised now. "You think so?"

"I know so." He grinned, displaying perfect rows of teeth. "The thing is, I can forget that you skipped work this week, leave your payment intact, too."

"But?" She supplied the unspoken words.

"You do realize what I'm saying, don't you?" He wagged his brows, grin widening in the dim light of his office.

Elodie pushed to her feet. "Stan, I know I've been too quiet in the past, and I've always brushed off your advances as a joke. But you're going too far this time. Deduct the days of my absence from my paycheck and give me the rest by the end of the week."

Stan's playful demeanor slipped into something nasty and ugly.

He sneered at her, lips curling back in disgust."There's nothing special about you in anyway, and you should be grateful that I even looked at you twice."

Elodie clasped her hand together above her chest and bowed slightly. "Believe me, Stan, I'm grateful. Thank you for giving me a glance."

"Get out!" He roared, jabbing a shaky finger at the door repeatedly.

"Thank you," she couldn't resist adding as she left his office.

The weasel had been trying to get her in his bed for awhile now, and Elodie had always thought that he'd fire her  if she insulted him, so she'd always side-stepped his advances.

But, her emotions were still all over the place, and she wasn't in the mood to listen to his crap.

Jean had changed, and was waiting for her, when Elodie emerged in her street wear, back pack over one shoulder.

"What did he want?" Jean asked, falling into step beside Elodie as they made their way to the busstop.

"Same old," she said. "He made another advance."

Jean's face twisted like she'd sucked on a lemon. "You have the patience of a Saint, I swear it. I'd have punched that smug, doughy face of his."

"And where would that get me? Let's not forget that Stan took me when others wouldn't," she said, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear. "For all his faults, he really is a good guy."

"Whatever." Jean kissed her teeth. "He's still a creep."

Elodie agreed.

Their busses arrived just as they did, and Elodie climbed into the one leading back Aqualine Shore, and Jean took hers.

Boss had given her one week off to 'screw her head on', and since she wasn't used to not having anything to do in the evening, Elodie took her time walking to her apartment.

She stopped by the store to pick up some groceries and her bathing soap, and also a small sized box of pizza.

Elodie was almost at her building when the back of her neck began to prick with awareness.

Casting a surreptitious glance over her shoulder, she quickened her pace.

Nothing looked out of place, but she couldn't shake that feeling.

Just as she was reaching for the handle of the door leading into her building, a hand clamped down on her shoulder.

Elodie dropped everything she was holding, dropped into a crouch, then kicked out her bed.

Her foot came into contact with solid flesh.

"Oomph!" came the muffled groan.

But her assailant was quiet fast, because he had her pinned against the floor before she could blink.

"Please, don't hurt me," she pleaded, struggling to get out from under whoever they were.

All she could imagine was Angelo giving the order to have her eliminated.

He probably let her go to avoid suspicion.

Elodie knew letting her go was too good to be true.

Angelo never made mistakes.

"Ms. Evans, please hold still."

The voice was definitely male.

But it sounded so unfamiliar.

And did he just call her Ms. Evans?

"I'm going to release you, but if you hit me again, then I'll have no choice but you arrest you for assault. Do you understand?"

She had no plans to stick around once she was free, but she nodded. "Yes. I do."

"I'm releasing you."

The weight on her back shifted slowly, as though he didn't trust her not to attack him, and when she remained lax, he lifted off of her.

When she turned onto her back, an outstretched hand swam into her line of vision.

Elodie took it, and was pulled onto her feet.

The man standing before her was decked out in black from head to toe. Only that the front of his cap had the SBPD crest etched across it.

"Who are you?" She asked, body locked tight.

He reached into his jacket, withdrew a wallet, then opened it, turning its face to her. "My name is Detective Luke Bailey, and I'm with the SBPD. I have a few questions for you."

Elodie tucked her arms under her armpits, eyes roving all over the badge. "I haven't done anything."

Something flashed across Luke's face, but it was gone before she could make sense of it. "I never said you did."

"Then what's this about?"

"Arcangelo Casieri."

Elodie took great care to keep her expression neutral. "I don't know who that is."

Luke grinned. "That's a lie, Ms. Evans. You see, our Intel saw you leave Il VELENO with him four days ago, and we've been watching you ever since."

Elodie took a step back, hands falling to her side. "What do you want?"

"Everything you know about him in the last four days."

*

A/N:

It seems Elodie could never catch a break, can she?

News update :

I entered this book and another one into the Wattys.

Fingers crossed that either one of them makes it!

Anyway, please don't forget to vote, comment and share.

P.S: This chapter is almost 2800 words long, and I wrote that in one sitting in two hours.

Isn't that great?

Let me know your thoughts 📝📝📝📝