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She was too messed up. She had too many of her own issues to deal with, and she couldn’t drag anyone else into it.
Bre
When they reached the door to the kitchen, Bre
Devon stood around, twiddling her thumbs. She wished she knew why he had brought her here. She didn’t know what had compelled her to follow him, except that it had all been so sudden. She hadn’t expected to see him any more than he was expecting to see her.
Loud strong language from the back broke her out of her thoughts. All she could really grasp from the conversation was that he was late for work. That must have been why he had been ru
A couple minutes later, Bre
“Devon,” Bre
“Pleasure to meet you,” Devon said, sticking out her hand.
“Bre
“Yes, ma’am. I worked as a waitress in Nashville for a few summers,” Devon said, her hopes flaring.
“First off, don’t call me ma’am. That’s my mom or my mother-in-law, God strike her down,” Je
Je
“So…is this like an interview?”
“What does it look like?” Je
“What just happened?” Devon stood completely still, holding a hand towel.
“The owner just gave you a job as long as you make it through today,” Bre
DEVON PEELED OFF her uniform in the women’s restroom at the back of Je
Okay, she wasn’t busy enough not to notice Bre
Je
She rolled her shoulders backward and forward a few times, trying to work the kinks out of them, but it was no good. At the very least, she would be sore for the next week. The roll of bills in her pocket made up for the stiffness she would surely face in the morning.
Je
She stuffed her work clothes in a to-go bag and walked through the kitchen door into the main dining area. The other waitress had already disappeared, grumbling the whole time about how she didn’t need any help. Devon suspected it had something to do with sharing tips. Though, Devon wasn’t sure how the woman had managed working the busy restaurant with just Bre
“You ready to get out of here?” Bre
Devon hadn’t realized that he was waiting on her. She owed him big time. She wished she didn’t feel the wave of awkwardness that ran through her at his nearness. Then, she might be able to show her gratitude more.
“Uh…yeah,” she said, glancing away from those eyes.
“I’ll just lock up.” He ducked into the kitchen and then returned a minute later. “Let’s go.”
Bre
Devon took in the surprising silence of the city. As they passed through streets lined with tall skyscrapers, fear seemed to seep into her conscience. She wasn’t afraid to be alone with Bre
She swallowed back her fear and tried to remind herself of the good job that she had done today. She had a new job, a way to stay in Chicago, and a way to escape. But in this moment, she felt the loss of her escape. She felt it all closing in on her. Why were the streets so empty? Why was it just her and Bre
Her breathing hitched, and then she realized that she had suddenly stopped breathing altogether. Fear poisoned her blood system, starting in her chest and crawling through her veins like a disease. She felt her chest rising and falling rapidly, and her teeth were chattering as if she were freezing, but she knew these were the sure signs of hyperventilation.
But she couldn’t hyperventilate. She had to run. She had to get away. That was the answer. Run.
Bre
“Hey, are you okay?” he asked.
When she could finally see him through her blurred vision, she saw concern etched into every line of his face.
Devon held up her hand as if to silence him, and that only seemed to make him more concerned. She took a deep breath and bent her knees, crouching there in the middle of the sidewalk. She held her knees to her chest and tried to let the déjà vu of her dreams sluice off of her. She knew where she had come from, where she was, and where she was going. That was all that mattered. This wasn’t like her nightmares. No one was chasing her. No one was grabbing her. No one was throwing her down. She took another breath and reminded herself of these things again and again.