"At this point, I'll be grateful for your pieces."
*****
Jessica Franklin is at her wit ends, literally. With two sisters depending on her and a mountain of debts on her neck, she needs a way out before she breaks down...
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The world is a blur. I can't see anything.
"Mom?" I call out to the increasing crowd on the sidewalk, hurried footsteps surrounding me, getting louder by the second. I swallow, my eyes darting around. Still, I can't make out a single thing.
"Mom!" I call out, even more frantic this time. She's always like this, leaving me behind every time we go out together. It's like she wants to abandon me here.
"I'm right here!" I hear her scream, her voice laced with anger.
My lips start to tremble. "I can't see you," I yell, my voice shaking.
"What do you mean you can't, I'm right in front of you! Walk faster!"
You're blurry, come closer. I take a step forward, the crowd pushing me in all directions. I try to follow her voice but I trip over myself and land facedown on the sidewalk. The tears I fight so hard to keep are on the surface now, blinding me further.
"Mom..." I mumble, my voice racking with sobs.
"You insolent child!" A voice grits in my ear and I'm picked up by the collar. She starts dragging me along as tears stream down my face. I feel people staring at me and it only makes me want to hide away.
I wish I hadn't been born. . . . "Sir? Sir?!" A voice calls out, dragging me out of the past I seem to have been stuck myself in. I fix my glasses and stare at the owner of the voice. It's my assistant, Janet.
I let out a wry smile. "I'm sorry, I must have zoned off. What were you saying?"
"Um, this is the report from the meeting we had." She says, stretching a file toward me. I collect it from her, going through it. Seems good enough. I drop it on the table, my body tense.
"And here is the information you asked for." She added, passing me another. I accept it from her, flipping through the pages. Jessica Franklin is titled in the center with big, bold letters.
Personal Record. Name: Jessica Franklin Age: Twenty-seven Nationality: American. Employment: Waitress, Factory worker among others. Parents: Deceased. Siblings: Sophie Franklin Emma Franklin Allergies: Unknown. Address: 10, Southampton Street, San Francisco. Religion: Unknown.
"There isn't a lot of information about her," I say, noticing how scanty the paper is as I glance at my assistant.
"Yes. Other than the information she revealed in her E-mail and the fact that she has two sisters, there isn't anything else." My assistant explained. So she was clean? That felt suspicious. Even regular people have more information on the internet compared to this. I should hire a private investigator.
