Fast Car | Escapes #1

Chapter 9

I'd done it. Finally.

My eyes were glued to the bus ticket in my hand. It was real. I couldn't believe I'd actually done it. It didn't feel real.

As I rode from the bus depot to the store, I studied every inch of the paper. It didn't look like much of anything, but this was my ticket to anywhere besides here. Literally.

Not that I would be using it soon. I had to wait until after graduation. Now I just had to figure out how I was going to smuggle my stuff out of the apartment and where I'd hide the suitcase I was going to buy with the leftover money I had. Obviously not at my place, and I was sure I wouldn't be able to hide it at work. School was out of the question. There was the option of storing it at Lila or Jas's house. I was sure they'd help me out if I told them I was running away with the older guy from prom. 

I wouldn't be, but they didn't need to know that.

The store was silent when I walked inside that day. Thelma was sitting on a stool at the checkout she manned, silent tears running down her face. It was payday, so I wondered just how much her check had been cut for it so be like this.

That was when I looked at everyone and saw they all had a similar look on their face. Someone was checking someone's items, but her smile was obviously forced. The customers seemed to know something was going on too. I walked to the back and put away my things, taking care to hide the ticket in my school bag so even if my dad searched my stuff like he did from time to time, he wouldn't find it. 

When I finally walked back to the front, I knew it had to be connected to Brayden. I walked up to his door and knocked. "Come in," he called. 

I entered and found him poring over some papers covered in numbers. I wasn't sure what I was looking at, but it seemed to be financial stuff. "Why is the store acting like there's a funeral going on out there?" 

He looked up and squinted his eyes at me. "What are you talking about?"

"Have you even paid any mind to the people that are working for you? How are you even running this place? The people are important. Who do you think works for you? Robots? Well, newsflash, honey. They are people like you."

He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I don't think there's anything wrong with them. They're just getting used to their new roles."

"New roles?" 

He heaved a heavy sigh and looked at me like I was stupid. "They were reminded today that they work for me and thus have no right to know what's going on in my life. They all asked about my dad and didn't accept the answer that he's fine. What happened is none of their business."

I crossed my arms. "Yet you told me. Thought I was just one of those workers. Oh, wait, no, I forgot - I'm not even as good as they are."

"I never said that."

"You think that, though. I could tell by what you said the other day."

He closed his eyes for a moment before sighing and opening them again. "What do you want from me? I already told you that you could leave if you didn't like how I'm running things. I'm not sure what else to tell you. I'm really not."

"How about showing empathy? Have you ever once looked at someone that struggles to make ends meet and thought about how you could help them? Have you ever put yourself in the shoes of someone who doesn't know if they're going to have the next meal? I've been that girl that skipped lunch because I didn't have anything to eat and used it instead to study. I've been that girl that had her life ripped away from her and had no idea what to do next. Your father helped out that girl, gave her the way to make a place for herself in this world."