Page 17 of Against the Clock

Nine

Quinn

9 Days Ago

“Let’s go!”I yelledover my shoulder.It was hump day, and there was nothing that I wanted more than to be humped.Okay—maybe that was a bit dramatic, but I imagined it would put me in a better mood than I had been in.

Yesterday had gone by like any other day after we left Roman’s house in the morning—aside from him going with us to drop Rosie off at school and then insisting that he escort me to work.We checked in with each other a few times throughout the day, but there was nothing to report because everything felt back to normal again.

This morning I woke up with a borderline migraine, likely caused by the lack of sleep that I had gotten last night.I hated that the only good sleep I had recently was when I slept in Roman’s bed and pretended that it was his body that I was cuddled against instead of the pillow that smelled like his body wash.Not that I had lathered myself up with it in the shower the morning I got ready there.

When there was nothing to report after Rosie got home from school and no vans were seen hiding in the shadows, I told myself that everything was fine and there wasn’t a reason for us to stay with Roman again.Sure I had felt safer being there with him, but that didn’t mean I needed to inconvenience him more than I already had.

“I can’t find my shoe,” Rosie called from her bedroom.

“Can you just put on another pair?”I yelled back, feeling bad for losing my patience.I didn’t feel like fighting with her this morning, especially over a pair of shoes.

“These are the only ones that don’t make my feet look weird in these pants,” she whined, coming into my bedroom holding one shoe in her hand.

“Fine,” I sighed, getting up from the bed and smoothing down my skirt.I glanced in the mirror to make sure that I had managed to put on matching heels before I followed her into her room to look for the lost shoe.

We got to school thirty minutes late, and this time, the front office wasn’t as friendly and welcoming as it had been on Monday.

“I’m so sorry—it won’t keep happening.I promise.”

The older woman with a pencil sticking out of her bun gave me the stink eye before writing on a piece of paper and sliding it to the side.

“Tardiness has never been a problem for Rosie before,” she said with way too much judgment in her voice.“If this continues—”

“It won’t,” I interrupted, holding my hands up.

I didn’t bother sticking around to exchange pleasantries with any of the other office staff, given they all seemed just as grumpy and in need of a mid-week hump day.

By the time I got to work, my boss had given me the same disapproving look before I slipped past his office and hid in mine.I hadn’t had time to eat and didn’t bother to grab anything on the way since I was already late.It felt like life was more stressful this week, and I hated the feeling of things being out of control.

I grabbed my blue light glasses from my drawer and slipped them on, ready to start the day.

Just then, my phone vibrated with a text message.I let out a heavy sigh as if this was the break I needed from a long, stressful day that hadn’t started yet.

Roman: How are things this morning?

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