"Dear Lord it's me again." Her hands were folded as she propped her elbows up on counter top. "Please protect us from the old ladies that think they own the place and want to argue with every breath I take. Amen."

She stands up straight and smiles at me. "Glad you made the job, Grace." I smiled at the new nickname.

Today she had on a large white fur coat draped over an olive green crop top and denim jeans accented with white and green marbled heels that she swore disgusted her but she was 'forced to wear them' because it was her Grammy's birthday and she had to wear the very heels her Grammy had gifted to her last year for Christmas.

I found again that the outfit was way too hot to wear in this kind of weather. Especially with the drought and heat watch we have been getting this week.  Today's heat index was 103 degrees and I felt every degree on skin when I had decided stupidly to run  a mile this afternoon before my first shift.

I was so glad when the manager (who's name is Kelly) called me and told me I had the job. Some sense of accomplishment had came over me when I learned that I had gotten the job. Mainly because I could be here working instead of being at the book club. Or so I thought.

You see after I had gotten the job my mom had taken upon herself to call my boss herself and ask if I could have Monday and Friday evenings off during the summer for "school purposes" and my boss  being the most understanding person she is agreed to it.

Now here I am, juggling a job and this stupid book club when I should be riding a bike down the beach or tanning or swimming. Anything. Yeah my emotions are everywhere for this. A part of me is glad that I am actually working and making money and another part of me is sad that I won't have time to spend my money and enjoy it.

Oh adulting.

The door jingles announcing someone's presence. It's an elderly lady and Ray groans out loud then covers her mouth with a magazine she had been looking at. "I'm sorry Lord I need to be patient" she whisper prayed.

I chuckled then watched as she greeted the lady with such kindness you wouldn't have thought she actually dreaded doing this. "Do you have a restroom," the woman ask after a while of looking at bars of specially scented handmade goats milk soap. "Erm... no we don't," Ray finishes with a bit of uncertainty. And then looks behind her to ensure her answer. "This is a place of business you ought to have a place to piss." The lady begins cursing and saying much more absurd things. "I'm new here and the manager had told me that the restroom was an employee's restroom. I don't know what else to tell you ma'am besides that there is a public restroom next door."

The lady huffs and marches to the door making her heals dig into the carpet with every dramatic heavy stomp. "I'll report you." She finally says before slamming the door so hard a few of the shuts hanging off the windows fell to the floor.

" What a slut," Ray hisses and then rushes to pick up the clutter left from the door being slammed. This is what I have to deal with? I thought lowly to myself. Ray handles it so well theres no doubt I will be quitting before the week is over.

Another customer walked in and Ray wanted me to handle her. I carefullt went through the preparations in my mind. 'Its just greeting and asking if they need help finding anything and if they say no you just offer helo whenever it is needed' Ray's voice echoes through my mind. "Welcome to.." I paused forgetting what the store was even called. I lost my script I had made up so perfectly well in my mind.

Panic began to rise and i could feel the sweat beads collect in colonies on my forehead.  "Welcome to Katie's boutique! Can I help you with anything today?" Ray chirped coning to my rescue. The middle aged woman looked up at us and smiled then shook her head. "Just browsing," she mumbled. She strolled through our aisles, occasionally shaking her head at the prices then she left. "I'm assuming she got her Louis Vuitton from a thrift store." Ray sighed then pulled out a duster and began dusting for the three hundreth time. I was kind of glad she didn't bring up my little hiccup earlier, I'm guessing shes just being patient because its my first day.

It was a slow day and barely anyone had walked in besides the older woman and the window shopper. I was beginning to loose my mind. We had gone over every rule and what I should be doing on a slow day numerous times. It wasn't until Ray decided to take it among herself to model some of the clothes in the tight spaced closet sized fitting room , that I started to have some fun.

She had on a small light blue sundress with white flat strapped sandals and a huge floppy oversized hat. "Too much," she asked frowning at the hat. To me it was perfect but obviously I wasn't a fashion icon. In my workd I was looking great in my white t-shirt that had "Florida" across the front in bold navy blue letters and then my jean shorts and white crossover strap flip flops I wore literally everywhere.

The door jingled once again announcing someone had stepped in. Ray gasped and looked down at the outfit she was wearing that had price tags sticking out. "Can you go get that for me?"

My eyes widened and i stared at her in disbelief. "I don't think I could." I begin to try to argue more but there was literally no point since Ray had shut the door and was getting out of the dress. I could see the silhouette of a person standing at the counter waiting for me to emerge from the small hallway that hid us out of the registers view. I put on the smiliest face I could muster which was probably the fakest face in the universe since I was never a good smiler, and dragged myself stiffly to the front.

To my surprise, it was a familiar face. One of the girls from the book club. Though I couldn't remember her name. I rang up the earrings she had placed down and wrapped them in a bag. "Anything else?" I found my voice to sound scratchy and edgy from nerves but it was the best I could do. "No thats it." She had her head tucked in her purse as she looked for her wallet. When she pulled out a credit card she laid her eyes on me for the first time then gasped. "Gracie? I didn't know you worked here." She sounded so genuinely excited to see me it made me feel warm inside.

It dawned on me that I didn't remember her name again so I just smiled and nodded. "Yeah today is the first day." I answered her then placed the bag on the counter and pushed it towards her. She was nodding and smiling at me the whole time. "There ya go," i said once she had it. "Hope you have a good day." I finished. She smiled even bigger than the last time. " you too good luck on the job! I believe in you."

The rest of the day went by smoothly all because of book club girl's encouragement. Ray modeled more outfits and ended up buying one because of her discount she gets. She claimed to not tell anyone she bought another outfit and to swear on her grandmothers grave, which I did but felt disrespectful since I never had known her grandma, that I would never tell her friends that shes buying more clothes from her place of work.

At the end of the work day, I had went home in high spirits happy to have found a job and possibly a friend. I had her number and it was someone I felt like I could actually trust and have fun with. Someone who wouldn't stab me in the back after years if built up friendship.

Someone unlike Hailey.

I felt the loneliness creep in as I spun the wheel sharply to the left and pulled in my driveway. It really is heart shattering when you think you get over something that hurt you only to have a happy memory bring out the hurt.

I pushed the thought out of my head and checked my phone when the engine to my car had settled down and shut off. There were fifty messages from the group chat. The texting was something I was not into much because I barely knew anyone and I was also more annoyed with most of the people there. Especially that one pick me, Camille.

Carly was a nice girl. I think maybe the nicest in the book club and maybe the most genuine.

I was going to make it a point to get to know everyone so maybe I wouldn't be dreading on going so much.

I got out the car and rounded the side of the house to enter through the side door. Both my parents were home and I did not feel like walking through the front where they would be yelling in the living room. I was not in the mood to walk into a battlefield.

My hands clutched onto my keys tightly so the jingling would not be loud. The side door walked straight into a hallway that had a bathroom and led out into the kitchen the stairs were right by the kitchen and a wall divided the stairs from the living room. So when you walk down the hallway the kitchen is open to the dining room and living room where you can see clearly into both. If you were to walk closely to the right you are hidden from view because of the wall that blocks the stairs from the living room. I side shuffle against the wall, my heart pounding.

"There she is, ask her." Dad'd voice boomed from the living room.

Frick.

"Don't bring her into this again."

"Shut the hell up." He shouts louder. I hear a crash and a terrified scream. Pure panic overtakes me because I'm standing in the living room breathing heavy and ready to defend my mom in a flash without even realizing it.

He was holding a lamp and though he has never laid a hand on her or threw anything at her before I still never trusted him to not keep an eye on my mom.

He was swaying, his tall six foot frame swayed side to side with each step he took. His salt and pepper hair was sticking out in all directions looking like he had just woken up. He was also cross eyed, like one eye couldnt make up its mind on where to go so both of them were going their separate ways. I would have laughed at him if i wasn't so upset or terrified.  He makes a few incoherent slurs before he spits in mom's face and she cries out in disgust.

"Devin," She whines and wipes her face quickly. I could see her tears beginning to build up. I wanted to do something but I was going to either make it worse or he would probably end up hurting me.

"You're nothing but a useless whore off with your boyfriend all the time." He begins to blab on about the stupidest nonsense.

Whenever he is drunk he believes she is cheating on him. Which is a complete fiction of his imagination because she is always where I am and working at home. I would know if she had a boyfriend. And she definitely doesn't.

Which he knows because he had off days and had been home in her work days to witness that even though she is a stay at home mom she is too busy to do anything else because being a stay at home mom alone is a full time job. 

I felt like I was frozen on the spot just watching as one word by one he tore her down completely to the point where her knees began to tremble.

'When did she ever think he was the one.' I thought to myself. But then again when does anyone ever think this stuff will happen to them. People change and sometimes for the better or (for dad's case) the worse.

I don't think I ever want to get married or have a boyfriend after nights like these.

I was snapped out of my thoughts by the lamp shattering at my feet that he had had in his hand moments ago. "Devin, no! That was my mother's."  My mom actually began sobbing as she bent down to frantically pick up the pieces in an attempt to put them back together. It was no use the once beautiful pink glass stained lamp was now thousands of pieces spread across the floor.

"F*ck you and your mom." He spat at her again before leaving and grabbing his truck keys. The front door slammed leaving me and mom to clean up. "It'll be ok I can buy a new one." I offered though that probably was not the best thing I could have said. She began sobbing even more to the point where she could not even form a word. "It was mine as a teenager, my mom gave it to me from her lamp collection. It-It -was so beautiful." She whimpered. I wrapped my arm around her body and side hugged her. I was feeling the anger begin to build up slowly until it was an overflowing, uncontrollable rage that burned. I could feel myself tremble the more I heard her said cries and whimpers.

The fear was completely gone. All I felt for my dad now was hate.