I am so sorry for the delay, I will make it up to you all, I promise.  Anyway, moving on, lots of thanks to my wonderful editor, and my bestie.
HAPPY READING...

TRIS POV

"TRIS", Eric's voice booms through the almost empty cafe. He stomps over to me slamming his office door behind him. I quickly gather up the empty coffee mug and the tray before turning around to face his wrath. He towers over me glaring at me. I look down hiding my face from his death glare.

"What the hell are you doing," he yells at me. I keep my mouth shut and my eyes down.

"It's okay. It wasn't her fault. My manager accidentally ran into her." the stranger on whom I spilled the coffee speaks up, trying to put some distance between me and Eric. Eric doesn't seem to hear him as he grabs my shoulders, his nails digging into my skin

"Can't you be a little more careful, you clumsy fool." his grip tightens around my shoulders as he takes out all his anger on me. I bite down on my lip trying to stop the tears as his grip becomes more and more painful.

"That's enough Mister. It wasn't her fault and even if it was, this is not the way to treat your staff." the stranger says as he pushes me behind him.

"I'm the one the coffee spilled on and if I don't have any complaints, then why do you?" he says crossing his arms over his chest. Eric glares at me. He is not used to anyone speaking against him. And I have to say, this stranger here can definitely be intimidating. After glaring at each other for a minute, Eric turns to me.

"I'll deal with you later." he says stepping back and going back to his office. He slams his door shut and the stranger turns towards me.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asks softly, gently lifting my face to meet his. Before he could see me tear strained eyes, I turn my face away and step back.

"I'm good. Thank you." I say turning away and walking towards the locker room. I don't look back at the stranger who probably saved or destroyed my job. I run inside the washroom locking myself in a stall. I hate being weak but I was desperate for the money.

I remove my outer coat and slowly pull down my sleeves. As expected, I see a few bluish marks slowly turning purplish. I let the tears accumulating in my eyes fall as I pull up the sleeves. I lean against the bathroom stall, closing my eyes as I try to stop the tears.

"Mom, Cleb took my race car again." Beatrice whines, running down the stairs to her mom in the kitchen. "Mommy, ask Cleb to give me my race car, " she cries. The beautiful young lady behind the sink, washes her hands, leaving the unclean dishes in the sink, before going over to her 6-year old daughter. She picks her up, twirling her around before placing her on the chair. The elder woman gently kisses her daughter's cheek, brushing her hair away from her face. "Momma, Cleb....", Beatrice begins to cry. "It's okay honey. Why don't you both play together, that way you can both have the car." she soothes her daughter.

"Beatrice??, " comes the younger boy's voice. "I didn't mean to make you cry. I am sorry for taking your car. Here, " he says reluctantly stretching out his hand holding the car towards his sister. Beatrice looks at her mom, before jumping down and running towards her brother's outstretched palm. Grabbing the car, she runs back towards her mom, kissing her cheek as she bends down. She then turns to her brother, "I am also sorry Cleb, do you wanna play with me. We can share the car, " she asks slowly. The younger boy's eyes shine as he laughs, "Yes, let's go." he says jumping around excitedly. She grabs her brother's arm before running up the stairs to their room, laughing while the older woman watches lovingly at her two lovely children...

The memory of my mother and brother makes the ache in my heart worse. I dab at my eyes, willing the tears to stop. She grabs her inhalers from her purse and takes a whiff. As her breathing comes back to normal, she pats down her dress and steps out of the stall. Looking at her reflection in the mirror, she remembers her mom's words "You can do anything you put your mind to." I decide to compartmentalize the happy memories for now. I wash my face, determined to not let anything pull me down.

Little did I know, how wrong I was...

"Family is like the branches of a tree. We grow in different directions, but our roots remain as one."

I hope this makes up for the delay. I have been busy with school and dance. I'll try to post a new chapter today or tomorrow itself. Do let me know what you though of this chapter. Next chapter will have a different POV, so stay tuned.

BE BRAVE ♥️♥️