Leo

I could still smell the faint, semi-sweet fragrance of her vanilla perfume. It lingered under my nose, stronger than anything and it was driving me somewhat insane. I couldn't stop thinking about how silky her pretty hair was, the way the smooth, straight strands slipped between the crevasses of my fingers when I had not-so-gently pulled her hair. That look on her face...fuck, it made me wet.

After having her a close-up of her face, she was much more attractive than I gave her credit for. Even the little, curvy body she hid in her stuffy cardigans and mom jeans was something else. I wondered how she would look, naked and tied up in my bed, with fire in her eyes and venomous words spilling out of her shapely mouth. Oh, the things I would do to her. It wouldn't be long until she lost all control and hopes of being the same person she once was.

I smirked to myself, sipping the heavy smoke into my lungs, exhaling it out into the frigid air as I leaned over the roof of the five-storied building, watching as the specks of students mill about in the snow-coated campus, their chattering voices audible despite the biting, violent wind. The roof of the south hall building was normally inaccessible to all students, but not to me. It was easy to disengage the alarm on the heavy exit door and the cameras did not work on the top floor. The lock placed on the gated staircase was a breeze to pick, and no one else was the wiser.

My perfect hideout spot.

Now, it would also be my little spying nookie, where I could watch from a distance of who came and went inside the building. I propped my elbows lazily on the edge, idly tapping on the cigarette so the ashes came raining down the side of the building, blending flawlessly with the snow that was starting to come down. Now that it was snowing, the air felt warmer and since I was already numb with the cold, I could withstand the freezing temperatures.

At least, until I finished my sixth cigarette of the day.

While it would be nice to continue warming myself thinking about the snobby, bespectacled bitch, I had other matters at hand. I kept my devious thoughts to the back of my mind as I wondered how exactly I would be able to afford the dorming this semester. Rufina had provided me just enough for me to get by, but I had lied to her, of course, regarding having a job in the school. If I had told her the truth, she would have practically showered me with money. And then, I would end up owing her, one way or another.

There was only so much I had saved up since I started working in the bar, and while I was on a full-ride scholarship and financial aid, there were still other expenses I needed to consider as a full-time college student. There was no way Em would let me back into town if I broke my promise to him, and on the plus side, he always loaned me money when I needed it the most, knowing for certain I would end up paying him back with interest. That was the only way I could agree and make such a long-term promise to him and I was determined to keep it. I would hate to see the disappointment in his face if I gave up. It would mean that I would spend the rest of my life in the shabby, ugly town, with nowhere to go, trapped forever in the misery of a destitute, broken life I had been going through at the tender age of nine.

I couldn't bear the thought of being like my parents–high on crack and questionable cheap drugs, aimless in their lives, forever destined to be satisfied with living on the wrong side of town. It was a depressing thought that made me even colder still, and it wasn't surprising that I had walked in one day from elementary school to find them dead on the broken-down couch in the living room, needles sticking out from their inner elbows. I had already grown desensitized to the scene, because I have seen them like this more times than I could count, but at that time, I had no idea that they had overdosed to the point where it was too late–not until their bodies started to decompose and smell horrid, the entire house smelling like the dead.

From then on, I was hopping between crowded foster homes, which admittedly was slightly better, considering that I had a roof over my head and a decent meal on the table everyday. I was in such a pitiable state, that even the adults began to coddle me to the point where it was getting tiresome. Social workers came in on a biweekly basis to keep tabs on me but as I grew older, their visits became less frequent, letting the foster parents take charge instead. My first foster parents were kind to me but it wasn't soon after that they had to give me up to another family because they were planning to move out of state and couldn't afford to bring me along, not when they dealt with five other kids younger than me. The second family was nice as well, but gave me up as well because their household was getting too crowded and even with the government checks, they couldn't keep up with the means of providing food for another mouth to eat. And then afterwards, after being transferred between homes twice within a year, I ended up with the third family.

I went through puberty early, perhaps too early and I was entering the teenage, rebellious age. Throughout middle school and high school, I was passed on to other families, and they grew worse and worse as time passed. The moment I sprouted boobs, the foster dads became overly attentive and the foster moms grew overly suspicious and hateful towards me. It had gotten to the point where I ended up running away more often that I could count on my fingers and toes, preferring to wander in the streets over being groped secretly by the men in the house, or beat because the moms felt like I had been "seducing" their partners at the age of thirteen.

There were times I wished I had amnesia, anything to block out all the sordid memories, but my brain worked in odd ways and I was guessing that perhaps, I didn't live a life that was deemed traumatizing at all. Then, I met Em during my worst period of time and he was a godsend, always there for me when others weren't, like a guardian angel. I considered him my one and true family, someone I could trust and lean my head on his shoulder without him ever expecting anything out of me. He knew me inside out, from the good and the bad, but he had always encouraged me to be better, to do better. It was the least that I could do to pay him back, but it was so damn hard that sometimes, I regretted agreeing to his resolution.

Go to school. Get your Bachelors and graduate. Find a good-paying job and leave this town forever. Promise me, Leo, you have to do this, not for me, but for yourself. I would hate to see someone as bright and clever as you rotting in this ugly town.

His words echoed in my head and I remembered responding to him vehemently.

What about you, Em? How can I leave you here?

I have a life here, Leo, I have been here for a very long time. I already hit the age that I should be settling down–plus I own a bar here, I think I am doing well enough. Don't ever worry about me. You're still young and you have a lot of options out there in this world. Don't be like me.

I couldn't bear to disappoint him, not when he was so invested in my future in every way possible. I had to make him proud, show him my accomplishments–and the first thing I needed to do was to find a job in the school, so at least, I would be able to afford dorming in this university, at least for this semester.

It was going to be easier said than done.

🍓🍓🍓

Two Days Later

Shockingly, I was able to find a job in the campus cafe, and it was all because of Olivia Pacheco. We were able to hit it off right away, considering that she had lived in the next town over from me but it was all interchangeable because the borders between the two towns were ridiculously thin and we had seen each other around in the neighboring clubs before. Despite her rancid green hair and her tendency to match everything with her hair color, she was relatively nice to me. I figured it was because we had come from similar enough towns that we saw a kindred spirit in each other.

"Hey, Olivia, thanks again," I said to her after she had finished speaking to the cashier lead, Andrea, whom she appeared to have a situationship with.

"Don't mention it," she replied with a lazy pop of her green bubblegum, her neon fake nails clicking as she waved away my word of gratitude. "Plus Andrea owes me one so she can't really say no."

She eyed me slyly, a small grin on her face. I had a feeling she was slightly into me but I had done my best to quash her curiosity of me.

"I owe you," I promised her, returning her smile. I reached into my pocket and offered her a loosie, which she took with a gleeful expression.

"Nah, just consider this a welcoming gift," she answered with a chuckle, leaning forward so I could light her cigarette. "But, let me know if you need anything else. I can pull some strings for you."

"You're going to spoil me," I joked, but at the same time, I was grateful to speak to someone that I was familiar with.

"Not at all, girl. From one sister to another, am I right?"

Before I could reply, Andrea approached me around the counter, handing me the paperwork so I could fill it out before I left for my next class.

"Fill all of the highlighted stuff out and let me know how your class schedules are so I can fill you in with some shifts in between," she ordered, sidling between us.

Olivia eyed her with amusement, nudging her rib with her elbow. "So bossy already, huh?" She chortled, much to Andrea's annoyance.

"Shut up," Andrea muttered from the corner of her lip, but her brown eyes were glittering when she looked over at Olivia's impish expression. It was painfully disgusting while they made eyes at each other but I was glad that Olivia's interest in me seemed to have disappeared the moment Andrea had popped up to interrupt us.

"Leona, right?" Andrea turned towards me, her eyebrow rising up her forehead she appraised me.

"You can call me Leo," I answered with a friendly smile.

"Okay, got it. So, here are some ground rules before I actually have you hired. You have to take out all of your piercings from your face–-sorry, it's the college's rules because the cafe is associated with the school and to the public, and they want everyone to look as presentable as possible, and yes, Olivia, before you even speak, that includes you. You know better than to dye your hair like that."

Olivia glowered at her, puffing smoke rings in her face in response. "It's a temporary dye, you know this. I'll be back to being a brunette before you know it. But, ugh, it's soooo boring," she grumbled, when Andrea returned her pointed glare at her.

Andrea swiftly turned her attention to me, ignoring Olivia's whining complaints. She provided me with further instructions. "No heavy makeup and you have to wear the uniform as well. If you cannot make it to a shift because of finals or whatever the case may be, please let me know forty eight hours ahead so I can have someone else cover for you. You will get paid on a biweekly basis, your first two weeks will be paid with checks while your bank account gets verified, then afterwards, it will be direct deposit. You will be trained with Marco on the espresso and coffee machines the first week and handling the cashier by the third week. Does that sound good to you?"

"Sounds good to me," I readily agreed, giving her a short nod.

"Perfect. Finish up the paperwork before you leave. I'm assuming you can start right away?"

"Yes."

"Good, then you should be set to start as of this weekend, so don't disappoint me."

"I won't," I replied with a genuine smile. Andrea blinked at my pleased expression, before turning back to Olivia.

"Olivia, can we talk afterwards? And I told you to stop smoking!"

Their bickering continued as I filled out the form diligently, hunching over the counter, trying to hide my smile. They would make a cute couple if only Olivia stayed committed but I had to give her credit–Andrea was pretty cute, with chocolate-brown eyes, tanned skin and defined curls that swung about her face whenever she spoke. They looked like an unlikely pair but then, anything could happen.

I briefly imagined the bougie bitch by my side and laughed internally at the imagery. Yeah, right, as if. It would be like a cat and dog trying to get along with each other, and it was easy to imagine that we would be at each other's throats at all times.

I quickly finished my paperwork and interrupted the unlikely duo before their little argument could escalate. Andrea scanned over it and nodded at me while Olivia grinded the smoking butt underneath her boots.

"Thanks," Andrea muttered under her breath, putting the form inside the front pocket of her apron.

"Text me if you need anything else, Leo," Olivia called out to me as I started to leave.

I gave her a backwards wave without turning to face her, trudging through the thick snow slowly, bowing my head down to avoid the wicked, bone-biting wind. The scarf I had for ages fluttered in the harsh breeze as I located the building where my next class was held.

A flicker of excitement raced through my body as I entered the building, knowing that I would be seeing the bitch there. Too bad she was too lost in her world to actually notice me but the moment she does, the jig would be up.