It Was That Bad

"Dear Ms. Teddy, thank you for everything you've done for me so far. I really appreciate you. I've been able to save a little from work, and it will tide me over for the next one week. Goodbye!" Nora read the note she had written and then she smiled.

Dropping it on the kitchen island, she placed a cup on it and took one last look around. She grabbed her back and slung it across her shoulder and then she grabbed the bag she had her clothes in. She had nothing much anymore.

Firefly had left with most of her cloth, dresses, and tops she had bought once in a while when she had some change and there was a discount sale at the store. She had nothing much other than her five pairs of jeans and a few tops she wasn't even wearing anymore.

It was that bad. She didn't have enough yet to get other clothes, or even enough to feed after paying for one week's stay at the motel she was going, but she couldn't stay and live off Ms. Teddy anymore. She had done more than enough for her already.

She blew out a breath and walked out of the apartment. She locked the door and left the key under the foot mat that was in front of her door. That was where Ms. Teddy kept her key usually, so it was safe.

She took the stairs downstairs and walked to the bus stop, glad that she didn't have to run into anyone that knew her on the way. She needed to get to the motel on time and check in as soon as possible before she started to run late for work.

"You should watch where you're going to." Someone called out, and she looked behind her to see a teenage boy riding a bicycle, fast approaching her. Quickly, she moved out of the road to the side and sighed when he was gone. She really should be more aware of her surroundings. That was the only way she would get hurt.

When she got to the bus stop, the bus had not arrived, so she sat down to wait for it. Looking around, she saw another woman approaching the bus stop and a man making a call on the left side of the stop's shed.

She brought out her phone from her bag when she heard a ping to check the message. It was from Ryan and he was asking to see her.

"Why does he want to see me?" she asked herself in a whisper. She wasn't sure what he wanted to see her for, because normally they don't meet when he needed her to do something for her at the apartment. All he needed to do was text her and she would be there.

Quickly, she texted him back.

Nora: Hey, Ryan. What's up?

She sent the text and stared down at the screen to wait for his reply. The three dots that indicated he was typing back started to bounce and she sat up. Soo, n the message came in.

Ryan: I need to ask you something face to face. When can you see me?

Well, now wasn't a good time, but her curiosity got the better part of her. She wanted so badly to know why he couldn't ask her whatever it was over the phone.

Nora: How does tomorrow sound? Maybe in the afternoon during your break?

Ryan: Sounds good. I'll see you then. I'll text you where to meet as well.

Nora sighed and then she kept her phone back in her bag. The bus arrived then and then she got on. About twenty minutes later, she got off and walked the remaining mile to the motel. Nora had found this place on purpose but it was in the middle of all her works. She cleaned, shopped, and cooked for two other people aside from Ryan, and they all lived near here, and then her workplace at the club was also not that far as well.

She entered the motel, got a room for one week, paid, and went there to settle in. She would have to make so with the soap that was provided until she got money to go to the store to grab things she would be needing.

After getting her things into the closet and her bag on the couch and her shoes on the floor in the corner, she got rid of her clothes to shower. In the bathroom, she avoided washing her hair because she doesn't own a hand dryer yet, and just showered her body, and when she was done, she walked out to the room. She was dressed in a new pair of underwear and a black dress she wore to work. As she sat on the bed to wear her black sandal, she felt like lying back down and sleeping. She had had to do Ms. Teddy's laundry, clean, and cooked for her before she left. It was a means of her saying thank you. It was why she had left there so late and couldn't catch any sleep after last night's shift.

This was one of the days she wished she really didn't have to work this much. She would have been able to sleep and get some rest for the nagging headache she was feeling behind her head.

"Oh, goodness. I'm sure I'll be fine once I walk to work and get some fresh air." She said to herself, but she doesn't really believe that. What she really needed was at least eight hours of sleep before she would be able to function as she should.

Once her sandals were fixed on, she walked out of the room, grabbing her bag from the couch and she loved her door, double-checking by pulling again the doorknob. She needed to be sure she had locked it well before she came to an empty motel room.

As promised, she walked to work, and by the time she changed into her work clothes, the person she was relieving was ready to leave.

The club wasn't full yet, but she knew it would possibly stay that way for the rest of the night. It wasn't a weekend, so it could stay scanty. No matter what happened tonight, she hoped she would get as many tips as possible.