I have returned! Sorry for the long lapse in posts. A lot of things have been happening in my life that have made me have some major bouts of depression and anxiety. Usually I can use these to make an ultra violent story to vent my frustration but this time, that wasn't even happening. Things still aren't 100 percent fine but they have started making some headway in an upwardly direction and I was able to write another chapter. YAY! Anyway, hope it was worth the wait and hopefully I will soon be able to return to a semi-normal posting routine again. Thank you to all who have been patiently awaiting this latest chapter and once again, I'm sorry for the long wait.
Kasey pulled into her parking space at her father's publishing company. She hated her job but it paid decently enough plus it came with some pretty awesome health insurance. She also shared an office with two other young women with whom she had become close and could even call them her friends, especially Melanie.
Walking through the large glass doors, she placed her purse on the table to be scanned by security. She did not really understand the need of the increased security but it did keep her safe and she was thankful for that. Laying her keys on the small gray pan on the table, stepped through the metal detector.
Picked up her purse on the other side of the x-ray, she waved at the two security guards and made her way slowly to her office. Upon entering the room, she was immediately assaulted by a young woman with long pink hair flowing loose against her soft heart shaped face.
"Where have you been?" the young woman asked slapping Kasey's shoulder roughly. "You're like, totally late! I thought that maybe you had finally gotten rid of your douche bag boyfriend and ran away!"
Kasey caught a glimpse of Jeanne's green hair barely visible behind her computer. She greeted Jeanne who replied with a simple, timid wave.
"I had a doctor's appointment Melanie," Kasey answered rolling her eyes.
"Oh," she replied, sounding almost disappointed. "Like, I was hoping it would be the other thing."
She walked back to her desk and pulled out a bunch of photographs of different articles of clothing and accessories.
"A-anything wrong?" inquired Jeanne's quiet voice.
"No, I just had an appointment with Dr. Rose," Kasey answered.
"Dr. Rose? You mean, like, the psychiatrist?" Melanie asked looking up from the layout she was preparing.
"Yeah," Kasey answered simply. "I've been going there for a few months now."
"A-are you okay?" Jeanne asked, her voice thick with concern.
"I'm fine Jeanne," Kasey lied with a smile.
Kasey had become quite good at lying to everyone. She wasn't fine and she knew it. If she were to be 100 percent honest with herself, she didn't know if she ever would be but she was trying.
However, Melanie was always the first to tell her and everyone else in the room that she was lying. Kasey never was sure whether she was the only one that could see through this or if she was just the only one that was mouthy enough to call her on it. It was also possible that she was the only one that cared enough to notice.
"That's total bullshit and you know it," she said, flipping her pink hair behind her haughtily.
Kasey glared at Melanie who remained unphased.
"What? You honestly think you're fooling anybody with that totally fake smile and forced cheery tone?"
Kasey looked at Jeanne who up until then had been peeking out from behind her monitor. By this time, however, she had gone back to doing whatever she was doing on her computer.
"What do you want me to do Melanie?" Kasey asked in exasperation.
"Oh my Goddess Kasey! It is like, totally obvious that you are wicked unhappy."
"What can I possibly do about that Melanie?" Kasey said, slumping into the chair behind her desk. "If I do what makes me happy, my parents will be quite angry. I can't break up with Bobby because that would mean making my parents angry. Making my parents angry means getting fired and kicked out of my house. Honestly, if you have any kind of plan, I'm open to suggestions."
"W-why not apply for another job?" Jeanne's small voiced called from behind her computer. "I-it may not be a great job b-but there's a restaurant down the street from my house that wants someone to t-take care of their garden. My f-friend's father owns the restaurant so I c-can probably help you get the job.
"My boyfriend also said that his mom needs someone to r-raise flowers for their shop. I th-think that Bastion would be okay with y-you raising some in his garden. B-both would help you earn enough m-money to move into your own place."
"What makes you think that I would want to do something like that?" Kasey asked raising her eyebrow.
"I d-don't know," Jeanne said, lowering her head. "G-gardening c-can make you feel more p-positively about yourself and k-keep you active which m-most people find therapeutic."
"Well let's just get me a pair of overalls and call me farmer Kasey then!" Kasey snapped, rolling her eyes.
Jeanne shrunk further into her chair, her eyes focusing on anything but Kasey.
Kasey let out a frustrated groan and tilted her head back, looking up at the ceiling, "I'm sorry Jeanne. I know your just trying to help and I'm just being a total bitch."
Jeanne looked up at Kasey, a soft smile playing across her lip, "I-it's okay. Y-you're going through a l-lot right now."
"Maybe I should look into those jobs. It would at least help me to save up a little bit of money. I would still be homeless though. I have a little bit of money saved up but…" she trailed off still feeling that all was hopeless.
"You can totally live with me until you're able to afford your own place!" Melanie said clapping her hands excitedly.
Kasey looked at the two women who were both staring at her expectantly. Melanie's offer was quite tempting but she couldn't impose like that. She shook her head and looked down at her desk.
"I can't do that," she responded quietly.
"Like, why not?!" Melanie asked in frustration.
"I don't want my parents to disown me. Plus, I have a dog and I don't know if your building will let me keep him."
"Okay, first off, who gives a damn if your parents are happy or not?! They obviously don't care if their daughter is happy. Secondly, you are totally my friend and I so want to see you smiling more. How big is your dog?"
"He's a miniature bull terrier, so about this big?" she indicated with her hands.
Melanie clapped her hands in excitement again, "You are like, totally in luck! My building accepts small pets!"
Kasey considered Melanie's offer again. She wanted away from her parents and to be able to live her life without being forced to act a certain way or to basically be her parents' puppet but something was still holding her back.
She hung her head and shook it slowly eliciting an exasperated groan from Melanie, "Why the hell not?!"
"I just can't," Kasey replied quietly not making eye contact with her friend.
"M-maybe you should think a-about it?" Jeanne stated.
Melanie nodded her head enthusiastically at Jeanne and looked back at Kasey, still shaking her head.
Kasey let out a small breath of resignation, "Fine, I'll think about it."
"Yay!" Melanie cried, bouncing on the balls of her feet.
"Enough drama!" Kasey exclaimed. "We have work to do."
"Ugh! You're like, such a drag sometimes, Kasey. Maybe living with me will make you somewhat fun!"
Kasey rolled her eyes as she turned to her computer, "Maybe living with me will turn you into a drag."
"As if!" Melanie replied, flipping her hair behind her shoulder and sauntering back to her desk. She smoothed her hands down the entire length of her body. "How could I possibly be anything but fun with a body like this?"
Kasey shook her head but laughed in spite of herself. Rolling her eyes, she turned her attention to the computer. Thoughts about her psychiatrist's words and Melanie's offer began reeling through her head. An unexpected thought made a guest appearance within her conscious memory of the tall, dark skinned man that she had encountered on her way out of Dr. Rose's office. She shook this thought free from her mind and returned to the spreadsheet she was working on.
Part of her really would have liked moving in with Melanie but she really hated to impose on anyone like that. She knew something was going to have to give but she didn't really want think about the consequences of when that day came. Little did she know that that day was approaching sooner than she would have ever thought possible.
