Soundtrack for this chapter:
Hold On - Chord Overstreet
Hold on, I still want you Come back, I still need you Let me take your hand, I'll make it right I swear to love you all my life Hold on, I still need you
Chapter 1:
"Okay, kiddo, you're free to go."
Becky Botsford rolled her eyes prior to turning away from her manager. Using one hand to open the door and the other to slip the apron off her shoulder, she made her way out of the office and towards the storage area of the restaurant. The smell of flour and sugar filled the entire kitchen as the daytime cooks were already preparing breakfast for the morning rush. She waved to them as she passed before she grabbed her bag from the coat rack.
She wasn't in the best mood. She hadn't made very many tips during the night. She could usually come away in the morning with a good $100, but she unfortunately was only going to be carrying about $60 home with her. She wasn't looking forward to seeing her mother's face when she presented her earnings at the breakfast table.
Becky only said goodbye to her close co-workers before exiting the restaurant as quickly as possible. She preferred to spend as little time there as she could manage. She worked 5 of the 7 days a week and it was always the night shift. Needless to say, she was always relieved for the morning so she could get the hell out of there.
The sun had barely peaked over the horizon when Becky began making her way home. 7 am never provided much light for Becky's walk. At least it wasn't cloudy or raining. She didn't have very far of a walk though.
She hoped her mood would change as the day went on. At noon, she had a date with her boyfriend, Scoops Ming. It wasn't anything special; they were just getting lunch, but Becky was just happy to be doing something other than worrying. That was all she did. Worry and worry and worry some more. About her dad, about her family's financial situation, about her job, about getting enough sleep. The worry just didn't end. She always had him to support her.
Becky had hardly noticed that she arrived at her home. Pulling the key out of her pocket, Becky stepped onto her doormat and unlocked the door. She entered without even trying to be quiet. TJ had school at 7:30 and her mom was just a natural morning person. Her mom always had breakfast waiting for her when she returned from waitressing. Her dad used to always be up cooking with mom before he got his diagnosis. Since then, he had gotten a lot weaker and couldn't wake up as early as he used to.
But something was off this time. No one was around. The lights weren't on in the kitchen, the table wasn't set, TJ wasn't stalling by watching TV before school; it was like a ghost town in her home. She couldn't hear a single noise. Becky closed the door behind her and glanced around confused. She tried to push down the panic threatening to travel up her spine.
"Mom? Dad? TJ?" Becky called into the house, not knowing whether to be worried or not.
Finally, a faint sound of slow footsteps upstairs reached Becky's ear. She slowly made her way to the steps to see who was moving. Her mom emerged at the top of the stairs. Becky was happy to see her except her mom looked terrible. Her face was red and tears were rolling down her face.
"Mom, what's wrong? What happened?" Becky quickly bounded up the steps towards her mom in panic.
"Becky, I have something to tell you," Her mom managed to say, her voice cracking mid-sentence.
Becky could feel her heart beating a million miles an hour as her mind started racing. Her mind was going through the worst case scenarios, "Mom, is dad okay?"
Her mom said nothing as she led Becky into their bedroom. Becky held her breath as she entered, preparing for the worst.
Her dad was fine; at least visually. He was sitting up in bed like usual, but his face was dark. He looked utterly defeated.
"Dad! What's going on? Are you okay?" Becky demanded running to the bedside. She gently sat down next to her father on the bed.
"It's not the cancer, Beck-aroo," Her dad answered, not in his usual peppy tone of voice. He ever so slowly handed over a piece of paper to Becky. Becky stared at her dad, hesitating, before taking it from him.
Becky already knew what it was the second she laid her eyes on the front of the page.
In the upper left corner there was The AI Factory logo, just commonly called 'The Factory'. They were the world's leading supplier of robot soldiers, intended to add to/replace real human soldiers on the ground. Originally founded by Mr. Big, he passed it onto some unknown family before passing away a while back.
No. Becky knew EXACTLY what this meant. The Factory's workers weren't there by choice; they were forced to work there for however their sentence was. Or to pay off their family debt. When a family in Fair City fell into debt, however much that may be, they would be required to send a family member to permanently reside at the Factory and work it off. It was an incentive program built in when Mr. Big founded the facility. Family members could be sent there for months or years, depending on how in debt they were.
And the Botsfords had been drowning in debt for quite some time.
Her father had lost his job a few years back so their family had been running on her mom's few paychecks. Since the Factory became the replacement for prison when the police began sending prisoners there instead of jail, it kept the crime rate lower, so her mom rarely had to do anything. They had been living on savings and whatever Becky could bring home from waitressing which wasn't much. The savings had run out a while ago.
Becky should have naturally expected a letter at some point, but it still came as a complete shock to her. The letter explained that Tim Botsford was required to report to the Factory in two days' time.
No. No. No. Becky was internally panicking. Her father would certainly DIE in that factory. In his frail state, there was no way he would last a week there! The stories she had heard from people who had paid off their small debts were pretty bad. No one was allowed out. The living quarters weren't awful, but the work itself was. Building robots day in and day out was not an easy job.
"Mom, this can't happen!" Becky choked out, looking up from the letter directly at her mother.
"Becky, there's nothing we can do. It's the law," Her mom cried, rushing over to her daughter and enveloping her in a hug. Tears were streaming down her face.
Becky pulled out of the hug, not only in desperation but anger, "Mom, we can't just stand by and let this happen to dad! We have to do something! Anything! Call someone! Tell the owner about his condition, maybe he...or she will understand!"
"The owner doesn't allow any exceptions. Nobody has even met the owner, honey."
"But…but…dad will…mom no…" Becky could feel the tears coming to her eyes. She allowed her mom to pull her back into the hug. Becky dug her face into her mother's shoulder, "Wordgirl can't let this happen."
"Honey, I know you want to help, but I don't think Wordgirl or Becky can do anything about this. Wordgirl stops criminals and enforces the law. Well, this is the law," Her mom answered, running her fingers through Becky's hair. They stood in a silent sadness for a minute or two, embracing each other. Becky pulled away from her mother and went back to sit beside her dad.
"Dad, I'm going to figure something out. I promise," She promised as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He squeezed her back. Becky didn't want to let go, but she had thinking to do. She wasn't going to give up. Even if Wordgirl could do nothing, Becky would find a way.
"I'm going over to Violet's. Should I say hello for you?" Becky asked, trying to change the subject and give her a reason to leave the house.
"Oh, of course," Her mom said, wiping her eyes and heading to the bathroom.
Becky eyed her dad and he smiled for her in an attempt to make her feel better. That was typical for her dad; no matter what was going on with him, he always wanted his little girl to be happy.
Becky HAD to find a way.
Violet Heaslip was already sitting down in the Starbucks, one coffee in hand and one frappuccino on the table when Becky walked in. When Violet noticed her best friend, she set down the drink in her hand in front of Becky and stood up to hug Becky. Violet's hugs always meant something; they always were out of genuine care and support.
"I'm so sorry, Becky. I can't even pretend to understand what you're going through," Violet whispered, "But I'm glad you called me. You know I'm always here for you."
They broke the hug and Becky smiled at her best friend, "I know you are. And this coffee was not necessary, but thank you. You're the best." Becky and Violet took their seats and both went to sip their coffee.
"What did Scoops say? I imagine he told you the same things I probably will," Violet asked.
Becky's eyes widened and she slapped her forehead in remembrance, "Oh shoot!"
"You didn't call him, did you?"
"You don't sound too surprised."
"That's probably because I'm not."
Becky cocked her head curiously to the side, "What does that mean?"
"Nothing. It doesn't mean anything. I…we're not here to talk about Scoops. We are here to talk about your dad. How long does he have?" Violet asked, avoiding eye contact with Becky for the most part.
Becky just let the Scoops comment go. Even though she was curious about what Violet had meant, Violet had a point. She had bigger issues, like her dad's lowkey death sentence.
"I just don't know what to do, Violet. There's no way we can let him do this. He will die in there," Becky sighed in sorrow, "Do you know who the owner is? I want to try to talk them out of making my dad go to the factory for who knows how long."
"I'm afraid no one knows who they are. This mystery person has never revealed themselves to the public. They work entirely in the shadows," Violet answered, taking another sip of her drink.
"Yeah, I would too if I had that job. I would be embarrassed too if I pulled loved ones away from their families for a living," Becky muttered sarcastically, staring down at her coffee cup.
"Maybe they didn't particularly want the job…"
"They're such a coward. Can't even show their face in public, take responsibility for their actions," Becky continued slightly angrily, ignoring Violet completely.
"Oh, I don't know about just probably don't want attention," Violet tried to reason.
"Clearly."
Violet slid her hand onto Becky's and held it, "Becky, I know you're angry. But getting mad about it won't solve anything. You just have to make sure to spend what little time you have with your dad actually with him."
Becky gave Violet a small smile and nodded, "You're right. You're right. I need to think about what my dad wants right now." She took another sip of coffee.
"So, you meeting Scoops today?" Violet asked, changing the subject.
"Oh yeah! I almost forgot about our lunch date!" Becky realized, eyes widening, setting down her coffee and pulling out her phone. The time was already 10:30. Phew, she didn't need to be there until noon.
"I still have another hour before I have to head out," Becky said, relieved she still had time left with Violet.
"Cool! Where are you guys going?" asked Violet curiously.
"Olive Garden. We haven't gone in a while. Should be nice."
"How are you guys by the way?"
"Fine."
Violet raised an eyebrow, "Fine? Just fine?"
"Yes, fine. What's wrong with fine?" Becky questioned frowning.
"There's nothing wrong with it. It just isn't 'great' or 'spectacular'," Violet answered, averting her eyes away to her phone on the table.
"Well, no, but fine is…well, good," Becky simply explained. She eyes Violet curiously. Violet was being very cryptic when talking about Scoops and she didn't understand why.
"Or 'awesome'. Or 'amazing'. Or 'happy'."
"Well now that…"
"Or in love."
The last one caught Becky off guard. She froze and just stared at Violet. What did that mean? How could she say something like that?
"What does that mean? Of course I love Scoops. We've been together for 6 months. I've liked him since elementary school," Becky told Violet, even though Violet should have already known those things. The 3 of them had been inseparable as children, even still to that day. Becky wasn't angry, more like just super confused.
"You just haven't been as into your relationship with him for a while it seems," Violet gently explained, her phone ringing in her pocket. She glanced down at the phone prior to standing up, "I'm sorry. I'm afraid I've been called into the hospital. Emergency."
"Violet, you can't just say something like that and walk away. What are you talking about?"
Becky demanded as she stood up to stop Violet from leaving, "I have been into the relationship. I love Scoops. There's no debate about that."
"Becky, there's a difference between loving Scoops and being IN love with Scoops."
With that said, Violet turned around and strode quickly out of the café off to the hospital. Becky just stared out the exit after Violet, running through everything she had said.
Becky of course loved Scoops but that's not what Violet was debating. It was whether Becky was IN love with Scoops. Becky wasn't entirely sure the difference but she had an idea.
No. Becky was going to prove to herself and Violet that she was in love with Scoops. She was going to go enjoy their lunch together and genuinely have fun spending time with him.
Easy as pie.
The smell of garlic and pasta filled Becky's nose when she entered the restaurant. She instantly spotted Scoops already sitting on one of the benches waiting for her arrival. He immediately stood up once he spotted her and a wide smile spread across his face.
"Becky, hey," He greeted, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a hug, "Your mom called me. Asked me if I had heard what happened. Why didn't you call me right away?"
Becky pulled out of the hug, "I didn't want you to worry all morning. I was going to tell you at lunch."
"Becky, you can always call me first. I want to help," Scoops gently rubbed her back in comfort.
"Ming, table for two?" The hostess called into the waiting room. Scoops and Becky raised their hands. She held two menus in her hand as she waved over for Becky and Scoops to follow her into the dining room. Their table was a small two person table towards the back corner of the restaurant.
"Enjoy," the hostess set down their menus and proceeded to head back to the front of the restaurant.
Becky pulled the chair away from the table and slowly took her seat across from Scoops. He smiled warmly at her. She had liked that smile since she was 8. Not much seems to have changed.
"So do you wanna talk about it?" Scoops asked her, as she leaned on her hands.
"I vented to Violet about it literally right before I came here. I think I'm starting to feel less mad about it and more upset…" Becky trailed off, keeping her eyes glued to her menu on the table, avoiding eye contact with Scoops. Her conversation with Violet about Scoops still had her reeling. What had Violet meant? There wasn't anything wrong with their relationship….was there?
"Totally understandable. When my mom temporarily lost her job a year ago, we had that scare too," Scoops said, "I remember feeling so worried and frightened. It started affecting my mental health which in turn affected the paper…"
Becky began tuning him out as he continued to talk and tell the story. It wasn't that she didn't want to listen, but if she was honest, hearing him talk about something that DIDN'T actually happen to him versus something that was ACTUALLY happening to her made her feel a little disconnected.
After Scoops finally stopped his story, Becky took a deep breath and sighed, "I don't know what I'm going to do Scoops."
"It's going to be okay Becky. You got me. I'll be here for you," He told her, putting his hand onto hers. Becky met his eyes and he smiled at her. She managed the tiniest smile for his sake, but still...the gesture felt sort of empty.
Scoops sat back into his chair and started reading his menu, "Besides, your dad is a persistent man. If anyone can push through and survive, it's your dad. He's strong willed."
Scoops let out a small laugh and Becky smiled. She knew he was trying to cheer her up. But she knew no matter how persistent her dad was, he had his limits. She knew for a fact she couldn't let him go through with this. Her father may be strong willed...
But so was she.