The Road to Price
Authors: Justine Elvira
Tags: #Literature & Fiction, #Genre Fiction, #Coming of Age, #Romance, #Contemporary, #New Adult & College
The
Road To Price
Justine
Elvira
The
Road To Price
©
2013 Justine Elvira
All
rights reserved. This book contains material under International and Federal
Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any Unauthorized reprint or use of this material
is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form without written permission of the author, except by a reviewer who may
quote brief passages for review purposes only.
This
book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, or
any events or occurrences, is purely coincidental. The characters and story
lines are created from the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously.
Cover
image used under license from shutterstock.com
I see the sign
and off ramp for my destination. I am hoping the change of scenery will do me
good. I can’t go back home so Miami will be my new home. This is supposed to be
one of the most spectacular cities in America yet I know it doesn’t matter. I
have a long road ahead of me no matter where I go.
Everything
reminds me of him. I hope moving to a new place will help in my grieving
process. Help me to move on with my life. It’s wishful thinking because I know
I can’t move on. My heart died that day along with him.
I have cut all
contact with my family and friends. I know this deeply hurts my mother but I
couldn’t breath. I couldn’t breath being in that town, the place that holds my
bad memories.
I hope one day
I can go back. I pray that one day I am strong enough to move past the painful
events in my life. I hope one day that I wake up with the urge to live. I know
that is what he would want.
One
4 months later…
The heat and
humidity in Miami is still something I’m having trouble getting use to. I just
finished cleaning the offices of a large printing company that must have
decided air conditioning was optional. It was 100 degrees outside. Four hours
cleaning in this heat makes me want to pass out.
Luckily I had on
thin fabric yoga pants and a tank top with a built in sports bra. Normally I
wore a t-shirt and jeans to clean but the temp agency warned me that the
offices could get warm. My guess is they new about the AC but conveniently
withheld this information.
On the walk to my
car I witnessed all the tourist activity around me. It was late August so
everyone seemed to be getting in some last minute fun in the sun. I swear Miami
has it’s own idea of fashion. It’s like the Jersey boardwalk but the consumers
in Miami paid a heck of a lot more to look trashy.
I hop into my 98’
Toyota Corolla and turn on the air conditioning. I’m not a dramatic person but
I swore if my body temperature didn’t cool down I might burst into flames. It
was hot in Georgia but nothing was like the heat down in Miami.
Today was one of
the rare days that I didn’t have to work my evening shift at the local diner.
The temp agency I hooked up with four months ago kept me busy with work. I met
a young woman named Jessica in the office and she has been keeping me busy with
work ever since.
Jessica would
constantly tell me I was over qualified for the jobs that I wanted to work.
Thankfully she understood that I just wanted work that would keep me physically
busy so I could shut my mind off. Oh, and she didn’t ask me a lot of questions.
This earned her brownie points in my book.
Once I had the AC
going in my car, I reversed out of my parking space and headed home to my
studio apartment. The rent in Miami was not cheap. This was not something I had
thought of before I decided to relocate. I came from a small town in Georgia
where the rent was cheap and the people were friendly. Miami was an adjustment.
Most people my age
couldn’t wait for a night off so they could go out and party. Sometimes it was
really easy for me to forget that I was twenty-three years old. The life I have
lead has made me feel much older. Instead of going out on my nights off, I
would usually get my grocery shopping and errands done. My kitchen was
looking scarce so I needed to go grocery shopping soon. My body was extremely
tired so I vetoed the idea of shopping for the night. The muggy heat will
do that to you.
I pulled into my
apartment complex and headed up to my apartment on the second floor. I decided
to take the stairs because the elevator had taken on a distinct smell the past
month. I would have called the landlord about this but I didn’t want to force a
conversation with him. I didn’t want to have a conversation with anyone. I just
wanted to be left alone.
I walked into my
apartment and locked the door behind me. My apartment wasn’t exactly in the
best part of Miami so I had a lock, deadbolt and two chains. It gives me the
illusion that I’m safe.
I didn’t really
have any furnishings or décor around my place. My apartment consisted of a bed,
a dresser, and a bookshelf. No TV, no computer, no table, and no chairs. I had
no expectations to entertain anyone and I avoided technology as much as I
could.
I went right into
the bathroom and stripped off my clothing. I wanted to take a nice cold shower
to cool myself off and wash the dried sweat off my body. I stepped under the
showerhead and let the water hit my back. It felt amazing. My body instantly
started cooling down. I almost forgot that outside these walls it was as hot as
a furnace.
I took my time
washing my hair and body. I just wanted to enjoy the feeling of being clean.
When my skin started to prune, I turned off the water and hopped out. I wrapped
a towel around my head and started to dry off my body. My muscles ached. I was
tempted to pass out on the floor underneath me from exhaustion. Common sense
came back to me and I left the bathroom.
I went to my
dresser and pulled out one of my large t-shirts. I slipped it on and got into
bed. My hair was still in the towel but I didn’t have the energy to pull the
towel off and comb through my hair. I knew I would regret this later but I
didn’t care. I just needed a few hours to rest my body.
Luckily I enjoy
sleeping. If I could sleep twenty-four hours a day I would. I know it’s not
healthy to feel this way but I can’t help it. When I sleep is the only time I
don’t hurt. I have never been a person who has dreams or at least not dreams I
remember. So sleep had been my solace these last five months.
I had contemplated
taking my life a few times. My reasoning behind this was that it was a
permanent way for me to rest. I wasn’t able to go through with it though.
Being brought up in a bible teaching home in the south, I was taught that
suicide was a sin. Not that I thought suicide was worse than any other sin. I
mean we all sin… but I didn’t want to do something I blatantly knew was wrong
and wouldn’t have a chance to repent for.
I could relate now
to anyone who committed suicide. I understood it. I didn’t understand it before
but I did now.
My hand reached to
turn off the light switch. I didn’t set an alarm clock because I could care
less when I woke up. I know it is only five pm but my body craved the sleep. I
turned over on my side and tucked a pillow in between my legs. It may be an odd
way to sleep but I had slept like this since I was sixteen. It was the only way
I could sleep.
My head hit the
pillow and within a couple minutes I was out cold.
*****
I woke up a few
hours later to a dark room. My hand started to roam around my bed looking for
my phone to check the time. The only clock in my apartment was the clock
on the stove so I relied on my phone, a lot.
I found my flip
phone and opened it to check the time. My phone was so outdated but I had no
need for a smart phone. I never checked my email, never went on the
Internet, and I wasn’t on any social networking sites.
It was 7:30 at
night. I had gotten a little over two hours of sleep. I also saw that I had a
missed call and voice message from the temp agency.
That was odd.
Jessica never left me a message because she knew I would never check it. I
usually just called her back when I could.
I hit the button
to call my voicemail and waited to hear the message.
“Hey Mia, It’s
Jessica and I’m calling a little after six. Call me as soon as you get this. I
am leaving the office but you can call my cell phone. I have a job opportunity
for you and you would start immediately. I think you would be the perfect fit
for this job. Give me a call as soon as you get this. Talk to you soon!”
A job opportunity?
I already was working three different jobs through the agency. On top of the
diner and cleaning, I also did filing work at a real estate company. I know
Jessica understood my desire to stay busy but adding a fourth job to the mix
might be my breaking point.
I decide to call
her back right away. I want to give her the opportunity to give this position
to someone else as quickly as possible. I dial her number and she answers on
the second ring.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Jessica? It’s
Mia Dechino. I just got your message.”
“Mia! Thank you so
much for calling me back. I am just so excited about this job opportunity for
you. Unfortunately, Mr. Price wants the interview done first thing in the
morning so I had to get a hold of you right away.”
“Slow down
Jessica. I was just calling you back to let you know I couldn’t possibly add a
fourth job onto my schedule. While I love to keep busy, I think three jobs is
my max.”
I didn’t want to
tell her that when she called I was sleeping. I was exhausted from working
these three jobs. I liked that I was too tired to do anything but sleep.
“Mia, I think
there was a misunderstanding. Please, hear me out. This is a full time, live in
position. If you took this position you would no longer work at your other
jobs. Now I know what your thinking and stop right there and let me explain.”
She paused for a
second to see if I was going to argue with her but I decided to stay quiet and
hear her out.
She continued,
“This is a live-in house keeping position for one of the wealthiest men in Miami.
It is physical work Mia and there will always be something for you to do.
You could work from sun up until midnight if you wanted to. Plus, you would
live in the employee quarters so you can leave that crappy place you call an
apartment.”
Jessica continued
to talk but I had temporarily zoned her out. I was focusing on the live-in
part. This could be exactly what I was looking for. My family had no idea where
I was. If they were to find out I was in Miami they would come looking for me.
It would be easy for them to eventually hunt down what apartment complex I was
living in. If I was living on private property… the private property of an
extremely wealthy man who probably has the best security around? It would be
nearly impossible for anyone to find me.
I could work with
this. I had been cleaning office buildings for the last four months. It
couldn’t be that hard to clean a house. Actually, I’m sure it’s a mansion
rather than a house, but I could do that. I wonder if I would be the only
housekeeper?
“Mia? Mia are you
still there?”
Shit….
“Yes Jessica, I’m
still here. What time is the interview at?”
“It is at the
Price estate at eight am sharp. I can give you the address and directions right
now. You’ll need to dress to impress Mia.”
I had to work in
the morning. I was cleaning some offices down on Ocean Avenue. I start around
three am and usually won’t finish until around eight am.
“I wish I could be
there but I can’t make it at that time. You’re going to have to get someone
else for the interview,” I reluctantly said.
“Now stop right
there,” Jessica stated. “I already got someone to fill in for you in the
morning. I am going to do everything I can to get you this position. You may
not understand now but I know this job is perfect for you. I also called the diner
to let them know you wouldn’t be coming in tomorrow. Now, if Mr. Price likes
you he might need a few other things from you. I needed to free up your entire
day.”