Siena
An hour had passed since I had opened the letter.
I took slow, deep breaths to calm myself. My burgundy hair was messily tied up in a bun, and I felt the thin hair clip silently snap, letting my hair fall loose.
Silence.
I had disconnected from reality.
I placed a hand on my forehead and stared intensely at a piece of paper—just a piece of paper, yet it held enormous significance. I was ready to tear it apart and start screaming.
Where would I stay? I had no money to leave this city.
I whimpered and rubbed my face nervously with my palms.
There were no jobs. My boss had fired me with a sorrowful smile because the shop was closing down. At least he had offered me an extra hundred euros. It was something, I guess.
And now, the bank had sent a notice saying I owed 3,000 euros. That might not seem like much to some, but I only made 800 euros a month. Where was I supposed to find that kind of money?
At one point, a company had offered me a job, but I—being the unstable person I was—had to turn it down.
With pride, no less!
Now I regretted it. I should have accepted.
A knock on the door made me get up with heavy steps to open it.
The moment I did, someone threw themselves at me and hugged me. Tightly!
"Babe!!! Are you okay?! Do you want me to beat someone up? Who hurt you?"
And here, my friends, meet my overprotective, beloved, sweet, yet not-so-innocent friend.
"I'm fine, Rose," I said and tried to rush to the table to hide the letter—the undeniable proof that nothing was fine.
But what was the point? Absolutely none! She would figure it out immediately.
She gave me a suspicious look and snatched the letter from the worn-out table. The moment she read it, she froze.
"Sienna, I'm so sorry!!!" she said, hugging me even tighter.
"Is there anything I can do? Do you want me to help you find a job? A place to stay? Money? We'll figure something out. We have to. Your parents could—"
"No!!!" I cut her off.
"But, Sienn—"
"They don't know, and they won't find out. My father would demand that I move back home and help my mother around the house. I don't want that."
"Sienna, they could help you financially," she insisted.
"Don't start with the 'Sienna' again, Rose. You know I don't want to go back. Especially not in the state I'm in."
"And what state is that, Sienna? Huh? You refuse to accept anyone's help!" she huffed loudly.
"I refuse to accept my parents' help," I corrected.
"Oh, really?" she said, crossing her arms over her chest with an ironic expression.
"Yes," I sighed, knowing where this was going.
"Then you can work for my uncle. You know he needs a housekeeper, and no one else lives with him anyway. As far as I know," she said thoughtfully.
"Fine," I said in defeat, making a face.
"Wait, what? Did you just... agree?!"
I nodded once.
"But I don't want to be a burden on you," I added.
She looked at me as if I were an alien.
She grabbed her phone, quickly dialed a number, and put it to her ear.
"Cześć wujku!!!" Rose said, and I stared at her with wide eyes.
"Więc... znalazłam taką osobę, która jest zainteresowana pomagać cię z pracami w domu," she continued.
"Aha... Tak," she said.
"Nie... Nie martw się w ogóle," she reassured.
They kept talking until she finally hung up.
"Well?" I asked impatiently.
"Yeah, yeah, you can go," she said with a tight-lipped smile.
"Rose, what did you tell him?" I asked suspiciously.
"Uh... just that, umm, you'll be staying at his house. But there won't be anyone else. Really. It'll just be my uncle and my aunt, so there won't be a problem," she said quickly.
"Rose... you know I hate being a burden to others," I sighed.
"You're not. Don't worry about it," she said and hugged me.
"I just hope I have a good time," I said.
"Oh! Don't worry about that at all. You'll have an amazing time," she said, smiling at me innocently.