Page 81 of My Ruthless Neighbor

“Thank you for being my constant companion, buddy. It’s exhausting to be alone sometimes.”

He lifts his head when my chin trembles. I open my arms. He wastes no time and burrows himself against me.

Ever since I lost my job a few days ago, it’s been hard.

It’s scary to end up in the same place where you began. Over and over again.

It’s a cycle. Get a job. Work your ass off. Get fired. Repeat.

I need to grow. It’s frightening to see the world around me evolving and here I am, stuck.

What’s more frustrating is, that I am not doing anything to change it.

I don’t get time from waitressing or the mermaid gigs to think about picking a career. Because when I am unemployed, I utilize my time into finding a new job. And if I am working two or more jobs, I get consumed by it. So much so, that I barely get any time to sleep much less stress over finding a new career.

People have highs and lows. I experienced only lows. My life graph is a constant horizontal line.

I feel so drained. Pretending to be happy isn’t working anymore. Colors don’t help too. It’s terrifying.

And on top of that, I bumped into Archer last night. The man who has been making my life difficult ever since I met him.

My heart had stopped and then started beating out of control when I saw him last night.

I have to admit, his action of stopping the elevator just so he could get my attention was hot.

But he ruined it by mentioning financial support.

I had a bad day yesterday. And to top it off, he said something that struck a nerve.

I will never let anyone support me financially. I am an independent girl.

Life is tough. True. But I won’t ever allow myself to be dependent on anyone like that. It’s against my ethics.

“I wish we could stay like this all day, Goldie.” I kiss his furry head. He tilts his head and licks my cheek.

“You hungry?” I ask.

He lets out a bark and licks my face again. He is the only reason I get out of bed. If he weren’t there, I would’ve gone back to sleep and probably would’ve wasted the entire day.

Once on my feet, I glance at him. “Race you to the kitchen.” I challenge and take off, Goldie following suit.

???

I swallow audibly as I stand in the snack aisle, eyeing the pack of Oreo cookies longingly.

I hesitate for a moment before reaching for it. I drop it in the cart and push it forward.

After feeding Goldie, I quickly showered, did some chores, and stepped out for grocery shopping.

Aside from a couple of granola bars, I found nothing to eat in the apartment. It was now noon. And my stomach is aching from lack of food.

It takes about ten minutes to pick up the groceries as well as Goldie’s food and chewy treats. Then, I make my way to the cashier.

After waiting for a few minutes in line, it’s my turn.

“Hi! Good morning.” She greets me with a smile.

I smile back. The lady chats with me as she rings my things. I don’t mind it at all as I love talking.

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