Dania looked surprised by my question. As though she had never really thought about it before. “Does it matter?” she asked coldly, her eyes narrowing.

“Well, yeah it does. I’ve never seen you be such a heartless bitch before, D. I just don’t understand what the hell that kid has ever done to you,” I said, finding that I was getting really angry.

“He deserves it—“ she began but I cut her off.

“He deserves it? Why? Because he’s different? That’s not fair, Dania. We’re not in any position to give anyone else a hard time. Look at where we came from. Look at who we are. Leave him alone. Let him eat his goddamned lunch,” I practically begged her.

Dania looked over at Flynn. His head was down and his focus was entirely on his lunch as he shoveled food into his mouth. I knew that he was eating as fast as he could because he knew that Dania or Stu would take it from him if he didn’t.

Dania looked down at my hand still wrapped around her wrist. Then she did something astonishing. She sat down, her back to Flynn and continued eating her lunch.

I looked at her, waiting for her to say something.

But she didn’t. She just ate her lunch.

I knew that for a second, she had heard me. That she knew what I said about Flynn was right. But I also knew that tomorrow, when Stu and the others were by our sides, all of that would change again and Flynn would once more be their target.

And I would be there, watching it happen.

I knew that Dania and I were one and the same. We were both cowards. We were both too pathetic to ever stand up against what we knew was wrong. We were both self-destructive in the worst ways.

Dania wasn’t all bad. She was just stuck…just like me.

**

“May I speak with Ellie McCallum?” a woman’s voice asked after I answered my phone.

“This is Ellie McCallum,” I said, shooing Murphy back inside the house. It had just started to snow and I had to be at JAC’s in less than an hour. The weather report was calling for up to six inches of snow, which would make driving home after my shift a little more dangerous than I was comfortable with.

I was used to driving in the snow but Flynn lived down a gravel path that was never plowed. And I didn’t particularly relish the though of having to hike a mile from the main road late at night.

“This is Wilma from Lambert and Associates. I apologize that it’s taken me so long to get back to you after your interview. We’ve had quite a number of applicants.”

I felt the air rush out of my lungs and I sat down at the kitchen table, my pulse fluttering with nerves.

I had all but written off the receptionist position because I hadn’t heard back. I was trying really hard not to get disheartened by the continuous barrage of rejection.

I’ll find something, had become my force fed mantra.

“I understand,” I said, lying through my teeth. I wanted to tell her that it was beyond messed up to leave me hanging like that. Didn’t she realize how much I needed a job that wasn’t at JAC’s Quick Stop?

Of course my employment crisis didn’t matter to anyone but me.

“Well, I wanted to see if you were still interested in the position as I’m starting to schedule second interviews for next week.”

I stopped myself from bouncing out of my seat and dancing a jig around the kitchen. But I did indulge in a righteous fist pump in the air.

“Yes, I am. And I’m pretty flexible. Let me know when would be the best time to come in,” I said, trying like hell not to sound as needy as I actually was.

“How about next Tuesday at eleven? Mr. Lambert and his partner, Mr. Weaver, will be conducting this round of interviews,” Wilma the sour puss explained, sounding as though she were ready to hang up the phone already.

“Eleven sounds great. Thank you! I’ll see you on Tuesday! Have a great weekend!” I practically yelled into the phone.

Dial back the enthusiasm, Ellie. It’s just a receptionist gig.

“Okay then. I’ll see you on Tuesday,” Wilma said and then hung up.

“Woohoo!”I hollered, startling Murphy who was licking his butt on the kitchen floor.

I tried to call Flynn to give him the good news but got his voicemail. I didn’t bother leaving him a message, knowing he’d never check it. After I hung up I stared down at my phone wishing I had someone to call.

Not for the first time I almost missed having Dania in my life. Not that Dania had ever been very interested in anything that didn’t have to do with her. But if I had been able to catch her on a good day, she would at the very least, feign interest.

I thought about sending a text to Nadine but figured I should wait until I actually had a job to tell her about. It was more than a little embarrassing that here I was, over a month out of school, and still with no decent employment.

I grabbed my keys and coat and headed out to my car, thinking I should get into work before the roads became icy. The snow was coming down hard and had already covered the porch steps.

My car slid as I took the turn out of Flynn’s driveway onto the main road and I knew that this did not bode well for my ride home tonight. But I didn’t think too much on that. I was still buzzing from my phone call.

A second interview was one step closer to a legitimate job. One that required more than knowing how to use a cash register.

“You’re early!” Melanie said, looking up as I came in from the back of JAC’s after arriving.

“The roads are getting pretty bad. I thought you might want to head home before it gets worse,” I said.