The air is dense, wet. It clung to my skin, crept into my lungs like a second breath.
Haruka shifted above me. Her heartbeat thrummed against my back, steady, unbothered. My own pulsed like a war drum, deafening my ears.
I am flying. I am underground.
My thighs trembled, my toes curled. The bed is too soft. The walls too far away. My body burned, my mind flew, and yet--
I can see everything. I can feel everything.
The heat pooling between my legs, the fingers digging into my waist, the soft, warm sensation of Haruka breathing against my ear--
I felt it all.
Too much. Not enough.
A breath. A shift. A slow, creeping smile above me.
"Mm~ Baby, you're shaking."
She bucked down into me.
My mouth opened. No sound came out.
=======================================================
Another night, another penny.
Approaching the main doors of the cafΓ©, I spotted my boss, Haruka, mid-rant and screaming at someone just out of sight.
Red-faced, sweating, veins bulging, seems like just another day in the office for her.
"...shoving half of Colombia up your nose after every shift, and you still think you deserve more than a goddamn sweatshop worker?"
"Yeah, fuck you, too!"
"Hey, boss." I greeted her, trying to inject a sense of normalcy into the chaos.
She barely glanced at me before flashing a sharp, familiar grin. "Ah, there's a sight for sore eyes. Gimme a sec with this prick, yeah?"
Sauntering out from behind the counter, she briskly followed my coworker out back, still hurling profanity the whole way.
"Take your time." I muttered under my breath.
=======================================================
"...hey. Hey."
"...mmph--wha, huh??"
I jolted awake, disoriented, still slouched over the counter, a pair of hands clapping in front of my face. I saw Haruka standing in front of me, a little disheveled, and her eyes gleaming with her signature crazy look.
"Enjoying your little nap, pipsqueak?"
"N-No, I'm sorry, I--"
"Yeah, figures," she cut me off, her tone dripping with mock sympathy. "I mean, hey, with all those night shifts you pull, what are we looking at? Twenty-three hours of sleep a week maybe?"
She took her time crossing the counter, slow and deliberate, like she was savoring the sight of me squirming.
"Y-Yeah, I guess so."
"Three to five hours a night," she mused. "Keep that up, and they'll be scraping you off the pavement sooner or later."
Her voice oozed with the faux-concern that I knew too well. I rolled my eyes, already knowing exactly where this was headed.
"Right."
"It's a damn shame I don't pay you to sleep on the job, though." She leaned in, voice dropping to something almost sweet--daring me to say something.
"Twelve bucks an hour for a lazy ass who can't even make a decent macchiato? Hell of a bargain, ain't it?"
Just like that, her voice shifted--chipper to cold, teasing to a low, dangerous growl. She came to a stop beside me, her five-foot-eight frame looming overhead. Her scent then hit me next: booze and cigs, mixed with the sickly-sweet perfume that she always likes to wear.
"Maybe I should start docking your pay for every little fuck-up. Then, have you earn your salary back the
fun
way, if you catch my drift~ β‘"
"I'm... s-sorry," I whispered, my voice on the verge of breaking. "I haven't h-had a decent night's sleep... in a while."
Haruka's smile never wavered, but her eyes gleamed with something darker. "Mmmm, it's alright, sweetie, it's okay." she purred, her hand now softly combing my hair, the soft touch completely at odds with the harsh words that had just left her lips.
I stiffened at her touch, but she just smiled down at me, her voice now motherly and soothing.
Ah... not again.
"I just need you to stop being such a dullard of a cunt, you know?"
Keep it together, Molly. Just keep it together...
"Y-Yes, ma'am."
"That's a goooood girl~ I know you'll figure something out, you always do, don't you?" Her hands trailed up to my face this time, fingertips gliding over my skin in an almost playful manner. It was too personal, too intimate.
"Ooohh, I almost forgot," she purred. "Be a doll and take the night shift for tomorrow night, 'mkay?"
"W...What?"
Her smile never wavered, but I could feel her grip on my face tightening. Just enough to remind me exactly who was in control.
"See, your cocksucker of a coworker won't be coming back anytime soon. That leaves
you
in charge tomorrow night--until I can find a replacement."
"Why...? I-I mean, why isn't he coming back?" I asked, already dreading the answer.
"Why? Oh, I'll
tell
you why."
Her grip on my face stayed light--too light. Just enough to make me aware of her nails, pressing in like a threat waiting to be cashed in.
"He spends more time getting blitzed than he does making coffee. That's why."
A little tighter.
"I've caught that bastard stealing from my register. That's
why.
"
Sharper.
"He gets into scuffles whenever he's tweaking his head off on that Bolivian marching powder. That's
WHY.
"
Deeper.
Each 'why' hit like a slap. Louder, angrier, the pressure on my cheeks now starting to burn. Not that I had the luxury of pulling away.
"O-Oh."
"I don't like employing addicts in my establishment, as you can imagine. Fuckwads, every last one of them."
"Yeah, I-I can see that."
Her fingers gripped my face harder, enough to leave my lips puckered and my breath shallow. The way she held me felt suffocating, like an abusive mom who had just lost her marbles at her daughter.