At Night by West Sam

Author:West, Sam
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-08-29T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIX

Two days after the disastrous night out, Freya was back at work. Usually, on a Monday, she worked with Lucy and Betty, but Lucy hadn’t turned up for work today. And now, standing with Jean on the shop-floor, she was getting it all, full chapter and verse.

“I got a phone call from Esther an hour ago, asking if I could come in today. It’s terribly short notice, but I couldn’t really say no. Are you all right, dear, you’ve gone a bit pale,” Jean said to her as they stood together by the entrance to the shop.

Freya regarded her work colleague, a bad feeling churning her guts.

Oh God, the letter, I didn’t do the task and something’s happened to Lucy…

“I’m fine,” she said, even managing a small smile for the old lady’s benefit.

“Are you sure? You look a bit peaky.”

At the time, Freya had been furious at Lucy, but now, she admitted to herself that maybe she had overreacted. They had both been drunk, it had probably meant nothing.

There was no denying that the sting of betrayal was still strong, but she was no longer so furious – so adamant that her trust had been broken, that everyone on the planet was out to fuck with her, in every single possible sense.

“I’m fine, really. Well, best get on with putting the new stock out, I suppose.”

“Yes, Esther has got me upstairs again, today. I suppose she only puts the pretty young things on display on the shop floor.”

“Oh, thank you, I can’t remember the last time anyone called me a pretty young thing,” Betty laughed from a few feet away.

Betty Green was the other older woman that worked here on a part-time basis, the final member of staff. She was busy up the top end of the shop, pricing up the last of the sale stock.

Jean laughed. “I wasn’t really talking about you, Betty dear.”

The other woman cackled, and came down the stairs to join them, quickly casting around to make sure that Esther was out of sight. Freya smile weakly and discreetly backed away from the two older women, who had now moved onto the subject of gardening.

They didn’t pay much attention to her slinking away, and she got back to what she was doing, which was pricing up the new stock of winter skirts at the front of the shop.

Freya was busy pricing up and hanging out the new stock when Jim’s van pulled up outside the shop. Her face flushed hot and her heart immediately started to hammer, partly because she had left his place in a such a ridiculous, vaguely humiliating drama, and partly because she just flat-out liked him.

With great difficulty, she attempted to ignore him as she priced up the new stock, the price-gun visibly trembling in her hand. The driver’s door of the van slammed shut and she kept her head down, pretending not to hear.

“Hello,” he said, coming straight up to her, not even bothering to empty the back of the van of any boxes.

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