The New Guy; My neighbour

Chapter 13 - Night out

Ashley was already tired, but she tried to keep her head up and concentrate on her work. She was concerned about how she would support Edmund financially while he was in the hospital until he was discharged. Even though their mother's insurance wasn't a platinum plan, they were lucky that Edmund was at least covered. The money she was saving for her surgery was going to have to be tampered with. They hadn't even spoken to their mother about Edmund's condition. Edmund's condition was not as critical as the others because he was one of the victims who suffered fewer injuries, the nurses had explained to them while trying to make them feel better. Indeed, in comparison to the injuries sustained by most victims, his condition was not too bad, Ashley thought.

Most of the victims suffered multiple fractures, and half of the bus passengers died. Ashley tried to stay awake and shake off the sleep by swivelling her head back and forth, but it was ineffective. Though she was nearly finished for the day, exhaustion was getting the better of her. Before continuing, she gently rested her head on the table to snooze. Her thoughts wandered to Trevor and how strongly she was beginning to feel for him. Ms Jane interrupted her as she was about to fall asleep.

"Hi, Ashley. Sleeping on duty? Are you all right?"

Ashley looked up sharply to see Miss Jane staring at her anxiously.

"Yes, Ma'am," Ashley replied unconvincingly.

Ms Jane drew nearer and studied her intently, noting her pale face and somewhat panda eyes.

"Ashley? There must be something bothering you. Even if it's not something you want to talk about, you can still take a day or two off from work to rest. You look so pale and tired," Miss Jane said with concern.

Ashley let out a soft sigh and began to cry. She broke down in uncontrollable tears. Ms Jane consolingly stroked her while placing her hand on her back.

"It's okay, Ashley. I haven't seen you like this since I started working here; you've always had an upbeat attitude. So, it's okay to break down sometimes because we are humans. Would you mind sharing your situation with me so that we can brainstorm? Perhaps I could offer you one or two suggestions that would be helpful and lessen your load." Ms Jane rocked her while handing her a tissue to wipe her tears.

"I'm truly sorry you are seeing me this way, ma'am. This is so unprofessional of me," Ashley apologized with tears in her eyes. "It has been incredibly draining to care for my brother after he was involved in an accident."

"Wait a sec. Did I hear you right, Ashley? Was he on the Octane bus?"

"Yes."

Miss Jane was an empath, and her friends always told her that it was a bad quality in a boss. She has been working hard to keep her emotions in check, but there are times when she simply cannot help herself. When Ashley responded, she reclined.

"Why haven't you written for some time off? This must be traumatizing but thank heavens he lives."

Ashley was happy her brother was still alive, but she also wondered why everything seemed to be working against her. The storm decided to arrive right when she believed she would be able to make wiser financial decisions.

"Ashley, write for the rest of the week off. This condition is bad for work. It's already affecting your productivity. So, you can just get some time off and come back stronger."

Ashley had never had a personal relationship with Miss Jane; it had always been a boss-employee relationship, so she had never seen the other side of her. She thanked Miss Jane profusely and began packing her belongings.

* * *
TREVOR'S HOME
Trevor lay restless on the bed, contemplating a way to extend his stay in Greensville. Venita continued to send him inconsequential messages. He noticed Venita was becoming obsessed with him, sending him unsolicited messages and pictures. He would read her messages and then disregard them. He had made it clear to her that they were just having fun, but it appeared that she required more than that. Trevor was currently more concerned with convincing the mayor to give him some time before returning to Boulevard. On the other hand, he was bothered that Ashley had not responded to his message inquiring about Edmund's well-being. He rolled from one side of the bed to the other. He reasoned that Ashley most likely wasn't experiencing the same emotions as him. What if she is already in love with someone else? What if she didn't find him attractive? He returned to Ashley's conversation and sent her another message asking if they could see a movie together. When he saw Ashley typing a response, he screamed.