(Natalie's POV)
I lay on the couch, staring at the ceiling, with a blanket draped over me as my eyes followed the water stains that resembled ghosts. I traced their shapes, hoping they would guide me in deciding what to do next. I remained there for hours, trying to figure out how to rebuild my life.
Suddenly, Lena's voice snapped me back to reality.
"Girl, you look like a corpse. I mean, come on. You've been lying there all day."
I rolled over on the couch, clutching the blanket tighter. "What else am I supposed to do? My life is literally in ashes."
"You're just being dramatic, Nat," she said, flipping onto the edge of the couch. Her perfume overwhelmed me before her weight did. "Your life isn't in ashes. It's just on fire… for now."
I frowned at her. "That's the same thing."
"No, babe. Ashes are the end, but fire can be put out—and you can start again."
I let out a sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a sob. "You sound like a fortune cookie."
"Better a fortune cookie with the rent paid and a roof over her head, unlike someone," she smirked.
"Seriously, Lena, you don't have to remind me. It's like you think I haven't been searching," I said, pulling the blanket over my head to cover my face and my shame.
"Searching where exactly?" she shot back. "Oh, I know. You've been Googling 'easy jobs for desperate people,' as if that's going to magically save you or something."
I sighed. "I applied to three cashier positions yesterday."
"Pfft. Cashier, what year do you think this is? The 80s?" she asked, pausing and then glancing at her multi-colored coloured perfectly manicured nails, then looked at me once more and continued.
"Babe, this is the CITY. Everyone and their aged parents want that." She paused, glancing back at her nails for emphasis, rubbing them with her thumb. "You need to be more... realistic."
"And by 'realistic' you mean?" I asked. I didn't know where she was taking this, but right now, I had no choice.
Her smirk was cunning. "The club. Bartending. Or maybe dancing if you're bold enough—"
I sprang up from the couch so quickly that the blanket slipped off and landed on the floor with a soft thud. "Lena, I'm not stripping for rent money."
"Relax, Nat. No one said you were stripping for money. Bartending's decent." She ended with a smirk.
I wanted to ask how sure she was about bartending being a 'decent job'. But she was right, I guess. She was a party panda; she knew all the clubs in the city, bouncers at her fingertips, and lots more I wasn't even aware of.
"Bartending, huh?" I asked, my voice shaking due to uncertainty.
"You bet, Nat. Picture this: Quick money, late hours, tips that could pay your rent in one night."
I rubbed my hands on my face, not knowing what else to do at that point. "It's just... I don't want to owe anyone anything. Not after..." I couldn't finish, she understood and didn't push.
Then silence hung in the room like morning dew on grass.
Then her phone rang. The sound that sliced through the silence at that moment. She took her phone casually and had a glance, then suddenly she froze.
"What?" I asked.
"It's my dad," she said, then swiped to answer. "Hey, Papa? …Yeah, I'm here. …Wait, what? Why the f*ck I'm I given two weeks? Why so soon?"
My stomach dropped as I watched her expression change from annoyed to somewhat pale.
"Papa, slow down. Auctioned? What do you mean auctioned?... But that's my damn apartment!... Ok, ok, old man, I'll book a flight."
She hung up and didn't look at me. She twisted her phone in her hands like she would break it.
"Lena..."
Her eyes finally looked up at me. She didn't know how to break the news to me. "My dad says I need to return to the States in 2 weeks. He already sold the place. The apartment's been...." she couldn't finish. I sensed the disappointment in her eyes and the sadness in her voice. "...auctioned off," she finally completed.
The words hit harder than a slap and cut me open deeper than a knife could. "So, you're leaving, Lena?" I asked, trying to hide my sorrow.
She nodded. She didn't even look up at me. "Yeah. I guess you'll have to figure things out fast. I'm really sorry. I didn't know this was going to happen this quickly," she asked, like she wasn't expecting a response.
I swallowed the lump in my throat. I sensed the sincerity in her voice. "It's fine, you don't need to apologize. You've done more for me than anyone ever has during this phase of my life, and you didn't even ask anything in return."
She smiled at least. "Two weeks is enough, I'll find a job, and an apartment, I promise, Lena," I assured her, so she wouldn't need to worry about me when she got to the States.
She arched a brow. "A job that pays enough for first month's rent in two weeks. That'll be like climbing Mount Everest barefoot."
She was right, there was no way I would find a job that would pay me a month's worth of salary in two weeks, but I had to reassure her anyway. "Then I'll walk barefoot, if that's what it takes," I smirked.
She paused, studying me for a long moment before shaking her head. She chuckled slightly. "That's the thing about you, Nat. You're as stubborn as hell while still broken."
And for the first time that day, I almost believed I'd survive.