Second Time Around

Leaving Early

*Katrina POV*

Instead of my alarm waking me up, my phone ringer decided to do the honors. I had to work this morning, and couldn't miss any more shifts, or I would end up with no job at all.

I only had 2 weeks left, and I wanted to work as much as I possibly could. I answered my phone, and it was Amber at the other end.

"Amber? What time is it?" I asked. She apologized for calling so early, but there was an incident at her home last night. She explained how she had to do the switcheroo at the precinct, and said that when she got home two idiots tried to break into her house.

I felt horrible. This wouldn't have happened to her if she hadn't helped me. Same with Seth and Charlie. If they weren't tied to me, they would be fine. There was only one thing I could do, and that was to go ahead and leave for school.

I went and took a quick shower before work, and then I made Charlie and I some breakfast. I made his favorite because I wasn't sure if this would be the last meal we had together.

After he finished his bacon, toast and 4 over easy eggs, he asked for some cut-up fruit and yogurt. He was abnormally hungry today, and I was alright with it. His appetite was hit-and-miss, so when he was ready to eat, I wanted him to eat until he was full.

"Katrina, honey, what is on your mind?" he asked. I refused to lie to him, so I told him what Amber had said. "Charlie, I don't think I can stay in Pineville any longer. Too many people are going to get hurt if I do. Maybe if I leave for school now, things will stop going crazy," I explained.

I saw him get sad, and then he gave me advice that I didn't expect. "Katrina White, girl I have never seen you cower to anyone. I'm not afraid of these backwood inbred punks around here, and I know Amber and Seth aren't either. If you want to go, then go. However, if you aren't ready, then stay. If you leave now, who's to say they won't follow you, Kat? I understand how you are feeling, but running never solves anything," he said.

The truth was, I wasn't ready to go. I had things I needed to do before I left to ensure that Charlie was taken care of until I could get home to stock him up again.

I smiled at my elderly roommate and said, "Thanks Charlie. You're the best at cheering me up, did you know that?" He just laughed at me and told me that I was going to be late for work if I didn't get a move on. He was right, I had to be on the floor waiting tables in 20 minutes.

As I dressed, I thought about what Charlie said. Was I really running, or was I just trying to make things easier for those I cared for? I guess no matter which spin I tried to put on it, it was running, and I wasn't doing that. Not anymore.

I stopped in the living room before leaving, and let Charlie know that I had decided to stay. He just smiled and gave me that knowing nod he gives when he is proven right. "I'll be getting home later this evening. I'm going to go and see Seth," I informed him.

I told him I would bring dinner home, and not to worry about cooking. He asked for a supreme pizza from Gina's and I couldn't refuse him. He was getting two of his favorites for dinner. Supreme pizza from Gina's, and an ice-cold A&W rootbeer.

Walking into work had a weird vibe. Tony, the kitchen manager, called me into the kitchen, and said that Joey, the owner's son, wanted to speak to me. This couldn't be good, so I made my way to go see Joey.

"Hey Joe, Tony said you wanted to see me?" I asked. He called me in and said, "Yea, Kat. Sorry, I was going to come find you, but he beat me to it. I just wanted to see how you are doing with, you know, everything going on."

I had to decide if I should explain that things were still crazy, but I came to the conclusion that nothing good could come from telling him, especially since nothing had happened at the diner.

"I'm alright, Joe. Thanks for asking. I should probably get back to the floor to start my shift," I said. However, before I could leave, he said there was something else.

"Um, yea, about that. Kat, as badly as I don't want to do it, I'm going to have to let you go. My pop's worried about your situation and the fact it could bring trouble to the diner. Gail told him about her being related to your attacker, and well, she has been here significantly longer than you have. We have to choose her over you," he explained.

I was being fired. Fired for being attacked in the most brutal way by a relative of a coworker. I thought Gail and I were fine, but apparently she has it out for me too.

He handed me an envelope, and told me that it was my final paycheck with a few bonuses inside of it. A few bonuses? He apologized to me again, and I grabbed my bag and left.

I didn't look into the envelope until I got into the car, and it was just as he said. It was my final paycheck, but there were also 2 more checks dated within 2 weeks from the last. There was also almost $2500 in cash.

There was a note from Joe Sr. stating that he was really upset that he had to let me go. He didn't want to put me in a bind, so he gave me severance pay with the $2500 bonus. I started to sob.

I sat in my car and cried until I got angry. Once the anger hit, I started to curse the world. I was beyond angry. Angry that I was treated like nothing more than dirt on my mother's shoe, angry that everyone I loved was being tormented by idiots, and angry that the love of my life f****d his life, our life completely up.

I decided to go ahead and drive towards the prison. It was still early for visitation, but I figured I could nap while I waited.

I stopped at the gas station to get gas, a bag of beef jerky and a bottle of Coca-Cola. It wasn't the best lunch, but it just sounded good at the time.

An hour later, I pulled into the parking lot of the prison. I left the car running so that I could stay cool, and pulled out my phone to scroll through f*******:.

I didn't have many people as friends on my f*******: page, but the ones who I did have, kept me entertained. A girl from high school had sent me a message saying that she heard about what had happened to me, and if I ever needed an ear to listen. She told me that there were a lot of rumors circulating around, but she had done her best to dispel them.

I thanked her for the heads-up, and closed the app. Of course, there would be rumors. This is Pineville. If people aren't gossiping with you, they are gossiping about you. I have just decided to let people talk. I know the truth, and that's all that matters.

I looked at the clock and realized that visits started in 10 minutes. I needed to go ahead and get checked in before I wasn't able to get in with the first herd. They only allow so many in at a time, and I didn't want to have to wait for later groups.

Luckily, I made it in the first group, and as I sat at the table waiting for Seth, I heard two ladies at another table whispering about me. They were saying that I was the one who put "Earl's boy" back in the penitentiary.

I stood up to say something to them, and before I could say anything, I heard Seth call my name.

"Kat?" he said. Instantly, the two hateful women became a memory. At least for the time being. The love of my life was standing before me, and I nearly jumped into his arms.

"I missed you," I said as I wrapped my arms around him. He didn't say he missed me either, but instead he said, "Kat, you can't keep coming here. I need you to stop. Every time you come here, you are in danger. Then I get put in danger. I don't care about myself, but I can't live knowing that at any moment of you being here, someone could hurt you. So, I'm asking you nicely, stop coming here. If you can't do it for me, for you, or us for that matter, I'll remove you from my visitors list, so you can't come."

He was abandoning me too. Maybe leaving early doesn't sound too bad after all.