EVE'S POV

My phone buzzed in my pocket, jolting me out of my thoughts. I pulled it out and saw a notification on my phone. It was a message from my bank. It reads a credit alert of one hundred bucks.

A credit alert for one hundred bucks? Who's that generous to give me that? I furrowed my brows trying to remember if there were any of my customers I charged that much.

"Who would have sent that much money to me?" I wondered aloud, scratching my head, "Or could it be for the printing services? It can't be. The files Claire sent to me are not that much."

I have never charged that much for a small service like printing. I was puzzled.

I was confused because I've never charged that much fee for any service but then I remembered. It hit me. Claire? Could she have been the one who charged that much?

She always knew how to negotiate a good deal for us.

I was assured. She was the one, surely. Claire always has a way of charging more than the normal, and that's the only way working has favored me. I love that girl so much.

A smile crept up to my face. I couldn't help but feel grateful to her. She was always looking out for me even when I didn't realize it.

I made my way toward my regular printing station, feeling a little lighter. Even when my whole day was going down, I felt good again for that money. The money would come in handy. I had a few bills to pay and maybe treated myself to a nice dinner.

As I finished the printing job, I glanced at my watch. It was almost six in the evening and I needed to resume early at work. I decided to head straight to the bar to meet Claire. I was excited to tell her about the unexpected windfall and maybe even celebrate a little. She has done wonders for me today alone.

As I walked into the bar, I was welcomed with the familiar scent of a mixture of different drinks. And as expected, I met Claire at the shop. She was always the early person to arrive at a place.

"Hey there," I waved at her with a hearty smile and walked towards her, "How's it going?" I said, giving her a warm hug.

She deserved that the best.

"Not bad," she replied, her hands busy arranging the wine stands, "How are you and your day?" She winked, a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Good, Claire. How much did you charge the customer for the printing service? I saw a hundred bucks and that's much for that small job."

Claire grinned.

"Well," She shrugged with a light chuckle, "It's not. You're just the one who doesn't know how to call a good price for customers." She continued, "I charged enough for the service he asked for, at least. You know I've got a knack for finding the perfect markup."

I rolled my eyes playfully, "You're lucky you're my best friend. I'd probably be charging him half as much."

"Don't be silly," Claire said, "You've got to know your worth. Besides, you need the money."

I couldn't agree less and nodded in agreement, "You're right. Thank you, anyway." I smiled, "I'll drop the papers off in your bag and I need to get changed to start tonight's work too." I said and walked away into the changing room to get changed into the uniform.

As I headed towards the changing room, I couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction. My little side hustle was beginning to pay off. And with Claire's help, I knew it was only going to get bigger and better.

…

The clock ticked relentlessly, each second feeling like an eternity. Finally, the bell rang, signaling the end of my shift. As I clocked out, I couldn't help but feel a wave of relief wash over me.

Another day survived.

I never signed up for a late-night shift as I was not ready to die yet at the hands of my wicket aunt.

The walk home was a blur. My feet ached, and my heart was racing with thoughts of Aunt Sarah and the endless lists of chores that awaited me.

When I finally arrived home, the house was eerily quiet. I tiptoed inside, expecting to find Aunt Sarah sprawled out on the couch, watching TV. But the house was empty. A strange sense of calm washed over me.

'Maybe she went to cause some trouble for me to settle later tonight again.' I sighed heavily with a light shrug. I wouldn't be surprised if anyone should come to this house tomorrow morning to fight my Aunt and make me pay some money.

Aunt Sarah was always fond of shopping from stores around on credits and putting my name there as the one to pay for whatever she got.

Nothing can ever surprise me like the time she borrowed money from a loan shark and used my name as a guarantor. It was almost a bloody one for me when I was being tracked around to pay whereas Aunt Sarah took the money and went for a vacation.

Reminiscing on all that, I just heaved out softly.

With a shrug, I decided not to worry about it. I was too exhausted to deal with whatever drama she had gotten herself, especially me, into.

I headed straight to the fridge and grabbed a cold bottle of water. As I drank, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. Aunt Sarah was always home by now, no matter what.

I made my way to my room as sleep was my only priority. I needed to rest and put today's stress to a pause. We will go again tomorrow. I changed into my pajamas and crawled into my bed.

And I have a lot to take care of. I needed to do a lot of job hunting as none of the companies I submitted my CV have ever gotten back to me.

I said a little prayer as I lay on my bed tiredly but just as I was about to drift off to sleep, my phone buzzed.

I groaned and rolled over, reaching for my phone, "No more messages, please," I grunted as I switched my phone to silent mode without even checking what the beep was about and tossed the phone onto the nightstand.

"I need to sleep," I murmured as I shut down in deep sleep.

As I closed my eyes, I couldn't think but think about the future. I needed to find a better job, one that would allow me to live independently and escape Aunt Sarah's clutches. I fell asleep, dreaming of a life free from worry and stress.