Chapter 3: Jealousy
I finally get home at around 3 a.m. and I am completely exhausted, I decide to change into an old, oversized t-shirt and go directly to sleep but then I remember the new assignment along with the other projects I still have going, and I cannot help but curse my studies.
I make myself a cup of tea to help me relax and then settle down on my desk and open my laptop, I usually study sitting on the bed but when I am barely awake, it is best if I sit on a proper chair to help me focus.
I will just start doing a little bit of research, not much, just something to get me started on the topic and I will probably just save a few websites to check for later.
After a few minutes, my phone starts ringing and my mom's picture pops on the screen, I panic thinking of all kinds of bad things that might have happened.
"Mom?" my voice was hesitant, debating the possibility of someone else's voice coming up and delivering some bad news.
"Hey.." her voice seemed exhausted, and my heart sank.
"Is everything ok?" I would not stand bad news not now; I am still barely coping with my father's loss, and I know that she has not been doing well lately.
"Yes, I just wanted to check on you. I know your shift ends around this time, so I wanted to call you."
I let out a breath I was not aware I was holding, and my muscles relax.
"You shouldn't stay up this late, I would've called you tomorrow morning."
"It's fine, I have a night shift anyway."
My mom is a nurse, has been for over thirty years but since my father's accident she became fully invested and she started getting over-attached to patients and their cases that it is starting to affect her badly and she is constantly stressed.
"How is it?" I ask trying to figure out if there was actually some case that pushed her to talk to me. For a period of time, she would call each time there was a little girl hurt or worse even, dead, she would be crying, and I would not know how to comfort her since I am miles away and words are not enough to assure her that I am safe.
"It's been quiet, we hadn't had anything serious all night and it gave us the time to relax. What about you, how was your day?"
We talk really often, almost every day, we share little conversations asking about the other person, her day, and little things like eating properly since we are both usually busy and tend to ignore meals.
We talk for about ten minutes until she tells me that she has to go check up on a patient and promises to call me tomorrow.
After hanging up, I turn off my laptop deciding that it is time to go to bed. I lay there for a couple of minutes debating whether I should check out Clinton's new girlfriend or not.
Finally, I take my phone and search for his Instagram account, I have not checked any of his social media since we broke up. I have to admit that I stopped loving him weeks before our breakup but at that time I thought that it was normal, we were just too busy and we barely saw each other but I was sure that if we spent some time together, like a cozy night or a nice date, it would feel alright, great even like nothing is wrong with us. I thought it was just a phase that all couples went through it but then came the news of him cheating on me and everything shattered. I think he felt sorry for me, he did not want to break up with me because I was still extremely affected by my father's death. I wish he did though, him breaking up with me would have been easier than knowing that he would be with another girl than come kiss and comfort me.
I wonder if she is the one he was cheating on me with. I never saw her, one of our friends sent Maddie a picture of him with another girl kissing and when I confronted him he did not even try to deny it. I think he was even glad that I finally found out and was the one who decided to end it.
I scroll through his Instagram account until I find a picture of them together.
"Amore mio" the caption said with a little pink heart.
He is half Italian, and he would always talk to me in Italian, one of the sexiest languages and accents I have heard in my life. I cannot help the bitterness I feel knowing that he is now telling her all the things I used to adore.
Thankfully, or maybe not, he tagged her on the picture, making my stalking mission easier.
Her profile is public, and she has over 5 thousand followers. Her pictures are gorgeous, it feels like going through aesthetic pictures on Pinterest. This does not help me relax at all and I soon regret going through their accounts.
The next morning, I wake up at around 9 a.m. still exhausted but thankful that my classes today only start at 10 and that I do not have any shifts later which will allow me to focus on my piling projects.
I take a quick shower and brew myself some coffee before packing my bag and heading to uni.
I find Ashley just outside the marketing bloc, she hands me her notes from yesterday's classes, and I thank her with a quick hug.
My job is not the most suitable for a student, it starts at a time when classes are still going and ends super late which practically leaves me no time to study just like yesterday. Ashley helps me though; she gives me her notes from the classes I miss and even studies with me on my free weekends so that I can catch up with anything I am missing. Our group is the most helpful and they all have been super supportive.
I'm currently looking for another job, even though I enjoy Evan and Tony's company and it's actually fun at times, but I should find another one more suitable for my situation.
We hang on a bench outside, absorbing the sun and waiting for the time our classes start. It is getting warmer by the day, and I love it. I have never been a fan of winter; I have always thought that its grey sky is depressing and its stormy days angry. But summer is on another level, the sun, the beach, and vacation, it helps that Gold Coast is near the ocean and we usually skip our classes just to go to the beach and have a picnic. I cannot wait for the weather to get warmer so that we can have those get-togethers.
Maddie joins us a few minutes later and she asks me right away if I found a solution for my weekend shift.
"Not yet actually, I was going to ask Cindy, but I don't think she'll accept." I shrug dreading the moment of contacting her. I have her number, but I have never called or texted her and I do not think she will be thrilled to hear from me not virtually nor in real life.
"What are you waiting for? You should call her and don't be this pessimistic!"
"First of all, I won't call!" The idea in itself horrifies me, she is scary, at least to me "and she might still be asleep or something."
"Just send her a text then and she'll respond when she can."
"Fine." I sigh, Maddie could be really pushy sometimes and she does not leave you alone unless she gets what she wants.
I take my phone out and send a simple "morning" text.
A few seconds later, I receive a notification that makes me jump, that was fast.
"Hey" that is good, not rude just a normal response.
I debate whether I should start a small conversation or just get to the point and then I remember how she gets irritated each time someone keeps turning around the bush, so I decide to ask her directly.
"I was wondering if you can take over my shift this weekend?" I take a deep breath after sending the text, different responses running around in my head none of them is positive.
"Okay" four simple letters and I almost pinch myself to make sure that I am not dreaming. I thought it will take a bit of pleading and promises to take over four of her upcoming shifts at least but she accepted without any of that.
I send her a "Thank you" with a little heart that I decide to delete at last.
"She accepted!" I turn to them excited to have a weekend off.
Maddie leaps from her seat squealing "This will be fun; we'll have lots of fun!"
I cannot wait for this weekend either, carnivals are fun and diverse, we can spend all day there and not get bored at all.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone