Chapter 4

Annalise got home tired. She searched the wall for the switch and was glad when a bright light illuminated the living room. She didn't waste time falling onto the sofa. "What a day," she said to herself. She threw her bag to one side of the sofa. It landed on the floor instead. She kicked off her shoes and couldn't be happier to feel the soft rug under her feet. Removing her jacket was a hassle at first but she was finally able to pry the garment off her body.

"My head," she groaned. It was a miracle that she was able to walk back home without stumbling or running into a car. Just when it felt like she could relax a little bit, her phone began to ring. "For real? A girl can't even get some time to herself anymore?"

Grumbling, she reached her hand to the floor to get the bag. The phone would have broken in her hands given the force she took it with. "It had better not be that witch," she said with a hiss. Seeing the caller ID calmed her down.

"Annie," Nelly called once she picked up.

"Nelly. How are you?" Annalise asked her best friend. "It's been a while."

"No, Annie. The question is how are you? I heard what happened at your workplace today," Nelly said. She sounded worried.

Annalise sighed. "Well, I guess there's nothing I can do about it now. I'll have to be an assistant for a while," she replied.

"Are you okay? How do you feel?"

"I don't know how I feel about this anymore. For now, I'm just tired," Annalise replied truthfully.

"Is there any food at home? Or is it that you just can't stand?" Nelly asked her.

"I'm not sure if I have anything cooked here. Lord knows if I even have anything uncooked," she replied. "I'm just not sure."

"Alright. I'm on my way to your house right now. Get ready to open the door for me," Nelly said.

Annalise could hear the sound of cars honking. "Wait, are you on the road?" she asked her friend.

"Of course I am. I left the house about ten minutes ago," Nelly answered.

Anna groaned. "You didn't have to do that. What am I saying? You don't have to do this! Nelly, I'm fine and that's all there is to it."

"Yeah, right. We both know that you're a big baby. Plus I know that breaking up with Dalton is taking a bigger toll on you than being fired from your job is," Nelly said.

"Okay? And even if it is, how does it warrant you leaving your house this time of the night?" Annalise queried. "Did you even look at the time? It's very late."

"It's not late. This isn't even 10 pm yet. Just shut up and get ready to open the door for me when I get there," Nelly said and hung up the phone.

The number of times she had heard that statement "shut up" in one day was enough to make her go mad.

Seconds after the call with Nelly, the real pain set in. The weight of the day was now resting on her shoulders. "I'm now an assistant," she said to herself. "Not just any assistant, a personal assistant. How is this even possible?"

A tear fell down her cheek when she remembered how Dalton dumped her that morning. Normally, she shouldn't have been affected since they had only dated for about five months. Maybe it was the fact that she had already grown to like him or was it because she was dumped when she needed him the most? She couldn't tell which was making her cry but she cried nonetheless.

"Six months of work, just gone like that," she whispered as she laid on her back, reminiscing the events of the past few months. She heard the doorbell ring but ignored it. Whoever it was would leave soon enough. But the doorbell continued ringing, then her phone rang.

"What the fuck?!"

The caller ID showed Nelly. She groaned when she remembered her best friend was indeed supposed to be there. She sluggishly got up from the couch to open the door. The journey from the couch to the door was painfully slow. What pained her the most was the time spent at the door.

Nelly looked her up and down without coming in. "Were you going to answer? Be truthful," she said.

"Are you coming in or not?" Annalise asked with a tired tone.

"Answer me."

"Well, I'm sorry but I forgot you were coming," Anna replied.

Nelly facepalmed. "It hasn't even been up to ten minutes since I got off the phone with you. How could you have forgotten so soon?"

"Well, I said I'm sorry. Can you let it go already?" Annalise snapped. "And don't forget that I should have slammed the door in your face a long time ago if we were in Nigeria. Why are you making me keep this door open for so long? Mosquitoes are real."

Nelly stepped in and Annalise closed the door behind her. Before Anna could say another word, her friend engulfed her in a tight hug. "Shh. Come on, baby. Everything will be fine, alright."

For the first time since that horrible day started, Annalise broke into full-on tears. "After everything. I know how hard I worked because I knew my boss is a difficult woman. I made sure everything was in order and I even helped the company grow."

"Shush sweetie. I understand. I know how much you did for Uncle Fluffy. They just don't know how to appreciate you," Nelly said while she rubbed Anna's back.

"Because of one mistake that I could have rectified in a day, I was relieved of my job. Why, Nelly? Why?"

"I don't know but God knows best."

"And just when I thought things were crumbling, Dalton made everything worse," Anna stuttered.

"Forget that asshole," Nelly said to her. Nelly led her to her room.