Chapter 1 #4
I grabbed the tag, unsure of how much it cost. The three digits before the decimal made my head spin. I inhaled deeply as I stared at myself in the mirror. There was no way I was shelling out one hundred and ten dollars for the pants and one hundred dollars for the top.
I shook my head at the idea as I began peeling the outfit from my frame.
I opened my purse and shoved the rest of the garments I’d been collecting to the side in search of the buzzer remover Saga had snagged from her retail job.
I clipped the first buzzer with ease. It was the one on the shirt that gave me trouble.
“Ugh,” I murmured, growing frustrated with the device after only a few seconds of failure.
“Ma’am, is everything alright? Are the pieces fitting you well?”
Fuck.
The older woman who was riding my coattail offered her assistance for the fourth time.
“I can get more sizes if you need me to.”
“Everything is fine, thank you.”
“Oh good. Is there anything you’d like me to take out of your way?”
“No thanks!” I yelled through the dressing room.
“I’ll be here if you need me.
There.
The buzzer popped. However, it was much louder than I intended. My heart sank at the realization that the clerk hadn’t exited the dressing room. Her heels halted on the tiled floor. I squeezed my eyes together. The skin of my face pinched in the center.
“Shit!” Saga called out. “I’ve broken this damn hanger.”
Relief washed over me. My girl was a fitting room away, but was still on point.
“Is everything okay?” The employee asked again.
“I’m fine,” I assured her.
“Well, not you. It seems as if another customer is in distress.”
“Hopefully you don’t charge for broken hangers,” Saga chuckled. “I stepped on one while putting my clothes back on.”
“Oh no. It’s fine. As long as you’re okay, we can manage a broken hanger.”
“I’m alright.”
Saga and I had rode together, but we never came inside of a store together. Neither did we exit together. Not when we didn’t plan on paying for the things we emerged with.
The money that Zeek had unknowingly provided was down to eleven thousand dollars. I need every red cent to fund my future. Buying clothes and shoes simply wasn’t part of my budget, but building my wardrobe was detrimental.
“Okay. I’ll be out front if you need anything.”
“Alright. Thanks.”
Her footsteps disappeared, leaving Saga and I alone again.
“Bitch you good? You about to get us fucked off!”
“I did not expect it to be so damn loud. Are you finished?”
“Yes. I’m good to go. I can’t fit another piece of fabric in my bag.”
“Me either. I’m maxed out. It’s time to go home. I’m about ready to take a nap so we can run last night back!”
“A time was had, honey,” Saga chuckled.
“I’ll meet you outside at the car.”
“Alright. See you in a few minutes.”
Saga was the first to emerge from the dressing room. I stuffed the buzzer remover and my newest pieces into the bag along with the rest of the garments I’d confiscated. With the remaining clothes stuffed in my hands, I exited the dressing room. To my dismay, I wasn’t alone anymore.
“Do you not want those?” The store clerk asked, hands folded in front of her with a phony smile on her round ass face.
“I don’t,” I responded.
“Did they not work out for you?”
“Just– Uh– Not really flattering on my frame. You know?”
“Oh girl, I completely understand. Here–I can take those for you.”
My palms grew sweaty as I handed over the six pieces. I’d gone in with eight, but was hoping she didn’t notice or that I was out of the front door before she did.
I didn’t waste time chatting or making small talk. My feet began moving as I rushed through the store in pursuit of my whip. With any luck, Saga would have it started and ready to pull off the lot.
I burst through the doors, grateful the alarm didn’t sound. However, thick fingers around my arm halted me in my tracks. Forcefully, I pulled away while stepping back to see who had their dick beaters on me.
“Get your sweaty nubs off my freshly tanned skin,” I fussed.
Self-tanning wasn’t cheap. Neither was it an easy process. However, it was a part of my summer beauty routine that I hardly skipped. As a fair-skinned mixed breed, not even the sun provided enough melanin for my skin.
According to my mother, my father could’ve been one of four clients she saw all in the same day. All of a different race. All paying her forty dollars for her service. All swapping body fluids with other men they didn’t know as they entered my mother’s strung out body without protection.
“Ma’am, I’m going to need to take a look in your bag,” a uniformed officer demanded.
I peered toward the parking lot where Saga waited in the driver seat.
Making a run for it would only put us both in jeopardy and possibly make things much worse than they were.
The last thing I wanted to do was drag Saga into my shit.
If she had to spend even a day away from Julian, I wouldn’t forgive myself.
But, neither would I forgive myself for submitting to the request of the law. A fat, funky law to make matters worse. Without a doubt, I could outrun him. I put my theory to the test and took off in the opposite direction, purse clutched under my arm.