章 4: Lily (4)

After she was done eating, she went to the sink, and cleaned her dish, then went to her room and took her backpack and her phone, then without saying anything to her father, she left the apartment.

When she closed the door behind her, she felt like she could breathe again 'That was more stifling than usual, I have a feeling that he wanted something, but it doesn't matter there's only ten days left before I'm out, finally.'

She thought to herself, "Wait what time is it?" not expecting an answer, she looked, at her phone, she had been holding, and saw it was 5:30 am, which is enough time for her to get to work a little earlier than usual.

She switched off her phone, and just threw it inside the backpack like trash which judging by its age, it might as well be, she zipped her pack, and strapped it on her right shoulder, then started walking away from her apartment room.

===

It took her a 20 minute walk to reach the pink café, coffee shop that had it's own charm, it's pink theme made it hard for anyone to look away. Since Lily had gotten here ten minutes earlier.

She thought it was in her best interest to just relax before having to deal with all those annoying people, both her colleagues and the customers, while she looked at the outside theme of this god awful coffee shop, but she did admire the boldness of it.

With the facade that boasts a beautiful blend of pastel shades, with a whimsical sign adorned in shimmering rose gold lettering that reads "Pink Café - Where Every Cup Blushes Pink."

She moved to the side as a patron was passing by, and looked at the large hanging flower baskets overflowing with pink blooms adorn the exterior, enhancing the enchanting atmosphere.

A charming outdoor seating area for patrons, furnished with quaint pink bistro tables and chairs, each embellished with luxury floral cushions and draped with soft, blush-colored canopies providing shade and a touch of intimacy.

She sighed at the peaceful atmosphere, then proceeded to go inside not bothering to look at more of the 'charm' of the pink café, despite having more to look at, and 'admire' things like the windows, framed by a delicate pink lace curtains, allowing glimpses of the inviting interior.

But it was time for work. When she opened the entranced door, a bell rang, and she was hit with the aroma of freshly ground coffee beans mingles with the sweet scent of pastries and flowers. Lily being used to the smell walked forward passing the pink tables that had menus.

The menus were elegantly written on rose-colored chalkboards, offering an array of pink-themed beverages like the "Strawberry Dream Latte," "Rose Petal Infusion," and "Pink Peppermint Mocha," each served in delicate pastel-hued cups and mugs.

Lily hated the environments cozy ambiance, that enveloped her the moment she always steps inside the café, and all the pink that's in her field of vision everywhere she looks. Like the walls adorned with soft pastel pink tiger paintings, and the ceiling that is draped with cascading pink fabric, creating an ethereal feel.

The armchairs, the plush sofas, and the quaint wooden tables, nothing was spared, and as ridiculous as it is, the shop seemed to seamlessly blend well with the pink themed, becoming not that overbearing, not by much at the very least.

Since the pink café is a local coffee shop, and not very big, it has a limited number of staff that are around 7 staff members in total, including the owner, so from 6am to 1pm there only works three hired staff members.

After the Lily's shift, there will be change in staff members that will work from 1pm to 8pm until closing time. Only the owner works both shift without complaint, and only rests on the weekend and let's her daughter stand in for her.

Reaching the counter where her colleagues were there, and dressed up just like how she was except when it came to clothes worn waist down. They simply ignored Lily, and the only one who came to her was the owner.

Some jazz music played softly in the background, and it should have been inducing Lily with an inviting atmosphere, instead made her tense up. Dealing with the kind yet pitiable look the owner always gives her made her uncomfortable.

"Hey Lily how are you" there it was the pity that she tried so hard to hide. The the owner is a middle aged woman who was still in her prime from her increased lifespan thanks to the rank of her ability, but the fact that, she showed signs of wrinkles means it wasn't that high, probably E rank or probably FF rank.

"I'm fine" she said while giving the owner a curt nod for some respect, and passed her, eyes downcast, and she began working without uttering a word to no-one who wasn't a customer until her shift ended, and she left with only a single nod to the owner and she went home.

===

It was 1:33pm, and Lily finally reached her apartment. She unlocked the door which was only ever locked when her father was a little sober otherwise, it would remain unlocked and sometimes even wide open for thieves to take away, as much as they could, which wasn't much.

She took her backpack, and threw it to the side, then her apron, and went straight for the bathroom to pee, but while passing her father's room, she felt the need to check if what she hid was still there 'Nah I will just check it later.' she thought, then went inside the bathroom.

===

It was 7:30pm, she had cleaned the whole apartment, excluding her fathers since he doesn't her touching anything, after she was finished cleaning, she cooked something for herself, she wasn't really good at cooking so the food tasted shitty, but that was the price she had to pay.

Lily had been leisurely seating nicely on the couch, after eating, and was just staring at the ceiling doing nothing, when she heard her father walk in completely drunk like usual, but this time something was different, and Lily didn't like the thought of that

She understand what was wrong, until her eyes saw what he was holding, a very expensive whiskey. Lily knew it was expensive because of the brand, and because her father used to buy this kind of alcohol before they went bankrupt.

Her father drank away all their money through, drinking, gambling, and the whores, he used to satiate himself completely forgetting about Lily and in the process losing himself.

Lily's heart threatened to stop, as it wasn't possible for him to afford such a drink, and since her father already owes many people money there is no way anyone would lend him, it didn't make sense unless..

Lily got off the couch and was running towards her father's room, but before she could get inside as the door was already open, she was stopped in her tracks by an invisible force, she could barely move a muscle, only breathe.

She heard her father close the door, then his footsteps were like hammer beating down her chest as he was walking towards her. He passed her, and went to his room.

Lily still in his field of view, as he outstretched his hand and the mattress began to float, and underneath the mattress of his bed were a pile of money, wrapped together in a rubber band.

Lily's heart skipped two beats, and tears started flowing down her cheeks, and suddenly the invisible force was no longer holding her in place, and with no support she fell to her knees with a hard thud, it was very painful but Lily could barely feel it.

Everything in the background began to fade away, her father's approaching steps she could no longer hear, she could see her father's lips move, but the only thing she could hear was buzzing noise.

Her tears hit the floor, flowing out endless, her mind shutting down and she felt like the world was spinning and she was slowly losing herself without thought she said in a quiet tone.

"How does this keep happening to me? Wha-"

A resounding "Thwack" sound, silenced anything else she was about to say. It was a painful slap that made her return to reality in suspended disbelief, and anger fueled by years of submissiveness took over and without thinking she said..

"You fucking bastard, who the fuck do you think you are, to take my fucking money to further enable your alcohol addiction" before she could stop herself.

She tightly shut her eyes after saying that, much to her regret for the pain it will cost, while shutting her eyes the pain she expected didn't come, she opened her eyes, and found her father blankly staring at her in disbelief

She ignored that look, and took the chance to run to the entrance door, and this time there wasn't any invisible force stopping her, so without looking back, she opened the door... And she was gone.