章節 26: Tough Love
Work sucked.
Despite Rylee's efforts to take it easy, her boss had other plans. It seemed while she was injured the burden of coverage fell on the shift lead, and that woman was NOT happy. Instead of putting Rylee on register where movement would be minimized, she threw Rylee on the line. It became one long shift of running fries, slinging patties, and trying not to get splattered by hot grease.
The action was vengeful, honestly. Rylee hadn't asked for the time off, it was ordered. Yet she was treated like some type of punk high schooler that just tried to flake out of work. Why had she fought for this job anyway? By the end of the day, she seriously considered being done with it.
When Rylee got home at night, her side was torturing her with pain. She limped to the bathroom, scrubbed in the shower, then followed it by filling a hot bath.
As she eased into the tub, tears sprung in her eyes. Rylee had the paperwork from the hospital, she should have stood up for herself. It was dumb to suffer in silence. She shouldn't be a silent martyr for a burger place.
It didn't matter now. All she needed was some bath salts, and sleep. She was determined to fight through this.
"Hey Ry, you home?" Tara's voice echoed through the house. Bandit looked up from his spot on the bath mat and barked in response. When the knock came on the door Rylee rolled onto her good side and leaned against the edge of the tub. Her back was exposed but everything else was covered this way. "How was work?"
Tara entered, looking as tired as Rylee felt. "It was a fiasco. Credit card system crashed, customers were pissed off. Heaven forbid some little old lady can't purchase her yarn. Man they can be mean! And it was impossible to explain things to them! Every time I would say the card system was down, this one lady would just keep insisting 'but my card is in the machine'! I hate technology sometimes!"
Rylee chucked, "I feel your pain. I did not miss the drama while I was off."
Tara sighed and leaned against the sink. She pushed hair from her eyes and paused, a change coming over her. She gave Rylee's face a stern look. "Why do I have the feeling I need to scold you?"
Like a guilty child Rylee swiped the curtain shut, and Tara dived forward. Bandit barked, bouncing around her legs. "Go away! Tara! I'm not wearing clothes!"
"Rylee, I will pull the curtain down! Don't use nudity as an excuse! What did you do?"
Bark bark bark! Bandit joined in.
By the time they stopped fighting, a significant amount of water splashed from the tub. The curtain got pulled down, and both girls got hit on the head with metal grommets. Despite her efforts, Rylee couldn't escape Tara's maternal instincts. It didn't help that trying to hide only made her side hurt worse.
"What the hell have you been doing today?" Tara snarled. She had Rylee pinned against the side of the tub, shower curtain draped across her. Frankly, it was a rather humiliating position. Rylee knew the red wound was visible, and the bath had done little to ease the swelling.
"Owe, you're making it worse," she whimpered. Tara let go, grabbing a towel and shoving it at her.
"Get out and put on a shirt then." Rylee felt the anger burning in her roommates expression. Tara pulled the bathroom door shut, but it was clearly not the end of things.
Gingerly, Rylee drained the tub and wiggled free of the curtains. She put on her shirt and underwear, flinching as the material touched her side. There were little drops of blood on her thigh, pushing past what had been healing skin. Rylee cursed, praying she wouldn't have to get it restitched. She couldn't bare more hospital trips.
Tara barged back in carrying the first aid kit. Her eyes flashed with frustration. "You were supposed to take it easy. Why are you bleeding?"
"Work was busy," Rylee grunted, taking the kit and digging through it for butterfly closures.
"You said they would have you on the register. Just standing shouldn't have done that," Tara wasn't going to let up. Her name badge was crooked, her pink hair disheveled.
Rylee wanted to feel guilty, but her cheeks were red with frustration too. "They put me somewhere else. I need this job, it wasn't worth the fight."
"Rylee! This isn't just a little cut, if you reopen it what do you think will happen? Are you letting someone bully you?"
Rylee lifted her chin and pushed out of the bathroom, "The only one bullying me is you."
It would have made a better statement if she wasn't limping...
Reaching her room, Rylee carefully sat on her bed. The bruises on her leg had faded, but the muscles hurt worse than ever. She knew Tara was right, after so many days off her feet it was stupid to overdo it. Tomorrow she had to face more of the insanity. The idea almost brought tears to her eyes.
"I won't let you go tomorrow. I'll get Zane and Evan on my side. Don't test me!"
Rylee sighed. Of course, Tara had followed her...
"You're freaking out over nothing! I've seen you roll out of bed with the worst hangover in history and still do you job. You know we can't get further behind on things."
"The management company knows, they saw photos of the accident. You can be late on a bill for once. I'm trying to get you to take this seriously. Do you want long term tissue damage?"
"No..."
"Then why won't you listen!"
It would have been a draw, but Tara came prepared. She held up her cell phone, finger on Zane's number.
"Don't get them involved!" The pled escapes before Rylee could stop it.
"You know how guilty he felt. He will be crushed if he knows you're hurting this bad, Ry. If your job is seriously going against doctors orders, you need to do something. You can't just be quiet and tough through things all the time. It's okay to speak out."
Rylee bit her tongue. This type of tough love made her love and hate having a roommate. Her emotions were stirred having people around who cared about her. It was somewhere between frustration and appreciation, especially at times like this. She wanted to be protected, and she wanted to be independent; there was no easy balance between the two.
"Get some sleep, we will talk more tomorrow. If things get worse, tell me. Or tell one of the guys. As long as you let someone help."
Reluctantly, Rylee nodded. Tara seemed to accept that answer for now. She left the room, and Rylee curled against her pillow, only stopping when she realized Bandit had curled his wet body across it, damp tail thumping by her face.
Yes, today sucked.
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