114 — Payback time

Just as I said, I spent the day discreetly watching Laura.
In fact, she didn’t even go near the I.T. floor or meet any of their staff. Curiously, her mood was also great, as if a burden had been lifted from her shoulders... And indeed, it has.
I look at Tyler’s messages, the summary he sent me of what happened after I left the club with Julian... something I don’t regret, of course, but I wish I’d seen for myself.

**Tyler (Owner), Sunday 08:27 am:**
*After you left, we stayed for another hour at most.*
*Your friend Cathy stayed there, so I don’t think the girl suspected anything.*
*I didn’t see any sign of Laura. I don’t know if she was there, but I stuck to the plan.*
*I put the Grace girl in a cab, even though she asked if I couldn’t take her home.*
*I think I did something interesting because she asked for my number... I gave it to her in case we needed it in the future.*

**Me, Sunday 09:02 pm:**
*Are you sure it’s just in case we need it?*

**Tyler (Owner), Sunday 09:14 pm:**
*She’s not my type.*

**Me, Sunday 09:16 pm:**
*If you say so...*
*But the kiss seemed really convincing.*

**Tyler (Owner), Sunday 09:17 pm:**
*I wonder why.*

We didn’t talk much after that.
I was very brief in saying that I wouldn’t be stopping by his restaurant today because the plan didn’t work out exactly as we would have liked, and I spared the details. I can’t afford to take my eyes off Laura and miss something. She’s too sly, and I need to keep a look at her.
However, my stubborn eyes are stronger than I am, and I end up looking at the clock, counting the minutes until the workday is over. I can’t bear the thought of Laura getting away with everything she’s done; it makes me even more disgusted...
I glance at the clock once more.
One minute until my plan really begins, and anxiety is bubbling up inside me.
I’m so nervous that my leg is shaking, my heel hitting the floor in a frantic thud that earns me a few disapproving gazes, but I don’t care. I bite my thumbnail, looking at the big clock and its pointer, which is almost at the top...
Just a little longer...
*Just a little longer...*
And finally, it’s here, only to move forward again, completely oblivious to the chaos in my head, to how everyone cares so much about the turns it takes. Time is a curious thing, and I wonder if it really should matter as much as it does when it’s so slight and subjective.
But then the employees start to get up. Nobody wants to stay here a second longer, and neither do I... It’s time to act.
I don’t wait for Laura to get up. I hurry to turn off the computer and head for the elevator, which is already full. My heart is pounding in my throat as I wait for the metal doors to open. Breathing deeply, I try to calm down, noticing from the corner of my eye that Laura is also getting up; this causes me a certain amount of anxiety because standing too close will restrict my movements, but fortunately, the doors open, and I cut in, pushing further a few people to make sure I make it in time.
When Laura stops in front of the elevator, the doors are already closing.
Our gazes meet for a moment, but it’s only an instant, then it’s closing again and descending, allowing me to breathe, even though it’s at maximum capacity and so cramped.
I keep my eyes locked on the display, the numbers passing through the floor of the I.T., and it doesn’t stop... it keeps going down, down...
For a moment, I feel my vision blur and my head spin, but I breathe deeply, fanning myself with my hand.
When the doors open again on the first floor, people come out quickly, almost desperately; their steps are so long that they are soon on the other side, passing through the entrance door. I also get out, and the door closes again and rises while I watch as it stops on our floor again.
There’s no time to lose, so I pick up my pace, my heels clicking on the floor as I make my way to the exit. The breeze outside in the sky that is beginning to darken from the setting sun is a refreshing breath in my lungs. I take a few steps back, hiding behind the company sign and some bushes, waiting for Laura to go out with Jackson or someone else.
I’ve thought about it a lot... If she doesn’t hang out on the I.T. floor, how would she get to know him?
I thought of two hypotheses... The cafeteria or the elevators.
Every day, our paths are the same... the only difference is that Jackson stops a few floors down. It’s impossible that they haven’t crossed paths once.
A pleasant breeze shakes my hair. I look up and remember when I was sitting on this sidewalk with no prospects, afraid of the future and what would become of me. Years passed, and my life took a surprising turn. I met my father and was accepted by him; I’m working in the same company I thought was too far away... And I’m with the person I fell in love with at first sight.
*Could it be that everything was already written from the beginning?*
Suddenly, I hear a familiar laugh and a voice that makes my stomach twist more than any anxiety. My uneasy eyes fall on Laura, the redhead I used to love with all my heart, and now I can barely look at...
But she’s not with Jackson as I expected...
She’s with Deborah and Naomi.
I feel the air catch in my lungs as they say goodbye, and Laura doesn’t even look back. She doesn’t seem to be worried about anything or waiting for anyone... She just approaches the gutter and holds out her hand to get a cab.
I bite my lip, my heart beating hard against my chest.
*Calm down, Angelee... Things aren’t lost yet.*
A cab pulls up, and Laura gets in, quickly driving away. I hasten my pace desperately, almost tripping over my own feet as I approach the gutter and move my hand fast, begging the heavens for a cab to stop — but instead of the yellow car, a black sports oner answers my call.
The window starts to lower slowly, and I don’t wait for it to fall completely; I just circle the car and open the door quickly, stepping inside and pointing at the cab that has fortunately stopped at the red light... “That’s that cab over there!”
But the car doesn’t start moving.
I turn sharply towards him, frowning, “Follow that cab! I can’t let her get away today!”
“Not even a kiss first?” Julian feigns offense, and I roll my eyes.
“If you follow this cab now, I’ll give you as many kisses as you want. I’ll do whatever you want tonight!” I say quickly, with a certain desperation, alternating my anxious eyes to the cab and to Julian, who smiles mischievously.
“All right.” He moistens his lips, still smiling, and grips the steering wheel tightly. “Keeping your word is important, little girl, don’t regret it later.”
Oh, no, I feel like I’ll definitely regret it later, but urgent matters call for desperate measures... And luckily, Julian starts the car and stops at a red light behind some other vehicles. I’m so anxious that I keep nibbling on my thumbnail, my eyes fixed ahead.
“What will you do if this doesn’t work out?” Julian asks, still with his eyes fixed on traffic, and his question has the force of a punch to my stomach because, honestly, I don’t know...
If I’m wrong, if everything we’ve lived through has been worthless, and even the habits I thought Laura had were actually an illusion, a lie... Maybe I’m not ready for something like this. Because all this has to be for something... everything I’ve been through, all this time... it can’t be totally in vain.
“I’m not wrong,” I say, even without conviction yet, but with the hope that my words will come true. I need something — I’ve been standing still for too long, accepting too much, *closing my eyes too hard.* I blinded myself for fear of being alone... fearing losing something that, now I see, never belonged to me.
I used to think that everything I have, I earned through my father... And that my only treasures were the people around me, whom I met and nurtured on my own.
But now... I know it’s okay... it’s okay to depend on people and feel guilty about it.
I don’t need to play strong anymore.
I don’t need to mask my feelings, my desires... to annul myself out anymore.
And this commitment of mine is not for the Angelee I am today, but for the girl Laura deceived and betrayed for seven years, for the people she used, discarded, and played with.
It’s payback time, Laura... And I won’t give up on bringing justice for all of us.
The light comes on, and the green mesmerizes me. The cars start to move, some going straight ahead, others changing course, taking turns... But the cab keeps going with Julian on its tail.
My heart simply races, with a new wave of adrenaline coursing through my body, making me clench my fists tightly, a joy infecting my chest... Because the cab hasn’t made the turn it was supposed to, it keeps onwards through the hectic streets of New York, giving me the certainty that wherever Laura is going, it’s not her home.