16: On the shoulder

A week had elapsed since the orientation. Sophie had been more than acquainted with her duties and authority. She was doing well with the employees. She respected them and they respected her back. The workplace politics was also one of the major issues she was to understand. She was given a heads-up by Mr. Lawson on the matter. It was no secret that the staff that had been there for longer, had been eyeing her job for a while and she was placed there out of nowhere. They didn’t like her but she tried to earn their respect. There were a lot of bitter gossips floating around but she couldn’t find one bad remark about Mr. Lawson. Aaron had also mastered the skill. He kept to himself. He didn’t speak unless spoken to. Sophie had a file delivered to her table in the morning. It asked for the evaluation of all the new employees according to their training. She was to tell her superiors if any of them were unsuitable for the job and needed to be laid off. There were none. A few were a bit on the slower side but that could be managed. She filled in the report and took it with her to the office of Mr. Lawson. She went to the elevator but it was twenty stories away. She decided to take the stairs. The stairs were deserted as usual. Each flight of stairs had around thirty steps. She only needed to climb a couple of floors. She hadn’t talked to her father for a while now. She wondered how he would react if she told her how well she was doing. He would no doubt be proud. She snapped out of her thoughts when she missed a step and slipped. The marble platform of the stairs stared at her and eagerly awaited the impact of her chin. She decided to sacrifice her arms instead and put her elbow forward to shield the head and face. She clenched her eyes and awaited the pain. She was yanked by the back of her jacket, back to her feet. The sensation in her legs was gone. The papers from her file rained down on her. It took a few seconds for her to recollect herself. She tried to see who had saved her the pain. The man quickly dashed down the stairs. But even from the back, Aaron was unmistakable. She knew who to thank. The papers were recompiled again and the file was submitted at Mr. Lawson’s. She returned to her floor and looked her colleagues for Aaron but he was nowhere to be found.
“Where is Aaron?”, she asked one of his colleagues.
“He probably went out to smoke a fag”.
She waited for a while then returned to her workstation. Time flew and it was five o’clock already. She greeted everyone on her way out. She had planned to take the subway. She saw Aaron across the street. He saw her too and vanished. She wasn’t too dumb not to realize that he was hiding from her but she dismissed it thinking that he was a quiet guy who is probably escaping an awkward situation. She shrugged it off and decided to grab something to eat. The diner peeking from a block away looked like a good option.
She ordered a modest meal. A bunch of her new workmates were also there. Sophie dined alone. The loneliness had ceased to hurt. There had never been any girls’ night outs or high school parties. She had never been in a relationship. Only once, in high school, was a guy who dated her but she had found out that he was in it for her father’s money. There had never been a serious relationship or friendship in her life except for Chloe. She had grown to like being alone. It took less effort to keep herself content. Her order arrived and she ate in silence. By the time she was done, she realized that it was dark outside. Sophie checked the map and it told showed several ways to reach the subway station. The shortest one was through the streets. She chose to take it. She paid for the meal and took off.

The moment she stepped into the streets, she regretted her decision. The streets were deserted. None of the residents were outside and for good reason. The wannabe street gangs and vandals were having a ball. She paced through a block without attracting much attention but her luck had to run out sooner or later.
“Aye shawty!”, she heard a thug call out, followed by chuckles from the rest of the gang. She increased her speed. She could see them in the corner of her eye. A group of four with one of them holding a basketball. They started to follow her as she passed them.
“Go on! Go on! Shake some of that, baby!”, one of them catcalled. She was beginning to feel cold with fear. Sophie caught one of them try to flank her from the side. Her heart sank. She suddenly felt an arm around her waist. She gasped.
“I told you not to leave without me! I was looking all over for you”, the man said as he pushed her forward with him. Her confusion dissipated when she caught his face. It was Aaron. “I’m sorry”, he whispered. The gang regrouped back at their place to wait for the next victim. Sophie kept walking with her eyes on the ground. Aaron realized that she was trembling. He removed his arm from her waist.

“Subway?”, he asked.
“Yeah”, Sophie managed. She wanted him to accompany her all the way home and Aaron felt guilty for letting all this happen. He was thinking that she wouldn’t have suffered all that insult if he hadn’t hidden from her like a child. He heard a faint whimper and couldn’t help but check on her. She was weeping. The guilt hit like truck. He decided not to interfere and kept on walking. There was not one working street light on the way. Cars could be seen speeding across, a block away. He fought the urge to talk to her. He couldn’t. He feared that he would somehow make it worse. They reached the station. The look of sorrow stayed on Sophie’s face. Both of them were struggling to make up the parting words.
“How about we grab a coffee before we leave”, Aaron finally mustered up the courage. He was doing a fine job at pretending to be in control of his emotions. On one hand, she wanted to go home as soon as possible but on the other, she could use some time to stabilize herself. She was still shivering. Aaron seemed to radiate confidence and she decided to stay in his company for a while. He suggested the café at the spitting distance and the two entered without hesitation.
They ordered and sat there speechless. Sophie didn’t blame him for what happened but the guilt kept growing on him. The moment he composed the words to break the ice, the barista announced their names. He promptly sprang up to his feet and went to fetch the orders. He returned in an instant. Still no words were exchanged.
“So, where did you work before Bjorn?”, he managed. He instantly regretted it. It sounded like a job interview. He could have asked if she was single, or where she was from or talk about something even as cliché as the weather. But no! He had to make this awkward.
“Some small jobs in Kentucky. Nothing big enough to mention”, Sophie tore through the clouds of doubt in Aaron’s mind and took a sip, holding the cup with both her hands. It wasn’t as bad as he thought it was. Now he could steer it better.
“I could see that you’re not from around here,” he said. Sophie’s phone rang. It was a text from Chloe. He gave her the space. She flipped the phone face down and took another sip.
“So, Kentucky huh?”, he tried to resume the conversation.
“I lived with my parents”, she responded. Silence was dominant again. Aaron decided to make use of the coffee before it turned cold.
“What were you doing back there behind me?”, inquired Sophie. She stared straight into his eyes. He was shocked receive such a direct question.
“I know what rules those streets in the dark and I saw you enter”, Aaron responded just as straight as the question. “My bike was parked near the entrance of the street”, he added. She wanted to tell him that she didn’t need his saving but she knew that she did. He had saved her twice in one day yet she didn’t know anything about him. But then she realized how her business with a junior employee could damage her career that had just begun. She got a hold of herself.
“Best keep that to ourselves. Ok?”, she abruptly spoke and put down the cup. Their coffee was finished and so was their brief meetup. Aaron didn’t mind. He understood what she wanted. She found a group of people entering the subway station. She quickly gathered her stuff, hastily said her goodbyes to Aaron and joined the group.