Agony Read Free Page B

him, she decided to tell him that I was a virgin?!
    Me: I wasn’t going to sleep with him you know!
    Addie: It’s not that Neve. I just feel bad about you working in Pornlandia and I thought he could help you get out of there.
    Me: I’m a big girl, Adesynne Lee. I can take care of myself. You don’t need to tell everyone that I’m still a virgin. It doesn’t make me any less human or more fragile than the next person.
    She didn’t respond. I decided to turn my phone off, because even if she did, nothing she said was going to make me any less angry at her right now. I sat up and reached across the table for the quilt I slept with. I pulled it up over my head and shut out the world for the rest of the night.
    Not that the night cares what a virgin does anyway.

Three
    I woke up the next morning to the sound of the radio on in the kitchen. I yawned and sat up. I wasn’t sure why it was on but I was going to shut it off so I could go back to sleep. I finally had a day off and I planned on sleeping all day.
    I stopped short when I saw Arsen sitting in the kitchen with a bowl of cereal, flipping through a magazine.
    I had forgotten about him being here and I was startled.
    He must’ve felt my eyes on him because he glanced up and a big grin spread across his face.
    “That is some seriously cool hair!” he exclaimed.
    I gave him a confused look and went straight to the bathroom. I flipped on the light and once I saw my reflection in the mirror I couldn’t help but laugh. Part of my bangs were standing straight up and half of my hair was flattened against the side of my face. I looked like I had been chewed up and spit out of a wind tunnel.
    I grabbed a brush and began to fix the mess that my hair had turned into, then proceeded to brush my teeth. Once that was all I done, I walked back out into the kitchen and turned on the coffee machine. I yawned again and went back into the living room. I folded my quilt and tossed it back on the couch, before I did my morning routine of opening the front door and taking in a deep breath of the crisp morning air.
    I heard Arsen push his chair back followed by the sound of his footsteps as he came into the living room. I felt his curious eyes on me but he didn’t say anything. I leaned my head against the doorway. I liked to do this even on mornings that it was raining, because it had a calming effect on me.
    He came over to where I was standing and put his head on my shoulder.
    “What are we doing?” he whispered loudly.
    I began to giggle and he pulled his face away.
    “You know how some people do yoga in the morning or whatever to get ready for their day? This is what I do. A few deep breaths of the morning air and a little bit of time to reflect on the day before and what I hope for the day ahead of me,” I explained.
    “That’s actually pretty cool,” he said.
    I smiled at him.
    The house phone rang and I sighed, walking away from Arsen to go answer it.
    “Hello?” I asked.
    “Hey darlin!”
    It was Max.
    “Hi Max, what’s up?” I asked cradling the phone between my shoulder and my ear.
    “I wanted to tell you that yesterday was your last day here.”
    “What?”
    I almost dropped the phone in shock. I knew I shouldn’t have left early; I just knew it. 
    “Did I do something wrong?” I asked close to tears.
    “No! I was just thinking about it after you left, and you seem really unhappy at Devil’s Den. I thought I would just let you off the hook, is all.”
    “But ... I ...”
    Arsen came over to stand by me. I looked up at him with tears in my eyes and he took the phone.
    “Hey Max, it’s Arsen. What’s going on?” he asked.
    I slid down to the kitchen floor and buried my face in my hands.
    Whatever you do, don’t cry.
    I blocked out their conversation. I figured it was pointless to listen since I couldn’t hear Max’s side.  I heard Arsen hang up the phone with a sigh. He sat down on the floor next to me but didn’t speak right away.
    “It’s not