Ch. 8: Must I Say Goodbye?

Chapter 8: Must I Say Goodbye?

It had been a week since the wedding, and Abrielle and Jenesis had been spending a lot of their free time with the newlywed couple.

They would go to dinner together, or do a quick lunch when all of them could find time off of work. Both Abrielle and Jenesis had really begun to enjoy the company of Kyler, and especially Maylee, she was a riot.

Most people would look at this group of friends and see nothing but smiles and happiness, but sadly, that wasn’t the case. It’s never the case…

At the small reception after Kyler and Maylee’s wedding, the couple announced how grateful they were to have such a loving support system, and then they kindly asked that all of their friends and family would continue to support them on their journey to San Diego, California. Where they decided they were moving to.

Of course, Maylee’s parents were ecstatic that they would have their little girl living nearby again, but Abrielle shared the same expression that Kyler’s parents wore. A bit of shock, but a whole lot of sorrow. Now Abrielle really was losing her best friend. She took a deep breath, mentally told herself to be strong and supportive for Kyler, and plastered a smile on her face.

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Abrielle was sitting at her desk at work when her cellphone rang. “Oopsie,” Abrielle said out loud as she dug in her purse for her phone. “I forgot to turn that off.” She finally found her phone and saw that Maylee was calling. “Hey May, what’s up?”

“Sorry for calling you at work sweetie, but I was just wondering if you and Jenesis would like to join Kyler and me for dinner tonight. You know, as a little going away thing since we leave early tomorrow morning.”

“Oh Jeeze! I totally forgot you guys are already leaving! These past three weeks have gone by so fast! Of course, Jenesis and I would love to. Where are you thinking of going tonight?”

Maylee sort of laughed and then said, “Well, actually, I was thinking I could cook and you two could come over to our house. Although, it’s cluttered with boxes, but it would be nice to have a dinner in our home one last time.”

“Sure, I understand.” The sick feeling Abrielle had been experiencing since the moment she heard Kyler and Maylee were moving was slowly creeping its way into the pit of her stomach. She swallowed and said, “So what time should we be there?”

“At seven, does that sound alright?”

“Yep it sounds great. We’ll see you then.”

“Can’t wait! Bye Abri.”

Abrielle hung up the phone and stared at her computer. She knew she’d have to get over this, but it was really hard for her to accept the fact that she was losing her best friend, and Maylee, who she had also become close with since the wedding.

Life goes on though… 

The four friends enjoyed a small dinner at Kyler and Maylee’s and then shared their goodbye hugs and tears. 

Abrielle and Jenesis went home, and Kyler and Maylee left their friends and old life in Sunset Valley, and embarked on their journey to their new life in San Diego.

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It has been three months since Abrielle’s life drastically changed, and one of her greatest friends had moved on from her life, but she wasn’t doing as badly as she had once predicted.

She was focusing a lot more on her career than she had in the past, and had set a new goal of obtaining the promotion to Division Manager.

She had been working hard setting up meetings and doing a lot of busy work for her boss and even though it was tiring, she just kept thinking about the benefits that the new job would hold. That thought kept her pushing through the crap ton of work that was thrust upon her every day.

Although, focusing on work all the time came with its perks. Abrielle had befriended a few girls from the office and finally had a social life.

So every Wednesday and Friday she, Jenesis, and their newfound friends, Rachel, Halley and Ayru would go out either to the beach, the local bar, or a movie. The five girls really enjoyed each other’s company, and always had a great time.

This particular Friday night was different though, Abrielle was still going to be hanging out with the girls from work, but this time it would be at an annual work party held at the office.

Abrielle pulled into her parking spot at her work and could already hear the music coming from the building. She had been warned that this wasn’t the typical work party and she hadn’t minded in the least bit. She walked confidently through the doors, past the lobby and upstairs to the large conference hall where the party was being held. As she swung open the doors her body was blasted by the kicking bass and the smell of alcohol.

She couldn’t spot any of her friends so she decided to go and mingle with a few of the filing clerks.

“Hey Jim. Ethel.” She smiled and gave each a polite nod but didn’t have time to say anything else before someone said her name.

“Abrielle, I’m so glad you’re finally here.” Her boss, Collin Morris was standing a few feet beside her, he leaned closer and said, “Look, I hate to ask you to do work while at the party, but there were a few issues in the report you gave me on Wednesday, and I just need to go over a few things with you. Would you mind coming with me to my office?”

Abrielle really didn’t want to be bothered by work, but she had the dream of her promotion set deeply in her mind and thought that if she showed effort, especially during a party, Mr. Morris may appreciate her work ethic more. So she followed closely behind as he led her down the dark hall to his executive office.

“If you’d just like to sit in my chair you can go quickly over the paperwork. I feel as though there are a few numbers that are out of place.” He motioned her to sit as he flicked on the desk lamp.

Abrielle walked slowly towards his desk and carefully sat down in his large chair.

“Alright, so where did you notice the problem?” Abrielle started meticulously scanning through the numbers on the page trying to pick out the misinformation. She was startled when she felt her boss’s breath in her ear.

“You know Abrielle, you’re one of the finest workers we have.”

“Uhm, thank you sir. I pride myself in my work.” Abrielle was uncomfortably squirming in the chair trying to find an acceptable amount of personal space.

Placing his hand on Abrielle’s arm Mr. Morris said, “Please, call me Collin.”

Abrielle tried to push out the chair in order to leave, but her boss’s large hands were on her shoulders pushing her back into the chair. He spun the chair around to face him and then aggressively forced a kiss on Abrielle’s lips. Abrielle pushed at his body, but he was a large man, and didn’t budge.

He vehemently grabbed her face and forced her out of the chair and up against the wall, pinning her so she remained still. Abrielle began to cry and then her boss’s fist connected with her jaw.

“Shut up, you dumb slut. You don’t get to cry.” He hissed into her ear. “You asked for this. You deserve this.”

Abrielle violently thrashed trying to get out of his grip and he laughed. “You’re making this more difficult than it has to be. Just relax.” He moved a hand across Abrielle's shirt and groped her breasts.

At that moment the office door opened and one of his assistants poked his head inside the door. 

Collin backed away from Abrielle. The instant she was out of his grasp Abrielle rushed past his assistant, down the stairs and out to her car.

Collin Morris, however, didn’t move. He remained in his office maliciously smiling to himself.

He lived for nights like this.