Audrina POV:
I estimated that enough time had passed. The severe weather was brewing right on schedule. The sky above Flint had turned a bruised, unnatural shade of purple, and the wind began to howl through the narrow streets. I slung my small, faded backpack over my shoulder and finally stepped back out onto the porch.
Seeing me, Susan's face turned purple with deep impatience.
"You took all that time just for this?" she shrieked, pointing a perfectly manicured finger right at my nose, her voice shrill enough to shatter glass. "You drag your feet just like that useless piece of trash who fathered you! You should be thanking God on your knees that you get to associate with high class people like us!"
I did not hesitate. I moved faster than she could even blink. I grabbed her outstretched finger and twisted her wrist sharply backward. I heard a highly satisfying, faint pop as her joint was strained to its absolute limit. I tightened my iron grip slightly, looking down at her from a superior angle, thoroughly enjoying the momentary flash of genuine terror in her eyes.
"Ahhh!" Susan shrieked, her face twisting in sheer agony. All her aristocratic elegance vanished instantly as her knees buckled slightly, nearly dropping to the dirty pavement. Her expensive umbrella clattered to the ground.
"I despise people pointing at me," I said, my voice dangerously soft and flat, cutting through her screams. "For a so called high class woman, your logic and manners are worse than a street orphan's."
The driver, Mike Kowalski, looked shocked, his large hands gripping the steering wheel tightly, but he did not dare to intervene. I coldly released Susan's arm, leaving her cradling her wrist and panting with rage, her face pale and covered in cold sweat.
I did not get into the luxury car. Instead, I pointed to the corner coffee shop, a cozy place called "The Daily Grind."
"I need half an hour," I said, adjusting my backpack. "To collect my final paycheck and say goodbye."
"Audrina, do not push your luck!" Susan hissed, trembling with pain and unimaginable humiliation.
I looked at her calmly, completely unbothered by her fury. "You can wait here, or you can go on to Weston. I will get there myself."
My ultimatum hung in the tense air between us. She knew I was not bluffing. Faced with the choice of being publicly humiliated in front of the driver or waiting thirty minutes, she chose the latter. She stormed back to the Lincoln, her heels clicking aggressively, and slammed the heavy door shut with enough force to shake the entire car.
I walked into the coffee shop. The cheerful bell chimed above the door. The warm scent of roasted coffee beans and sweet pastries instantly eased some of the tension in my shoulders. My coworker, Holly, saw me and rushed over for a quick, tight hug.
"Audrina! I cannot believe you are really leaving!" she said, her voice full of genuine sadness. She was one of the few sources of warmth in this miserable town, always sharing her lunch with me when I was broke.
I hugged her back briefly, then slipped on my work apron and started helping her with the afternoon rush. I desperately needed this last paycheck to cover the final portion of my grandmother's medical bills. It was the only honorable thing left for me to do.
Susan's fragile patience finally ran out. She pushed open the door to the cafe, her expensive heels clicking an angry rhythm on the wooden floor. She had left her umbrella in the car, and the sudden gust of wind had messed up her perfectly styled hair. She looked entirely out of place and slightly ridiculous as she marched right up to the counter.
"You need that little money?" she hissed, her voice trembling with pain and fury from the earlier altercation. "Can't the Morgans provide for you?"
"I am used to providing for myself," I said flatly, taking the thin cash envelope from Holly. "After all, I only ever had my elderly, severely ill grandmother to rely on while you were living in luxury."
Just then, a violent flash of lightning split the dark sky, illuminating the entire shop in a stark white glow, followed immediately by a deafening clap of thunder that rattled the coffee cups on the tables. The lights in the shop flickered wildly before stabilizing. Customers gasped in shock. Fat, heavy raindrops began to hammer against the glass windows like bullets.
Holly's phone blared with a severe weather alert, the harsh tone piercing the murmurs of the crowd. She glanced at it, her face turning pale. "Oh my god, the weather service just issued a tornado warning! They are advising everyone to stay off the roads immediately!"
Susan's phone buzzed with the exact same alert. She pulled it out, and her expression turned as ugly and stormy as the sky outside.
The driver, Mike Kowalski, rushed into the shop, his burly face frantic, his suit jacket soaked from the brief run. "Ma'am, the Interstate 90 is closed in both directions! There was a massive accident involving multiple vehicles. We are not going anywhere tonight!"
Susan stared at Mike in disbelief, then at the torrential rain washing down the windows, and finally, her eyes locked on me. Her gaze was filled with a furious, confused suspicion, as if I had summoned the storm myself just to spite her.
I offered her an innocent, almost mocking smile, casually wiping the counter with a cloth. "Looks like we are staying here for the night, Mrs. Morgan. Stay safe."
Susan's lips trembled with rage, but she could not say a single word. She was completely trapped. She was trapped with me, in the very town she despised more than anything.
