Manage Me

I woke up earlier than normal the next morning. I dressed quickly in leggings and a tank top with my old Converse again and grabbed my cleaning supplies as I slipped out the door. As I drove, I attempted to call my mother again.

“This is Martha. Leave a message and I’ll call you back.”

“Mom, it’s Katie. I’m coming by to drop off the check. I know you don’t want to see me, but I’m trying. It should be enough for groceries and whatever Kade needs for the next few weeks. I’d really love to see him soon. And you. I’ll call you tonight. Love you. Tell Kade I love him too. Bye.”

I snapped my phone shut with a sigh. As much as she hated me, I deserved to see Kade. I was doing all of this for him. I was getting better, making money. She had no right to treat me like I was still a fucked up 17-year-old.

Her car was gone when I pulled up to the small one-story house I used to call my home. No doubt she had taken Kade to day care already. The mail flap on the door opened with a creak and I dropped the envelope inside. I was extremely thankful that Jack, or I guess Alex, had decided to pay me double my normal rate. The more money I gave my mother, the more I hoped she would see how much better I was doing.

It was only 10:30 by the time I was back in my car. I knew it was way too early to go to Jack’s, so I headed to the cleaning agency. Maybe I could pick up another job for the week.

“Katie!” Pam, the receptionist, exclaimed as I walked through the door.

“Hi, Pam.” I smiled.

Pam had always liked me. She understood what I was going through, and constantly tried to get me extra work. Unfortunately the lady that ran the agency, Hattie, was not quite as fond of me.

“What are you doing here, sweetheart? I thought you had already been hired for the week?”

“I have. I was just hoping maybe there was someone else that could use me?”

“Aren’t you already working five hours a day?”

“Yes. But that’s only 30 hours. If I could get another part-time, I would be really grateful.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

Pam patted my hand before disappearing into Hattie’s office. I knew most of the people working here weren’t full-time unless they were had been hired as a regular. And most of the time Hattie didn’t like maids working two jobs at once. She said she felt as if they would be sloppy. I picked at a string hanging off of my shirt as I waited for Pam to reappear. Pam showed up almost 30 minutes later, rejection written all over her face.

“I’m sorry, Katie. Hattie said she just doesn’t have a job for you.”

She didn’t come out and say, but I knew what she really meant. Hattie was still upset with me. I was blacklisted for the time being. I wanted to blame Hattie, but I knew it wasn’t entirely her fault. Sure, she probably wasn’t handing my name out the way she did for the others, but she also knew that I was a good worker and I could still make her money. That was probably the only reason I had gotten this job. I knew 90% of the other girls already had jobs this week, and Alex and Jack would have no idea of my history. Our other clients did.

“That’s okay, Pam. I understand.” I smiled wearily and walked out the door.

I sat in my car for a few minutes before starting it up. I had wasted an hour at the agency and Jack lived all the way across town. I decided that noon was an okay time to head over. I could finish up earlier than I had yesterday and hopefully avoid another encounter with Drunk Jack. I turned the radio loud during the drive to distract myself from thinking about what had happened last night.

By the time I made it to Jack’s, the nervousness in my stomach had quieted. There was no possible way he would come home at 5:00. Obviously he liked to hit up the bars and he wouldn’t be coming home from them that early. Unfortunately, this meant he most likely was going to be in the house while she was cleaning, which wasn’t something I was necessarily looking forward to. I pulled up outside of the house at exactly 12:00. I took a deep breath and headed for the door, slipping my apron over my head. I knocked three times quickly and waited two minutes before knocking again. Suddenly, the door was thrown open.

“What?!” He snapped.

I jumped and looked down. His expression was murderous, but I figured it was just the hangover. At least I hoped so.

“Hello, Mr. Barakat.” I nearly whispered. The last thing I wanted to do was piss him off.

It took him a moment to recognize me. When he did he tried to greet me, but trailed off when it came to my name. He had never asked for it, and I had never offered it. I blushed when he asked.

“Katie.”

“Right. Well. Why are you here so early?” He scowled.

“It’s noon, Mr. Barakat.” I said awkwardly. “Would you like me to come back later?”

I seriously hoped he said no. I had absolutely no interest in him stumbling into me later on when he returned home smashed off his ass, which I had no doubt he would do. I could tell by the look on his face that he remembered last night as well, and didn’t clearly didn’t want a repeat of it either.

“No, whatever. I’m just going to be upstairs.”

He stormed off, and I tried not to take it personally. I heard his bedroom door slam before I even made it inside the house. There would be no vacuuming or laundry today I decided. I did not want to wake the beast. I giggled at my reference and got to work. I planned on tackling the bathroom first and maybe getting the laundry sorted, even if I couldn’t do it. Before I could get started I noticed the stained on the carpets. I sighed. That would have to wait until tomorrow because there was still way too much shit on the floor to give it a good scrub. I blew my bangs out of my face before pulling on my gloves and getting started.