CHAPTER 3: SECURE THE KEYS

Clara's POV

The word hit me like a tornado. Filled? What did she mean by filled? This couldn't be true. I needed this job. This was supposed to be my last lifeline. It was the medicine in my mother's veins. It was the roof over our heads.

"Maria, wait," Mrs. Gabe pleaded. "I spoke to Helena this afternoon. She said..."

"And I am speaking to you now!" Maria retorted in a cold, sharp tone.

"The family decided on a professional from the city agency. We don't have time for charity cases," she said as she pulled the door shut.

"Please," Mrs. Gabe whispered, but it was too late.

"Maria? Who is at the door?" a soft voice called from the hallway behind her.

Maria stiffened. She didn't close the door, but she didn't open it any further either. A woman appeared behind her in the doorway. Her figure was elegant, and I could smell her rich vanilla scent from where I stood.

As she approached, Maria opened the door wider. The lady turned to Mrs. Gabe.

"Eleanor," she said calmly.

"Helena." Mrs. Gabe stepped forward, her hand tightening on my shoulder. "I'm sorry to come unannounced. This is the girl I called about. Clara Adene."

Helena King looked at me. Her eyes moved over me slowly, taking me in from head to toe. I couldn't tell if her gaze was cold, cruel, or something in between. Then she turned back to Mrs. Gabe.

"You're confident in her?"

"Completely," Mrs. Gabe replied.

We all stood in silence. Maria remained like a statue, her hand still on the doorknob.

"We had another candidate," Helena said, almost to herself.

"I know," Mrs. Gabe replied. "I'm asking you to choose this one. I'm asking you to trust me, just as you have all these years."

Helena looked at me one more time, giving me that same unreadable assessment. Then she finally stepped back from the door.

"She starts tomorrow," she said. "Six p.m."

Maria's expression changed instantly. Her frown deepened.

"Thank you so much, Helena," Mrs. Gabe said.

I opened my mouth to say the same, but Helena had already turned and walked back into the house before the words could come out. There was no tour, no handshake, and no welcome speech. Just a command to return tomorrow, and honestly, that was enough.

The bus ride home took forty minutes and dropped me two blocks from our building. I walked the rest of the way in the cold, following my usual route.

I reached the door, inserted my key into the lock, and turned it. It didn't budge. I twisted harder and pushed inward, but the lock remained tight. I pushed and twisted the key with all my strength until it almost broke. I shook the door forcefully, but still nothing. The locks had been changed.

I stepped back, sweat running down my body. I felt furious and helpless. I looked up at the building, staring as if it might explain itself. Then I heard a car engine start and turned around. Mr. Chase's grey sedan was pulling out of the small lot beside the building.

I quickly ran down, got in front of his car without thinking, and stood directly in front of his headlights with my hands raised like an idiot. He slammed on the brakes. Thank heavens he reacted quickly, or I would have been crushed.

"Are you crazy, girl?" he said, winding down his window. "I warned you, didn't I?"

"I know," I said, trying to catch my breath. "I know you did. I have money inside, cash. Please, just let me in for ten minutes. I'll pay you right now."

He looked at me for a long moment before turning off the engine.

"Ten minutes," he said firmly, then threw the keys at me.

I caught them against my chest, ran back upstairs, and went straight to my room, to the shelf where my piggy bank had been sitting for years. I smashed it against the floor, and it shattered into a hundred jagged pieces. I counted every bill, every dollar, every penny, and every dime that spilled out. There were twenties, tens, fives, and ones, all adding up to $725.52.

This isn't enough, I thought. I need more. There has to be more.

My brain was racing, going through every conversation I'd ever had with my mother. Then, suddenly, I remembered. Mom had a box too. I went to her room, found it tucked deep under her bed, and broke it open.

The cash inside scattered across the floor in a mess of crumpled bills. It totaled $1,344.48. Combined with mine, we had $2,070.

Thank goodness, I exhaled. It was enough to cover the outstanding rent.

I rushed toward the door and down the stairs, but a sudden thought gripped me, making me stop. The sad realization almost brought me to tears. This was everything. Every single cent we had in the world was in my hands. If I gave him everything, I'd be stranded with no money for school, the bus, or food.

I took out a handful of bills without counting them. I shoved the rest into my bag, ran back to the car, and placed the crumpled bills in his hands. He counted the money under the interior light, then folded it into his breast pocket and looked at me.

"That's just twelve hundred, miss. You're eight hundred short."

"I know." I tried to sound steady. "I'll have the rest by month's end, along with this month's rent."

"Miss Adene, I want my complete rent, or else..."

"Sir, please," I cut him off. "My mother's in the hospital. This is all I have. Just give me until the end of the month. I have a job now. It pays well."

He looked at me with a mixture of pity and cruelty. He knew he had the power to ruin me, but he also knew a vacant apartment wouldn't pay him anything.

"End of the month," I begged again. "I promise. Please."

"Keep the keys," he muttered, rolled up his window, and drove off into the dark.

I sighed heavily, walked back upstairs, locked the door behind me, and sat on the edge of the bed. The weight of my world was finally crushing down on my shoulders. I sobbed loudly this time. The sound echoed through the walls of our cramped little apartment.

Today had drained every bit of willpower I had left. I was a debtor now. I owed Mrs. Gabe, I owed Mr. Chase, and I owed the hospital. I had just spent my mother's savings and still owed rent. She had saved that money slowly, one bill at a time, and I had just handed it to a man to get our keys back.

But we still had a door that opened, I thought to myself. We had a home for her to return to when she recovered, whenever that would be. And I had a job now. I was on probation, but it was still a job.

I took a deep breath, wiped my face, plugged my phone into the charger, and connected to the Wi-Fi. Immediately, the beeping started as notifications flooded in from everywhere.

The group chat, Sterling Heights Cheer, had twenty-seven new messages. I was too tired to read them all, but tomorrow was the school's first game, and I had to know the call time. As I opened the app, the last notification made my heart stop.

Cheer group chat: Sloane removed you from Sterling Heights Cheer.

Removed me? Why?

The unread messages from earlier were still there, so I could see them. They were just routine reminders. There was no explanation, no proper reason, nothing.

Another beep followed. Maya's notification slid down from the top of the screen.

Maya: Clara. Sloane just removed you from the squad. She said you won't be cheering with us tomorrow. What happened?