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Chapter 42:The Breakdown

Author: Ruby
last update Last Updated: 2025-07-27 17:06:55

Riley's POV

The fluorescent lights hummed overhead like angry wasps as I stared at my computer screen. The words blurred together, and I blinked hard, trying to focus on the campaign proposal I'd been working on for the past hour.

"Are you okay over there?" Sarah called from her desk across the office.

"Fine," I lied, forcing my fingers to keep typing. "Just concentrating."

It was Friday afternoon of my first week at Riverside Marketing, and I was running on three hours of sleep and pure determination. We'd spent one glorious week in a cheap motel room—seven days of actual beds, a working bathroom, and a mini-fridge that felt like luxury. But the hundred and forty dollars had eaten through most of my remaining cash, and now we were back to sleeping in the car until my first paycheck arrived at month's end.

Lily had been restless all week, confused about why we'd left the "nice room" to sleep in the car again. I'd been staying up late in McDonald's parking lots, using their wifi to fin
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