Page 13 of Demure
Just as she selected a random comedy movie that looked decent that she wouldn’t mind missing the end of, her phone lit up with a call.
It was her older sister, Maria.
“Maria,” she said sternly as she answered the phone. Her sister rarely called her for social purposes.
“Hello, Sierra, that’s all I get? My name? Not even a greeting?” Her sister's voice replied sarcastically.
Sierra sighed. “You and I both know you don’t make phone calls for social reasons unless you lost your job at the hospital recently and were calling to tell me that.”
“No, you’re right. But you don’t have to be so blunt. I’msorry I don’t call more.” Maria’s voice sounded sincere, but Sierra kept her guard up. It wasn’t the first time she had apologized for not being part of Sierra’s life, and she was sure it wouldn’t be the last.
“So…what is it this time?”
“Mom says you won’t talk to her.”
Sierra groaned. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“She said you won’t take her calls.” Sierra heard background noise which sounded suspiciously like papers sliding on top of one another.
“Are you calling me from work?”
Maria huffed. “Okay, yes, I am calling you on my coffee break; now, will you tell me what’s up with you and Mom?”
“Okay, so I skipped one call from her because I was at work on my all too short lunch break after she basically hung up on me for not disciplining Diego for her. You happy now?”
“Geez, you don’t have to be so dramatic.”
“Neither does Mom! I swear, I’m halfway around the world, and it still isn’t far enough away to avoid this pettiness. Tell Mom if she wants to talk to me, she can text me and arrange a good time to call.”
Maria sighed. “Come on, Sierra, don’t do this toMama.”
“Do what? Have boundaries? I am twenty-five years old. I don’t need my mother breathing down my neck when I don’t even live in the same country. Now, Maria, respectfully, back off.”
“Alright, calm down, Sierra. I’ll tell Mom.” The line went quiet. Sierra was waiting for her sister to ask how life was going and to ask how she was doing, but she just heard papers shuffling in the background.
“I’m sorry, Maria,” Sierra said at last. “I don’t mean to raise my voice at you. I know you didn’t put yourself up to this. How’s work?”
The papers shuffled in the background, and she heard a beeping sound. “Fine, speaking of work, that’s my pager. Gotta go,” Maria said in a hurry before the line went dead.
Sierra removed the phone from her ear, looking at the background behind her apps, which was some stock photo of the mountains that had come with the phone. She was so tired of the petty drama her family engaged in. She wished she could brush this off as a one-time thing, but it had already been happening for years, and apparently, even living in Dublin wouldn’t stop it.
With a sigh, Sierra pressed play on the TV, and the opening credits for the movie she had chosen began. She looked down at her phone, wishing she had someone she could talk to. She briefly thought of calling Diego but quickly pushed the thought aside. It would only make the current situation worse.
She also thought about texting Tyler since he had said he was serious about being friends, but a quick glance at the time told her he was likely asleep since it was already past midnight, and she certainly didn’t want him thinking it was a booty call. Not seeing any other viable options, Sierra grabbed her fuzzy blanket off the back of the couch and tucked it around her. It was just her and Netflix tonight.
Chapter Ten
Sierra could feel her energy lagging the next day at work as she added new labels to the books the library had ordered. It was normally pretty easy for her to stay awake when she was walking around reshelving books, but sitting at a desk was causing her eyes to droop. She had never been cut out for office work.
After the third time of almost drifting off, she grumbled, pushing her chair back to stand. If her body wouldn’t stay awake while sitting, standing and labeling it was.
It had taken hours for Sierra’s thoughts to calm the night before, and she hadn’t headed to bed until after three in the morning, which only gave her about four hours of sleep before she had to get up for her eight o’clock lecture. Sleeping issues weren’t new to Sierra, but she had hoped they would go away as she kept busy with her job and school. Unfortunately, it looked like that wouldn’t be the case.
Sierra heard the door open, only to feel her eyes narrow of their own accord when Aodhan walked in. She had looked at the schedule when she clocked in, and he hadn’t been on it, which meant he was covering for someone—or was just here to annoyher. Sierra had known she would need to see him sometime, she had just been hoping to at least have a day of peace beforehand.
Aodhan had his head down as he crossed the room, and his eyes rose to meet hers as he stopped in front of the cubbies where they could store their personal items during their shift. Sierra waited for him to say something, maybe an apology for the night before, but he said nothing.
Well, silent treatment it is then, Sierra thought, turning to pull the next book out of the box. Two could play at that game.
