Story 3: The Severing

Chapter 12:

I arrived at the Railyard Pub just as the sun was setting. Luckily, the pub is quite close to my apartment and the Spring evening was cool and clear and perfect for walking.

I saw BossWoman and as I sat down she ordered me a Vodka and Cranberry Juice. I was excited and nervous and curious. She was radiant as ever. She always seems so happy and pretty. She is mesmerizing to watch. I'm fairly certain that anyone who meets her, falls in love immediately. And here I was sitting with her have a drink.

"I wanted to tell you, subGrrl... I put in my resignation today. I'm leaving the paper," she said as I coughed on my drink (too strong).

"Oh! I'm going to miss you!" I said, suddenly sad and worried. "But congratulations, I guess. Cheers!" I took another big gulp of my drink.

"Actually, I have a proposal for you, subGrrl," BossWoman explained. "I've been working on starting a new company on the side and, well, I've just received some funding and I can afford to hire people. I was hoping to talk you into working for me."

Yes! Yes! I didn't even care what my role would be. I would follow BossWoman anywhere.

It turns out, her new company would sell celebrity obituaries to major news outlets. The company would maintain updated obituaries for a vast array of public personalities and, in the tragic event that someone famous dies, the company would have a pre-made media package waiting for any understaffed news outlet that was willing to pay.

Another round of drinks were brought to the table shortly after I expressed how interested I was. Toasts were made.

I should note that I very rarely drink and I don't really weigh all that much. I get drunk fairly quickly.

As she was explaining some of the details of the company, she suddenly looked up, having seen someone across the bar.

"Oh, good!" BossWoman stood up and waved her hand. "Nemy! Over here!"

Nemy? I turned in my seat to look.

Shit! It was NemesisGirl. I sneered as she gave me a quick hug. But, I was seized in horror when she hugged BossWoman. She kissed her! It wasn't a Euro-style cheek-peck greeting kiss. It was a full-mouthed, tongue tangling snog. I was suddenly gripped by hatred and jealousy. I grabbed my drink and began sipping rapidly as I turned away so I wouldn't have to watch. NemesisGirl! The fucking bitch! The bane of my existence! I had no idea that they were... together.

"We don't really do that around the office..." BossWoman admitted when they finally extracted their body parts from one another.

NemesisGirl simply said, "Hi, subGrrl!" The bitch!

"We are moving in together, so it seemed like a good time for one of us to leave the paper," BossWoman explained.

I kept sipping my drink as fast as I could.

"Pee," I said finally. And I rose unsteadily to my feet and began to stagger off to the restroom.

I sat on the toilet feeling so stupid for being so taken by BossWoman. I suddenly didn't want to work for her company anymore. I wanted to move somewhere far, far away where no one knew me at all. I wanted to disappear.

"subGrrl!"

I heard my name whispered through the bathroom. I didn't think anyone else was in the bathroom. It didn't sound like Lisianski.

"Hello?" I said. There was no answer. I got up and flushed the toilet and prepared to return to my nightmare of a life.

"subGrrl!" My heart began to beat. My mouth went dry.

"No..." I murmured to myself. I had heard that whispered voice before.

I cautiously cracked the bathroom door open and peeked out into the bar. I saw a stream of tall, thin women filing through the entrance. Oh, shit! Doll Monsters!