Charlie’s name didn't bring foul memories or good ones. His name made her go blank. She wasn’t sure whether it was a good or bad thing. “Yes, I’m aware”, Amaya said, taking a bite from her macaroon. It was a lie and Amaya knew that Alexandra had caught on. Amaya didn’t know how he was because he never told her. All she knew was the rumours that circulated back at the base of him dating a sergeant and they recently moved in together. The keyword was ‘rumour’. She’d thought it was a rumour but it seemed like she was desperately ignoring the truth. Her eyes started to sting a bit as her brain tried to cancel the pain with the Sakura macaroon.

”How are you taking it?”

“It’s fine, I mean we didn’t work out so he’s fine to do what he wants. He can be with whoever he pleases”, She sipped her coffee. She wanted the hot liquid to burn the lies she told and cleanse her throat. 

“All right that’s good then”, Alexandra said, collecting her slice of cake and milk tea from Maxine.

“I’m not back here to worry about guys, I’m here to help out where I can and enjoy the rest of my life in semi-retirement.” 

“If you say so. It’s your bakery store as well so there’s no issue. I have to head out now.”

“For?”

“I want to scope out the competition. A new bakery opened up an hour away”, Alexandra said, getting up slowly.

“Bebose?”

“Yeah,” Alexandra said as her eyes widened. “How did you know?” She asked. Amaya was never around so it was shocking she knew about the store. She'd expected Alexandra to be surprised but at the same time, she'd expected her to have a little more faith.

“I own part of the bakery, it’s only smart to look out for potential competitors.”

“Same as ever,” Alexandra sighed as she stood up from her seat. She shook her head gently as she adjusted her shirt.

 “You know the empty bedroom is yours already so make sure to rest up. It’s your first day back as a normal civilian,” Alexandra said as she waved goodbye.

Amaya stood up after clearing her plate of macaroons. She cleaned the table and took her plate to the counter before retiring to the apartment on the next floor. She’d been there briefly a few times. Now she wished she’d been moving her things into it bit by bit. Maybe she wouldn’t be overwhelmed by the emptiness that stared back at her. The light brown cardboard box had her luggage piled in one corner. A few of the workers had moved them in while she ate.

She took out a few essentials from her bag and fixed up the bed. The emptiness never left. It almost taunted her. It was going to take a lot more. She stared at the room. Her eyes remained fixed on the emptiness and her palms began to draw sweat. She didn't want the effort. Not now. Today was her day. Her first day back to being  Miss Amaya Rogers. She would rather not waste it on productivity. No one was going to scream at her for it.

 She got changed quickly and hopped in bed, allowing herself to sink into it. It felt like lying on a cloud. The mattress engulfed her and whispered sweet nothings to her skin. It was perfect. It was nothing like the bricks back in the barracks. 

She grabbed the first copy of the manga series she'd ordered prior. 'I have to kill the villainess to go home', the title read. It was too long but at least she knew she would enjoy it. Her phone buzzed the first time and yet she didn't look at it. It buzzed again soon after. That was one too many. It had mostly been silent since her time at the base and now it was buzzing nonstop. She picked her phone up and unlocked it

A few messages had come through from a group called “ex-military babes’. She didn’t recognize it and she was sure she hadn’t joined it. She didn’t expect to be added to a group by anyone in the military. Groups were for friends. They weren't friends. It would be full of gossip as it did on similar groups of this kind. She’d been out of the base for two hours and there were already 1082 messages.  She was sure she wouldn't respond to any messages on it. Maybe she’d glance at 2 to 3 messages once in a while and then leave it till God knows when.

“Sergeant Tate is getting married”, the most recent group notification read. Amaya wanted to gauge her eyes out. Sergeant Tate was marrying Charlie. They’d been together for a maximum of 6 months and they were already getting married. It was going to be a hard pill to swallow. 

“It doesn't make sense!”, Amaya exclaimed. All the following messages were congratulations and cheers. Amaya pulled at her hair. She didn’t feel good about it, she never would. It took restraint for her not to toss her phone out of the window. Her shoulders curled forward as she clutched her chest tightly. She wanted it to be nothing but a sick joke. 

She turned off her phone and put the manga away. She couldn't read in this state. She laid down forcing her eyes shut. She tossed and turned as the darkness refused to send her off. 

“Oh Lord, can you just let me sleep? I just want to leave this place. I want to go somewhere, anywhere where this isn’t true”, she mumbled. She sighed, giving up on sleep in general. It had soured her mood. Sleeping was no longer an option. She walked out of her room, heading toward the living room wine cabinet. She scanned through it, looking for something that looked like whiskey.

She settled on one, took it out and poured herself a glass of the golden liquid. She downed the first glass barely leaving any time between before downing her next glass. Her throat was burning but she didn’t care. She wasn’t drunk yet. It wasn’t nearly as strong as what she subjected herself to back at the base. She paused a bit, finally allowing the bitter aftertaste to settle on her tongue. "Why would the owner of a bakery have such bitter alcohol?" She thought as she downed another.

  Alexandra was always a bit of a lightweight so she never really tried her type of alcohol. It wasn’t a complete shock that the whiskey was completely useless. She wanted to scream as she ran her hand down her face roughly. This was not going to cut it. She would need something more. Something that would send her off for at least a few hours.  The closest grocery shop was on the next street, she could walk over. She cleaned up the glasses, returned the whiskey and threw on some clothes. She left the apartment, her mind still focusing on the message she just read. Charlie had lied to her.