Million Dollar

Chapter 01 - Valentine’s Day

It was raining that night in Memphis, USA. It was midnight at 00:05 on February 14th, 2022. I was doing my night job at Earnestine & Hazel's restaurant, getting orders from customers and cleaning the table while thinking about my girlfriend.

I had to leave my girlfriend because of this gig because the pay was good. I decided that I’ll take her on a date at noon or evening and will give her a beautiful present as an apology.

A couple was sitting beside the wall. The wall was made up of mirrors so both sides could see through it.

“Excuse me! Can you get our order please?” The boy requested

I went straight to them to get the orders. They were checking on the menu again to make sure what they wanted to order.

“Bring us Grit Stixs for appetizers, and then bring 1 Chili con carne, 1 Willie T's Shrimp Pasta for me and.” The boy said.

“1 stoned soul picnic for me.” The girl, sitting in front of the man, ordered.

“Ok! Let me recheck, you need Grit stixs then 1 chili con carne, 1 Willie T’s Shrimp- '' I spoke to them and looked towards them to see if they were agreeing. I looked outside the window before saying the next dish and that’s when I saw something which made the ground feel slippery under my feet.

I saw my girlfriend in the expensive car with another man, my mind went blank and my eyes were wide open. I threw my order book on the table to chase after them.

“What the hell man! Is this how you treat your customer, bastard.” The boy shouted with anger. But I did not listen to him and started running towards my bike.

My mind was going blank due to all the confusion. I was only hoping that it would be a misunderstanding. I jumped on my bike and started chasing after them.

“Stop the car, you bastard,” I shouted from afar. I increased my bike’s speed to maximum and got near them.

“Stop the car, she is my girlfriend sitting beside you,” I said with anger.

“So annoying,” Jane said. “Honey, can you please stop the car for a moment? Let me show this loser his place.” She said while giving me an evil expression.

“Sounds fun to me, babe.” The man said and stopped the car at a blind alley.

“What do you want, uncle?” The man said.

The man looked like a gym boy and had a better physique than me. But I wasn’t thinking straight at that time.

“Damn, you bastard!! She is my girlfriend. HOW DARE YOU TAKE HER AWAY.” I shouted and grabbed his collar.

“You piece of SHIT!” The man said with rage. He grabbed my hand with force and pushed me away with all his strength. I fell to the ground.

“How dare you touch me with those filthy hands.” The man adjusted his collar and continued, “This lady does not belong to a garbage like you.”

“Jane, how can you do this to me? I worked all day so that you can buy as many things as you want. I put your happiness before mine every time. I did all I could to make you happy. So tell me, WAS THAT NOT ENOUGH FOR YOU!?” I shouted while looking at her.

Jane came closer to me with her head down.

I thought she had realized that what she did was wrong and I did not want to ruin our special day, “Yes darling! I forgive you. Now come to your hon-” She slapped me in the face.

She sat down and grabbed my hair, “Don't you dare call me darling.” She said,

“Why? How could you do this to me? I was even looking forward to our Valentine’s date today.” I said with a tearful voice.

"Ugh, seriously? How embarrassing can you be?" she hissed, her face contorted with disgust. "Look at you, you're a total mess! Even a gutter punk would pull it off better. What was I thinking, dating you? Did you really think those cheapskate moves could ever impress me? Seriously, get lost! Don't you dare show your face around me ever again!" She stormed off, leaving me standing there feeling like a deflated balloon.

“But-” I was trying to say something but then the man kicked me on my stomach with full force. I dropped blood from my mouth. “Don’t touch my girl with your dirty hands, beggar,” he said.

“Don’t dirty your boots honey by touching him.” She said while leaning on him.

“Haha! “You are right babe, let’s go.” The guy said and left.

I lay there all alone with my shattered heart.

“It has been over 2 months since we started going out. I fell deeply in love with you. I thought you weren’t someone who judges people from their appearances. So what made you change? Is money that important to you? I worked all day just so I could make you feel satisfied. And this is how you repaid me?” I mumbled while crying.

I didn’t know what to do. I was feeling numb but then I realized that I had a night shift which I left. I forced myself to hold back my tears, went to the public bathroom near me, washed my face then returned to the restaurant.

It was 02:12 a.m. at midnight when I returned. My boss slapped me in front of everyone because of my inappropriate behavior with the customer earlier and warned me not to repeat the same mistake. He took 50% off my salary as punishment and made me work overtime.

“Hah! The pain in my stomach is nothing compared to the pain I’m feeling in my heart right now. I still don’t understand why she did this to me. We were together for more than 3 months. Was she just pretending to be my girlfriend? But why me of all people? I guess poor people can never find the happiness in this fucked up world.” I was thinking while washing dishes.

My shift usually ends at 3:00 am but my boss made me work until 4:30 a.m. Afterward, I decided to go to a bar and have something to drink to refresh my mood. I decided to go to the hospital as well just to check if my injury wasn’t too bad.

I started to go towards the bar to get some drinks. I was distracted, I was thinking about all the things that happened to me that day. I wasn’t focusing on the road, the street was clear and there were not many people since it was so early in the morning. Just when I was crossing the 4-way road I heard a car beep from my left. The car was coming towards me at a very high speed, there was no time for me to react. That was the moment when I felt that death was right in front of me. That car hit me and I fell to the ground. I was able to breathe for a moment, “Is this how my life is going to end? How pathetic... I couldn’t even get my answers.” I thought and lost consciousness.