The Cork Chronicles. Paige Hartwick
that was before Ashlyn turned their worlds upside down.
Unbeknownst to the Walsh family, the events of the day before would be the last time that Kyra would play by their rules. She was sick and tired of her family treating her like a child. She was almost twenty-two for crying out loud! She loved her parents so much, but she was tired of them holding her back from becoming a better person.
There was something big coming, she could feel it in her gut. She was scared, but more excited than anything. She just hoped that whatever was coming, that it would be something good and positive. There had been so much negativity in her life over the past several years that she felt like she was long overdue for some happiness.
CHAPTER FIVE
A few weeks later, Kyra was back at home and seeing a therapist twice a week to help with her memory. She helped out with the chores around the house, but other than that, she was holed up in her room with her nose in a book. She knew that she was supposed to be applying for other jobs but, to be honest, she was terrified to leave the house. Ashlyn only got a thirty day jail sentence on a misdemeanor charge, and all because Kyra’s anxiety had gotten the best of her. If she had just been able to keep her anxiety in check, then she wouldn’t have blacked out and she would still have her memories.
Mrs. Walsh’s temper had been very short over the past few days and Kyra knew it was her fault. Her mom thought that she was being lazy and that she needed to just ‘get over it.’ She knew that she needed to get on with her life, but she wasn’t quite ready to go back out into the real world. The only jobs that were even available in Cork, Oregon were in fast food, restaurants, retail, housekeeping, and mill work. Mill workers and loggers made really good money, but since she was a girl (and of tiny stature), non of the mills would hire her.
Kyra felt like she was at her wits end. How could she apply for entry level jobs and expect to climb the ladder? She had no college experience, and trade school was out of the question, so what now?… She could try applying at a couple of grocery stores, maybe even apply at a few of the hotels in the area. Maybe she could apply for a clerk position in a pharmacy? As a clerk, she’d be able to study and become a pharmacy technician. That’s it! That’s exactly what she would do.
Kyra got her laptop out and spent the next four hours applying for every pharmacy in town. She even printed out several copies of her updated resumé. She didn’t expect to hear back from any of them, but she was keeping her fingers crossed.
The smell of dinner wafted into Kyra’s room. She got up off her bed and went out to see if her mom needed any help setting the table or with finishing dinner. When she walked into the dining room, she saw that her family was sitting at the table and had already begun to eat. What the hell? Why didn’t they let me know that dinner was ready?…
“Nice of you to join us. Did you have a nice nap?” Mrs. Walsh asked her while rolling her eyes.
“What are you talking about? I was filling out job applications,” Kyra said as she sat down at the table. Her brother and sister just sat there staring down at their plates. What was everyone’s problem today?!
“Humph!” Mrs. Walsh let out a disgruntled sigh. “You seriously thought I’d buy that excuse?! If that were true, then where are all of these applications? Huh? You haven’t left the house except to go to therapy, so how did you manage to get any applications? If you continue to lie, then you’ll need to find somewhere else to live!” Kyra’s mom was in serious need of a reality check.
“Bloody hell, mother! What decade do you think we live in? All applications are online these days! Get with the program! Sheesh! If you seriously don’t believe me, then I’ll get my computer out after dinner and you can check my browser history. Now, may I please have dinner? I haven’t eaten since breakfast and I’m starving.” Kyra knew that she shouldn’t have talked to her mom like that, but she hadn’t given her any reason to not trust her.
Kyra had suffered a trauma, so it’s not like she’d be right back out there in the workforce after a couple of weeks. Did her mom not realize how long the job process took these days? It’s not like she could snap her fingers and get a job just like that.
“Fine, eat! But I already know you’re lying!” Kyra had to bite her tongue and refrain from rolling her eyes. She had applied for six pharmacy jobs just today! And not just in Cork, but other nearby towns too. Yesterday she had applied at two different grocery stores. What more did she expect her to do?! The job market was down at the moment and a ton of people were currently unemployed. It’s like her mom expected her to walk into each business and kiss their asses and beg for a job.
Kyra and her family sat there in silence as they ate their dinner. The whole time it was like Mrs. Walsh was trying to bore holes in Kyra’s head. She glared through the entire meal. Her brother, Bryton, and Chloe cleared the table and went to the kitchen to do dishes. Kyra’s blood was boiling by this point, which was not good for her anxiety. Her hands were shaking and her heart was pounding in her chest. She HATED fighting with her parents, especially when she had done absolutely nothing wrong.
She knew she had nothing to feel guilty about, but her anxiety was telling her otherwise. Now she was beginning to doubt and second guess herself. Had she spent too much time on one application? She knew that, to her mother, it would look like she had dozed off in the middle of an applications.
Thankfully Kyra didn’t have anything damning in her browser history, or else she would be going to her room to pack her bags right now instead of grabbing her laptop. She couldn’t help but feel worried. She hadn’t done anything wrong and she was always respectful to her mom, but for Mrs. Walsh to lose it like that at the dinner table, Kyra couldn’t help but feel unwanted.
She knows that her mom has a full-time job as a nurse, but she never brought any of that stress home with her. Kyra hadn’t told her mom about the pharmacy clerk applications because she knew that she would lecture her on how it’s only minimum wage. She wanted to avoid any and all conflict, but she should’ve known that that would be asking for too much.
“Are you going to go get your laptop sometime this year? I don’t have all damn day!” Mrs. Walsh obviously had some issue with her daughter, but for some reason she wouldn’t tell Kyra what that issue was. It was so frustrating! Did her mom think she could read minds or something?
“I was on my way to get it! Chill out, mum! I don’t know what your issue is, but if you aren’t going to discuss it with me like an adult, then please stop with the attitude. I honestly can’t handle it anymore! I don’t need the extra stress right now. I’m doing the best I can! I am going to show you my browser history, but after that I am going to the library to study.
“Now, if you had given me a chance to talk before dinner, then you would’ve found out that I’ve decided to work my way up to a pharmacy technician.” Kyra’s mom looked like a puppy that had been kicked. She immediately felt bad about how she had talked to her mother, but her mom had way overstepped.
“You know what? Forget it. Just forget it. You should leave. I don’t even want to look at you right now!” With that, Mrs. Walsh turned on her heel and stormed to her room, slamming the door. Kyra rolled her eyes and went to her room to start packing her bag. There was no way she was going to come back here after her study session at the library. She’d call some hotels before going in the library. Hopefully she could find a room on such short notice… Otherwise she’ll be sleeping in her car tonight, which was not very safe with all of the drug addicts and homeless people hanging out around town.
Rural areas of Oregon had really high drug use because there were plenty of secluded areas for meth labs to set up. And the problem was only getting worse because there wasn’t enough man power to fight the war on drugs. It sucked and Kyra wished there was something she could do to clean up the streets, but she was only one person… With all of the drug use, the crime rate was going through the roof. People were actually moving out of town and businesses were closing, which meant that the unemployment rate was getting higher. Kyra wasn’t very hopeful that she’d be able to get another job, but she was going to try and stay