Chapter 4

I froze.

"There's still room in the car, isn't there?"

He sat in the driver's seat.

He rolled the window down.

"Weren't you the one who said Gladys couldn't come to the house to talk work?

"Her place isn't on the way home.

"So you can wait."

"Brent!"

I stepped forward, wanting to say something.

He'd already rolled the window up.

Never mind that my hand was still on the glass.

The tires churned up water and drenched me head to foot.

I stood there in the wind and rain.

I couldn't tell what was tears on my face and what was rain.

One step at a time.

I fought the wind back to the company entrance.

My coworkers had all gone.

The lights in the building were off.

I stood under the awning by the door.

Waited until midnight, and that familiar car never came.

My phone buzzed.

It was Gladys.

"Meryl, catch a ride home with one of the others.

"Brent and I found a new problem tonight. He probably won't make it over to pick you up.

"Don't wait."

My hand stayed frozen around the phone for a long time.

She'd already hung up, and still I hadn't lowered it.

The cold wind lifted the hem of my clothes.

Snapping in the gusts.

I turned.

And walked alone into the pitch-black building.

Curled up at my desk.

Wrapped a jacket around myself.

And closed my eyes in the dark.

It was the sound of an electrical current that woke me.

By the time I made my way down to the basement lab with a flashlight.

I found the lab already flooded.

The gauge needles swung wildly.

And the ground-fault breaker had been switched off.

There was no time to hesitate.

I lunged over and flipped the ground-fault breaker on.

Quickly hit the drainage switch.

Something, somewhere, went wrong.

The cantilever beam overhead let out a piercing hum.

Then a heavy crash.

It came down hard.

When I came to.

There was still gauze wrapped around my head.

The door opened.

Brent appeared in the doorway, out of breath.

"Where's Meryl?"

The tears spilled out all at once.

"Brent!"

Crack.

A slap knocked me sideways.

My already battered forehead rang instantly.

"What are you even good for anymore!"

Brent stared at me, eyes red.

"Why did you switch off the ground-fault breaker! Do you have any idea, that one move of yours, all of Gladys's experiment data is gone!"

I was shaking.

"I didn't! When I got there the ground-fault breaker was already off! I only went to turn it on!"

"Meryl…"

Only then did I notice.

Gladys was standing in the doorway.

Her eyes were red.

"Are you trying to say I was the one who didn't switch off the ground-fault breaker?"

I clenched my teeth to hold back the shaking.

"When I got there… the ground-fault breaker was already off…"

"Enough!"

Brent looked at me.

"Only an amateur like you makes a rookie mistake like this.

"How many times have I said it, don't touch mine and Meryl's things!

"You don't understand any of it! Why do you always think you know best!"

I stared at him, dazed.

Coworkers, drawn by the shouting.

They tried one after another to calm Brent down.

Brent gave me a cold look.

And turned.

"Brent, where are you going?"

"Back to write the report. This accident is serious. It has to go up to headquarters.

"Meryl is the primary party responsible!"

"Brent!"

My eyes went wet.

"Wait, Brent!"

Someone blocked his way.

"If this gets reported, she'll never find work again.

"And the compensation alone would start in the seven figures."