Thoughts on mean southern Wanda x reader where reader is just running themselves into the ground?
I love this series so much thank you for giving it to us (screaming crying throwing up)
In hindsight, maybe working two consecutive double shifts on the busiest days of the week hadn’t been your greatest idea.
In theory, it shouldn’t have been a big deal. The diner opened at 6am and closed at 10pm, so hypothetically you could leave at close on Saturday and have a proper 8 hours of rest before opening Sunday morning.
But, of course, things hadn’t gone quite as you expected. Friday night you’d come down with a bug and spent most of the night feverishly tossing around instead of resting, so when your alarm went off on Saturday morning, you hadn’t slept at all. Then there was a small rush of customers that came in just before closing, leaving you cleaning up the aftermath until after midnight.
It was hardly worth it to go home by the time you finished, so you just crashed for a few hours in a booth before opening early the next morning. If the diner wasn’t already short staffed on the busiest day of the week, your boss would’ve sent you home when she saw you. You looked like hell. Instead, she sent you to the back of house with a cooling rag around your neck and a promise you’d leave if you felt any sicker.
You were halfway through the pile of dishes left over from the after-church rush when your vision started to blur. Keeping your eyes open suddenly felt impossible, and closing them felt almost blissful. White spots swam around your head, growing bigger and bigger until they obscured everything else. You felt sweaty and hot, like you’d die if you didn’t take off your clothes. Your apron felt suffocating, making you tear at the strings around your waist and pull it off over your head, sending your hat clattering against the tile floor.
Clumsily, you stumbled from the sink in an attempt to make it to the back door. You needed some fresh air. The door opened to reveal the afternoon sun beating down blindingly against the pavement. Everything was so painfully bright. You just barely managed to lean against the brick wall and ease yourself down before the white spots took over your vision entirely and you collapsed.
You woke up to the feeling of cold hands and an ice pack on your face. Even before opening your eyes, you could identify the figure leaned attentively over you. At first, you had assumed it was Stella, your boss. But you would’ve known the smell of this perfume and the feel of these fingers from anywhere.
“Mama?” You whined groggily, opening your eyes and trying to sit up. “How’d you… why are you here?”
“Your boss called. Said I could come get you or she’d call you an ambulance. But we all know you can’t afford that so I came to play paramedic for your puny ass. Again.” she explained.
“What?” You asked, still confused. “Why’d she call you? How’d she even get your number?”
Stella rounded the corner with a tall glass of ice water and a straw, squatting down next to you and helping you sipping the cool liquid. “She was the only emergency contact listed in your phone,” she answered, not giving Wanda an opportunity to explain for herself.
“But…” you started again, head still swimming with confusion. “I never put you in my phone as an emergency contact.”
Wanda’s mouth pinched into a tight line. Before you could ask anymore questions, she was throwing your arm over her shoulder, wrapping her arms around your waist and propping you up against her body. “C’mon. You need a bed and a cold shower. I’m taking you home. God you are heavier than you look.”
Much to Wanda’s dismay, Stella took up your other side, supporting some of your weight as they half-dragged you to Wanda’s truck and hoisted you into the passenger door.
Stella leaned over you, securing your seatbelt so you wouldn’t slump forward and tumble into the floorboard. Then she leaned in through the window as Wanda made her way around to the driver side and playfully ruffled your hair, earning a sneer from Wanda.
“Get some rest, kid,” she said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Wanda started rolling the window up while Stella’s arms and head were still poking through, making her jerk backwards in surprise. “No you won’t,” she sneered. “They haven’t had a day off in what, three weeks? Hire yourself another server. You can have them back on Wednesday.”
She peeled out of the parking lot without giving your boss a chance to respond or even step away from the car. You didn’t see, but you wouldn’t have been surprised if Wanda had knocked her onto her ass.
“You shouldn’t be so mean to her, you know. She takes good care of me,” you sighed, turning towards Wanda.
“Yeah well you were passed out cold in her kitchen, so you’ll have to excuse me if I don’t believe that,” Wanda retorted. “I mean, you said you weren’t feeling well on Friday, and yesterday she said you looked…” she paused, realizing what she’d said.
“What? You came in yesterday to check on me?” You sat up, shocked by the accidental confession. Wanda hadn’t ever responded to the text you sent her about not feeling well on Friday night. You’d just assumed she hadn’t read it.
“No!” Wanda snapped immediately. “I just met Agnes for lunch yesterday afternoon and you work at one of the only diners in town. You had nothing to do with it.”
“But you asked about me,” you doubled down.
“I just wanted to know why you weren’t serving like you usually do. I was just trying to make small talk with Stella, is all.” Her jaw went tight, grinding her molars together anxiously. You knew she was lying as she always made a point to talk to your boss as little as possible, but you decided to let it go.
“I wish I would’ve known,” you said. “I would’ve put extra strawberries and whipped cream on your pancakes like I usually do.” Whenever Wanda came in, you were always sure to draw a big heart with whipped cream and fill it in with strawberries.
“You’re gonna get both of us in trouble with that one day,” she said with a smirk.
“Yeah well,” you replied uncaringly, “you’re gonna get me fired if you keep insisting I stay home. So we’ll call it even.”
You had nearly fallen asleep by the time Wanda pulled into her driveway. She didn’t bother helping you out of the car as you had expected, leaving you to slowly navigate your way out of the big truck.
The moment you shut the passenger door, you were pushed back against it with a powerful stream of ice cold water, soaking through your work uniform and cooling your warm skin.
You tried to scream and dodge the oncoming blast, but you just ended up choking on a sudden mouthful of water.
“Whoops,” Wanda smirked, turning the hose to a lighter shower setting. “I must’ve turned it on the jet by accident.”
“You know, when you said cold shower, this is not what I thought you meant!” You shouted over the sound of the water. “Oh and are you gonna explain how you ended up as an emergency contact in my pho-“
You couldn’t finish the sentence before she’d turned the hose back to the jet setting, aiming it right at your face.
“Don’t bring those wet clothes in the house,” she demanded, clicking the hose off. Without another word of explanation, she turned on her heels to head inside, leaving you soaked and shivering in the driveway.
