Chapter One
Tap tap tap. The sound of keys echoed in my memory as my fingers walked like cat’s feet back and forth across the wooden desk. After much struggle I was able to concentrate and write my name in the upper right hand corner. Tap tap tap. The words “Charlotte Brodson” reflected back into my narrow dark green irises. I let out a deep sigh of frustration. I wasn’t there yet. I scrolled down a few centimeters, freed my fingers from the cool shelter of the mouse, and let them return back to their sweaty prison. Tap tap. I paused, stared at my computer and got up to leave. I was not going to be able to write for a while for I was sick. Pink jelled flabby muscle and intelligence clogged by little invaders called procrastination.
I shuffled through temporarily crowded hallways, in a hope to avoid my boss, Mr. Kravitz but, my eyes regrettably met his just as I got to the door leading to the top of the stairwell. “Brodson! He yelled, ‘leaving work a little early, aren’t we?” I froze, as he walked towards me, wanting to move but my feet stayed glued to the floor. “Well! What’s your excuse this time?” he asked in an angry un-playful tone. I gulped down my fear and answered, my voice crumbling in the process.
“I…I’m just not feeling that well sir.” He reached out his hand, and I jolted back thinking that it was going to grab me but it landed calmly on my shoulder. I watched him as his dark eyes became open and compassionate and his expression seemed sad, almost near tears as if to say “oh I remember.” He nodded at me, pulled his hand back and turned away to leave.
The stairway was dark and I was alone, which made me feel afraid. My feet seemed to move faster as I had no one to hold me back. My heart pumped harder and harder until…darkness. I woke up one my back still on the staircase. The darkness had seemed to go on forever and I had questioned my ability to ever get down to the world where the light would once again reign. I got up, dusted off my pants, walked down the remainder of steps and left the building.
The outside world beyond the shady musty walls of the building seemed different to me. All around me, local civilians scurried to get to different parts of the city. I was entangled but I felt alone. I pondered this as I walked on. Deep within the thoughts of my mind, I failed to notice that I had reached the stairs leading to my house. Paying as little attention as possible caused me to miss the first step and I fell on the cold hard pavement, hearing the laughter of the neighboring kids. Faced down with arms and legs out stretched, I spied the tan line from the band on my finger. The line was pale, almost ghostly and drained of all color. I forced myself to sustain from becoming tearful and picked myself up and walked into an easily deserted house, which I no longer had the privilege to call a home.
I tried my best to carry myself down a gloomy hallway that lead to an uninviting dimly lit room. The only light in the room came from a small almost powerless candle that sat on a windowsill. An unwanted photograph had fallen off of my wall of memories. Getting down on one knee, I picked up the photo and longingly stared. Water stains had made any other face if there was one unrecognizable. I was powerless to stop my tears from falling, and my face was covered just as incoming tides cover the beaches edge. Ring. My mourning session was interrupted by a loud high-pitched buzz. Ring ring. I wasn’t going to answer it so I sat and waited.
“This is Charlie (formally known as Charlotte), I am unable to answer the phone right now but if you care to leave a message please do.” The answering machine belted back at me.
“Charlie…it’s me, Liz, pick up! I know you’re there! Pick up! Pick up please!” I stayed silent for a moment, wondering if I could put myself in a mood that would permit me to talk with my best friend Liz. I scooted towards the answering machine and pressed the speakerphone button.
“What do you want Liz?” Click, the call unexpectedly ended.
Silence gently flowed around me but I was relaxed. Slam. I jolted, my eyes opened, my heart beating fast, the front door. As far as I knew, there had been no one in the house besides me, Instead of going to see what had made the noise I crept under a wooden desk that occupied a corner of the room, and listened to the sound of heels click clacking across the wooden floor. The click clack of the heels disappeared as they came down the hallway, my hallway. The door opened and I stared at the dark tall figure that stared dumbfounded by the empty room. Walking over to the desk she peered underneath it to find me crouched in the fetal position. “Liz! I said, more happily surprised than scared.”
“I knew you’d be here”, she said, smiling as she pulled me out from under the desk. My happiness immediately turned into rage as I realized that it was in fact Liz standing in front of me.
“What the hell did you just barge in here for, are you trying to give me a heart attack!” She laughed and pulled me back down the hallway and out the front door. “Where are we going?” I asked. She turned and stared at me with a grin.
“We’re going to a club!” I stopped abruptly and turned to go back into the house. Before I could get any farther, Liz’s hand grabbed my wrist.
“I’m not going to a club!” I yelled. I tried to pull away but she wouldn’t let me.
“Why won’t you go Charlie? I know why, because you can’t leave the past behind.” Once again I attempted to tug my arm out of Liz’s reach. “Ohhhhh no, we’re going to the club, its time for you to grow up!” she yelled. My unwilling steps backwards were over-powered by Liz’s unmerciful pulls. We got into her red Volvo and drove off. The interior of the car was chard and black. I gasped as if I was a fish without water and Liz’s hand gently touched my leg “It’s be okay Char.”
We drove on passing dark ally ways until we reached a tall cryptic building. Entering through the doors of this place my nervousness got the better of me. We entered and I flinched but I resisted the protests that my nerves were causing. It had only been two years since I had been out with Liz but it felt like a lifetime. Brightly colored lights shined on secret corners revealing intimate shadows from the darkness. “I can’t do this,” I said, pulling back. I had never been as outgoing, nor was I used to being in big crowds of people. We walked down the darken steps until we reached the main floor. People were packed together on the dance floor, like sardines in a can, dancing and enjoying their partner’s company. Arms and legs twirled around us spinning in unpredictable motions, flailing to the sound of music that the band provided. I walked around, hoping that I wouldn’t get lost into a sea of people.
My feet trudged slowly as I followed Liz to the bar and sat beside her on one of the dusty wooden stools. The bar tender gave a quick glance, and then turned back to pull out two thin menus that had been stacked on a small shelf underneath the mountain of booze. Clearly he had figured out that Liz and I weren’t most people. Most people probably would’ve been his regulars and they would have no need for a menu. Liz took her menu and scanned it. She had always been sure of what she wanted; I watched her eyes quickly go down the list of drinks and then stop suddenly. Hands pinned to the countertop, and bulging eyes flickering fast enough for someone to think he had tourette syndrome, the bartender stared at us, processing a face that made him look quite piggish while developing a traveling strand of drool that ran from the corner of his lip to his shirt collar. “So what’ll it be tonight girls?”
Liz turned to me, whispering into my ear, “you know that anyone with enough sense would never let a guy like this serve them anything.”
“Hey! You were the one that wanted to come here in the first place so why not enjoy it. Anyway I totally needed a drink after the hell of a week I’ve had!” I turned back to the bartender, “excuse me sir I’ll have a bourbon on the rocks.” Liz stared at me suspiciously. It was the kind of stare when one eyebrow is up but the other remains down and in place. She knew how much I hated that kind of stare, the stare that only occurs after you say something and your friends are secretly thinking “what a load of crap!”
“You’ve had a hard week! Trust me kiddo you don’t know how difficult life can be. I admit that what you went through was awful but what about my life.” I shot her a playful grin; she was a drama queen.
“What’s wrong with you? Trouble in paradise?”
Before Liz could answer we were both once again greeted by the unfortunately low tone of the bartender. “Lady! For the last time what will it be!” he yelled. Even though I knew that it was in fact his job to ask that question I was well aware that he didn’t want to and I couldn’t blame him. We had sat there for exactly forty minutes leaving him with the unfortunate duty of repeating his question over and over. Liz had clearly caught on to his emotion because she scanned the menu once more, this time in an extremely panicked speed.
“I have a white wine spritzer please.” The bartender turned away for a minute or two and handed us both our drinks and after exchanging a few unforgiving smiles we returned to our conversation.
“So what’s wrong with you Liz since there’s clearly a problem between you and Martin?”
“Oh I’m so surprised that you actually remember my husband’s name let alone the fact that I got married since you dropped all contact for two whole years!”
“Okay fine I deserve that and I’m sorry. So what’s the problem?”
“Oh I don’t know,” she took a sip of her drink and continued. “I guess our sense of communication is off, you know he says we don’t have a problem, I say we do, it’s a huge mess!”
"Wow well sweetie I kind of need to go to sleep because I have a busy day at work tomorrow since I didn't exactly start or finish my article."
"Um no you are not going back to that dark shack that you call a house, stay with Martin and I for a while, here" she tossed me the keys to the volvo and I took one last sip of my drink and got up to leave.
It didn't really interest me to start reading your story.
