Absinthe Of The Heart by Monica James

Author:Monica James [James, Monica]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: fiction
Publisher: Monica James
Published: 2018-05-13T18:00:00+00:00

Peering down at my watch, I see that it’s almost crazy o’clock.

So much for living and learning, because if I learned my lesson, I wouldn’t be standing outside the back of work, waiting…waiting for Sin to tell me there is some mistake.

I called in sick, another first for me, but there was no way I could face people. I was too afraid they’d see what I’d done. I couldn’t stay home, seeing as my parents would smell a rat, so I wrapped up my soiled sheets and threw them and my future into the dumpster in the alleyway behind my home.

With nowhere to go, I roamed the streets, hoping the farther I walked, the farther I’d venture away from the mess I’ve made. The crème of the crop was out in force, and I shared the streets with the pimps, drug dealers, and gang members who looked no older than ten. I was propositioned for sex more times than I could count. I simply shrugged it off, not biting back as I usually would because they could probably smell the whore on me.

I passed endless phones, but each time I inserted a quarter, dialing Belle, I hung up before she had a chance to answer. After a while, I ran out of money and excuses, and all that was left was this guilt eating a hole right through me.

I walked the streets of Los Angeles in a daze until I ended up at work and sat behind the rink, waiting…waiting…I didn’t know what I was waiting for until I remembered Sin’s letter. He asked me to meet him, and a small part of me believes that he will. But as day became night, the clarity of what happens next was shadowed by my shame.

I’m sitting on the back step, head cradled in my palms. He will come, I assure myself, but that hope fades with each stroke of the clock. As each second ticks by, I sniff back my tears and attempt to compose myself as best I can.

When footsteps sound lightly against the uneven pavement, I turn so quickly my ponytail whips me in the face. I’m unblinking, too afraid I’ll miss a second if I move. He came. He’s here to tell me the truth.

“Holland?” That voice deflates my last shred of hope.

Standing feet away is not Sin, but Thomas, my work colleague. He doesn’t hide his surprise to find me skulking behind work seeing as I’m supposed to be sick. “Is everything all right?”

His fingers clutch around the top of the black garbage bag he’s holding, most likely ready to wield it as a weapon if I launch forward and demand he feed me his brains.

Pulling it together, I nod. “I’m fine. I just…” But I don’t bother. I’ve run out of excuses. “What time is it?”

There must be something wrong with my watch. It reads 10:08 p.m. Shaking it, I hold it up to my ear to ensure it’s still ticking. It is.

Thomas pulls out his cell, the screen lighting up his face.

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