The World Breaks Everyone by Lauren Clark

Author:Lauren Clark
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Camellia Press
Published: 2018-08-02T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 27

Monday

Olivia

Clutching a cup of coffee she’d bought from an ancient vending machine, Olivia waited for the arrival of the huge royal blue double-decker vehicle. The tickets had been cheap, thank goodness, as it seemed her cash supply dwindled by the hour.

Stiff and sore, she stood on the edge of Elysian Fields Avenue on the chipped and gravelly sidewalk, several yards away from the temporary bus stop. The Monday morning sun beat down on her face relentlessly, as if the beams were attempting to memorize every plane of her face. It was too hot for the trash bags; she had happily discarded them hours ago.

She shielded her eyes, trying to ignore the nearby smokers’ idle chatter and the scent of tobacco wafting up around her in twists and curls. The smell made her stomach turn. She needed fruit or bread—anything to make her insides quit complaining—but she was too afraid that darting into a dollar store might mean being caught on camera, or missing the bus entirely.

For just fourteen dollars, the 11:40 a.m. ride would deliver her safely to the state capitol. It was an hour and thirty-five-minute trip, just long enough for her to charge her dead burner phone and catch a nap. The next bus to Baton Rouge after that one wasn’t for hours, and she couldn’t wait that long.

Olivia was weak from lack of solid sleep, desperate for a hot meal, and exhausted from looking over her shoulder. She felt as if the paranoia was the worst, though her insomnia probably compounded it. Olivia tried to remember what her biology teacher had taught her class about humans and rest. Rats died after eleven days without food, she recalled that much. She struggled to think about the lecture, trying to picture the notes on her laptop. She thought about her classmates, enjoying a day off school, probably preparing for tonight’s parades.

Olivia pressed her fingers to her temples and sank to an empty seat. It was like being drunk, her teacher had said—at 24-36 hours not eating or sleeping—judgment and memory became impaired, decision making and coordination both suffered. After 48 hours, people start having micro-blackouts. At 72 hours without sleep, the mind might begin hallucinating.

She’d taken the comforts of home, her bed, the meals, completely for granted. Olivia was filthy, her skin chafed, her nails torn. They stung, dry and gritty, as if they’d attracted every bit of the street’s dust and dirt. Olivia longed for a hot shower or bath.

When she wasn’t thinking about that, Olivia obsessed about her father. She looked for him everywhere, as if he might appear on the sidewalk, strolling toward her with his brilliant grin and rich mocha skin. At least twice that morning, she was startled at the angle of a shoulder or a darkened profile, only to find, at closer examination, a total stranger minding his own business.

Where was he? Was he sleeping, eating? Had he gotten away? Was he looking for her? She reminded herself that he was an Army ranger, a decorated soldier, someone who saved lives.

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