CHARITY
There are moments in life when it suddenly feels like the world has finally turned its back on you and has it middle finger right in your face. Moments when even your tears can't measure the amount of pain, you're in.
I think I was at that point in my life.
I laid numb on my couch, still dressed in my work clothes as I tried to think about where it all went wrong.
We had it going for a long time, Micah and I.
So long that I don't even remember who made the first move but it was exciting. The coy and knowing looks when we pass by each other, the feeling up while no one was watching in a meeting and even the frequent sexcapades in his office. Damn! He made me come while eating lunch at the company's cafeteria.
Even now, my gut clenched at how reckless I had been. Recklessness is-it's Shayne’s thing. The only thing that has stopped her from whoring herself out and having one-night stands is her job and even so, she still had a lot going.
I could still hear the horror in her voice when I told her I slept with my boss.
'Damn girl! I didn't know you had it in you'
Me neither.
I guess everyone at some point needed a little excitement in their lives. Only mine basically cost me my job and inevitably my career.
Still, getting home, I half expected-hoped Micah would call me. Apologize for everything that happened. Tell me to meet him at his cozy penthouse uptown. Kiss me and tell me he'll make it better and maybe even spend another night in his bed. It didn't take much time to realize that it was nothing but a fling and that I was a fool to think it meant more.
He was a goddamned liar. Only I realized a little too late.
I couldn't cry, the tears didn't come and even I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to control them when they do.
❃❃❃
"You're going to drink yourself to death char"
Shayne.
"Jesus Shayne! It's just caffeine! " I whined, downing the 7th cup of coffee that morning. Just as liquor and drugs relieved some people of their frustration, strong coffee keeps mine in check cause basically, I was at the point of losing it.
"Caffeine is just as strong as the regular alcohol char, it only aids your anxiety and restlessness and soon you'll have to depend too much on it "
I rolled my eyes, the perks of having a doctor for a friend.
"Oh, don't give me that look or we're going to go over why sleeping with your boss is so damn wrong! " She snapped at me.
And Just like that, my mouth clamps shut and the words that has intended to spill out of them got stuck in my throat. I knew what was coming next, this is one of the moments when she-oh so victoriously gives me a lecture about how she was right and I was wrong.
"Look at yourself! you're a mess" She said and I looked around my apartment. I was a mess alright.
My living room was littered with wraps of snacks and of course coffee. My fridge was wide open and the stench of rotten food invade my nostrils. I didn't even remember making that much of a mess last night.
"Has he even called you? " She asked, hand on her waist, her eyebrows raised knowingly. I shook my head, my lips quivering.
"You see? I warned you char! I told you you'd be the one to take the fall. You literally threw 5 years of your life into the trash! "
Maybe it was the reminder of all I've worked for going down the drain or the caffeine taking its toll on me, either way, I snapped.
"What the heck was I supposed to do? I was starting to like him-I -I thought we could-be-become more than---" I choked on the tears.
"Oh char! "
Shayne walked up to me and puts her arm around me pulling me into her embrace.
"Bastard" She seethed and I agreed, snuggling closer into her warmth.
"Your parents-have you told your parents? "
My heart clenched at the reminder of the people I would disappoint. How was I supposed to tell my parents I lost my job without telling them why I lost my job? My parents perfectly groomed me to be the perfect daughter and I don't want to imagine the looks on their faces when I give them the news, maybe later but now----
Shayne didn't press further as silence fell upon us. Her presence was just what I needed. I had given up fighting it alone and called her. The concerned tone in get voice was enough to assure that she would be at my door any minute from then.
" The man that saved you, you really didn't see him? "
Yes, I did. If staring into a pair of intense cold blue eyes counts. My troubled mind wandered off to the man that practically saved what was left of my life. In my head, I can still see the icy look those eyes held betraying his kind act toward me and how his voice cut deep into the cold night air like he owned it. Maybe it was his deep honeyed voice that made my head foggy or the air of mystery that surrounded him like a thick harmattan fog, it made me wish his face wasn't shielded by a cap.
Before I could answer, my phone vibrated off the kitchen table. I hurriedly stood to go for it, my heart hammering in my chest. I didn't know why but I silently prayed it was him. The excitement builds further when I saw Micah's name blink back on the screen.
Maybe I was wrong. Maybe he truly cares.
I opend the message and just like that, waves of disappointment crash on me. The room seemed to spin around me for a second and it looked like my whole life just got shattered right before my eyes.
"Char, who is it? "
Shayne said behind me. I couldn't speak. I tried but no words come out of my parted lips. It's okay Charity! You've been strong enough. I let the tears fall as I said the only words my numb mind could process.
"I need to leave"
Fast.
2 YEARS AFTER "Did you hear? A new bar opened up in town" The redhead the brunette was talking to paid no attention to her, instead she seemed to be disturbed by something as she filed her nails. The redhead is relentless though, she squeezed herself into the little cubicle and only made the brunette grumble in annoyance. "I heard the owner is soooooo hot" The redhead said again while fanning herself with her hands and fluttering her lashes. I think that finally did it for the brunette because she angrily slammed her nail filer on the table and glared at the redhead. I've got to admit the redhead is strong enough not to have turned into molted lava from the hot look the brunette is throwing her way. "And did you also hear that he is an ex-convict who got out only recently?" The brunette spat. The redhead gasped obviously surprised and disappointed that she missed a bit of the gossip. She's always the first to dish out new gossips and fresh news fr
*DAY ONE*Darkness. Pitch black . Nothingness. Emptiness. Coldness. What are these feelings? Am I in hell? Is this what hell feels Ike? Never been burned before but I'm sure this is scarier than a fire burning with brimstone. The darkness is sickening. Frightening. I want to get out of it. I desperately want to run out through the closed doors that shut me out and away , into this world of nothingness. In the darkness, I searched desperately for the light switch. The lamp. A candle. Anything to light this place up and bring with it the warmth I need. There is no lamp. In the same darkness I search for the windows. Why is there no window? Then I searched for the doors. Light suddenly creeps In. Did I find the door? The light was one-sided at first and then another floods from a different angle and it was almost blindning. The doors open and close momentarily. I came to realize that the doors were my eyes. And the darkness was from having them closed
CHARITY(Author's note: Though, these are my character's thoughts, the first few paragraphs stem from my own sentiments about life, unexpected twists and turns and Determinism (a concept that states; what will be will be "QUE SERA SERA")"Life is so unfair"That very statement. It has been so overly used that it has lost its meaning and purpose. It has lost the drive that makes us feel the intensity of the statement. Before we get to the point where we voice out that statement,we would have asked ourselves so many questions we got no answer to. Why did it happen? Why did it have to happen to me? And why did it have to happen at this particular time? Why me? Why not someone else? Why did he have it so easy? Why didn't she even break a sweat while I went through so much to achieve this? In the end, we go back to the same statement: life is so unfair. That's justWhen things take an unexpected twist and turn and we're met face to face with a shocking r
CHARITY*My phone wouldn't stop ringing as I drove as fast as I could to the given destination. I ignored the incessant ringing knowing who it was. The detective really has to wait. Answering his call could give away my location and I don't need him ruining my chance to actually meet Alice.His calls keep going into voicemails and they all played one after the other. Each one longer and more aggravating than the last. Boy! Was he angry."Pick up the damn phone Charity! Where are you""I can't find you on any of the roads that leads to your home Charity, where are you?""I told you to stay!!! I told you not to leave no matter what and now you won't answer my call? For God's sake answer the damn phone!""Please Charity! You don't know how worried I am right now. Are you okay? Just answer the phone please"The last one was calm and he sounded less annoyed but frustrated at the same time. I felt really bad for ignoring him a
CHARITY*I couldn't move a muscle from where I stood watching my father. I watched as his face turned pale and his expression, hard. He told me to leave but I don't know why I stayed. Normally, I feared my father and respected his commands but right now the only fear I had was not from him but for him. I feared for my father because I have never seen him so disoriented and whatever it is that has him like this, it has something to do with Alice, Dwyer's sister.The name sounded so familiar but it was like a chip off a distant memory. I tried to make a replay in my head of the places I've been and people I've met. If the sounds familiar, then I'm sure I've seen whoever bears that name.Nothing came up in my brain. It was totally blank. Why did the name have such a powerful effect on my father?"Dad". I called out with a voice so small I could hardly hear myselfThe steaming atmosphere between us was far gone replaced by a c
DWYER*After a few minutes of consultations and discussions that seemed to me like hours, Roman finally came back into the interrogation room with a phone in his hand."What took you so long? I didn't Know being a policeman required so much paperwork too" I taunted. He only shook his head at me and threw the phone on the table in front of me."I'm only doing this because it's you. Besides, there isn't enough evidence asides from the footage. That's the only thing that points towards you for now"I rolled my eyes at him. "What other evidence is more than my testimony and my admittance to my crime Romy?" I said and continued "I might not be educated or savvy like you are but I do know things too"He looked everywhere but at me. I Know why he's doing this. He was giving me time to refute my own claims and to confess who the true criminal is but once again, I've gone too far to just stop now. By now, Alice should be out of the town on her