Chapter 038

[Apple]

The alley is dark and cold. I don't know this part of town, I'm not sure where I'm going, all I know is that I need to get away from those women. Wandering, I let my feet take me down the alley, onto the street, and around again until I end up somewhere completely different.

I don't know where I am, but my chest hurts too much for me to care.

"They hate me," I kick a rock and watch it skip into a puddle. "Of course they do. I'm a complete fraud."

The air is cold, clean, and moist. It must have rained while I was inside because all of the surfaces are a little damp, including a small broken chair leaning up against a wall. It makes a squelching sound as I sit, not caring if the water leaks into my sweatpants or not.

Closing my eyes, I place my face in my hands. Folding in half, I let everything go--every fear, every heartbreak, every moment of uncertainty pours from me, as I consider everywhere I've been and what I'm being asked to do. It's all too much.

I wasn't a good enou