I park on the sidewalk in front of the two-story grey building, the large gleaming “Greenroad” sign its only exterior decoration. Its first floor is occupied by a nightclub or something, judging by the muffled booming music, and the few people smoking outside who are clearly dressed for a party.I slam the car door shut and head for the entrance, fully expecting an unpleasant interaction with a bouncer or a manager. Yet there’s nobody looking like security personnel, even though there is a stand outside clearly meant for one. In the meanwhile, the smokers begin to trickle back inside, and I enter with them without encountering as much as a single curious look.The corridor inside is almost completely dark save for the two rows of spotlights running along the floor. The music comes from behind the black drapes at the far end of it, louder now. I pause, looking around, and my eyes fall on the door with a stairs sign upon it.
When I open my eyes, there’s too much light. One lightsaber of it after another cuts into my vision as they fly over me. People’s heads appear and disappear, unfamiliar faces peer at me worriedly, hands and shoulders clad in identical blue scrubs occasionally block the light. Their mouths keep opening and closing, and I wonder vaguely why I can’t hear them. It feels like I’m watching a movie, and someone has pressed the mute button.Then I notice a familiar face, wet with tears, her hair hanging loose. I’ve never noticed how much grey she had in her hair. I want to call out to her and tell her to calm down, to not worry about me, but the stretcher I’m apparently lying on takes a turn, hits double doors and enters another room, and then I can’t see her anymore.Then, there’s more light, straight in my face, so I squeeze my eyes shut, and listen to the muffled voices coming through the fog. Then some
They keep telling me it’s going to be a slow process. That it will take months of physiotherapy to regain the full use of my arm and my leg. The man with “Dr. Frank” on his name tag gives me a detailed explanation, with pictures of muscles and bones and my X-rays. He pats me on my good shoulder and says that since I’m so young, I’m likely to recover well. The arm will probably be fine, but the damaged tendon in my thigh might cause a slight limp that is unlikely to ever completely go away.I sit in my bed and nod and ask questions, even though it doesn’t feel quite real to me. I’m still weak from all the blood loss but it feels good to at least be able to sit and talk, so I don’t care nearly as much as I should about the meaning of the conversation. I don’t grasp the most important thing, not until he leaves, and Catherine sits down on my bed, and then she tells me.“What do you mean?&r
My eyes keep gravitating to the two women on the corner, to their long legs and short skirts. One of them wears thigh high leather boots like the ones that Julia Roberts sported in “Pretty Woman”. The similarity ends there, though, for there’s nothing pretty about this woman’s face. Her tense expression only briefly switches to fake inviting smiles as she follows the passing cars with her eyes. Thick layer of makeup fails to properly conceal what could be either severe acne or meth marks on her cheeks.Her friend is taller and broader in the shoulders and could be a transvestite as far as I can tell. She—he?—catches my eye and smiles. I look away, drumming my fingers on the wheel, waiting for the light to change.The exhaust fumes of the cars in front of me rise into the cool night air. Neon signs blink along the road, distracting from the dirty brick walls on which they are mounted. Not a good part of New Yor
It takes me another week to find out where he lives and when he comes home. After juggling my shifts a bit, asking Bart to substitute for me on Friday, and lying to my boss about finally scoring a date, I get a night off. In a way, I do have a date. It’s just that my date doesn’t know about it yet.I manage to grab a few hours of sleep before the alarm clock rings at one AM.It feels strange to leave home in the middle of the night.I park by the sidewalk on a small street far removed from the busy areas of the city, turn the engine off and sit still for a few minutes, listening to the silence interrupted by a whooshing sound of cars passing by. The rare pedestrians do not even notice me in the shadows of the driver’s seat. After a while, I put my earphones on and find some night radio station on my phone. The music fills my ears and I lean back in my seat, keeping my eyes on the sidewalk.The sky is begin
His reaction is immediate. The moment the door locks click, his hand darts down to his right boot and then comes up with a thin blade that he points at my face.“Unlock the doors,” he says. “Unlock the fucking doors!”I catch his wrist and push the sharp steel away from my face; then twist his hand so that the blade flies into the back seat. His tries to unclench my fingers with his free hand, then throws it forward, trying to stick his finger in my eye.“Stop it,” I snarl, avoiding the blow and catching his second wrist as well.“Unlock the doors, you psycho!” He tries desperately to shake me off, then twists in his seat and hits me in the stomach with his foot. I gasp and let go. He turns to the window and slams his elbow into it. The glass doesn’t break; he hisses with pain and turns to me again.“Open the door! I told you I don’t want no trouble!”
The warehouse is long and dark and empty, and every sound we make is accompanied by an echo. The light of the dawn streams in through the holes in the roof and the glassless windows. Raven takes a few steps, looks around, then turns to me, sticking his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans.“You sleep here?” He points around with his chin. “A bit trampish, if you don’t mind me saying.”“Not right here. There’s a couple of rooms in the basement where the truck drivers used to rest when this place was still in use. There’s a toilet and a little kitchen and a couple of mattresses left.”“Five stars, sounds like.” He nods. “So? We’re here. What do you want?”I take a step in his direction. He flinches but remains in place, watching my approach. He looks pale and tired in the light of the morning. He’s almost a head shorter than me now. The difference
The downstairs room is empty save for the mattress on the floor. It’s relatively clean, too. I’ve swept the place thoroughly when I first started sleeping here on the days my shifts were scheduled too close together to make driving home worth my while.Raven walks around, peeks into the little adjacent bathroom, then turns to me, wrinkling his nose.“Not five stars,” he says. “Four at most.”“There.” I hand him the paper cup I have brought from the coffee machine in the corridor.He leans on the wall and brings the cup to his nose, inhaling the smell. “Arsenic, by any chance?”“Why would I want to poison you?”“I don’t know. I can’t think of any reasons why would you want to be friendly, either.”“There are easier ways to kill you if I wanted to.”“Easier, but less fun.” He ta
So thirsty....my lips felt so dry as I lash out my tongue over them. I opened my eyes slowly to a bright room and a biping sound that I noticed was coming from a machine beside the bed.My eyes travel to my left hand that was hooked unto a bag of blood hanging over the bed. I felt a sharp pain in my right shoulder as I struggle to sit down.Where the hell are the nurses when you need them...I threw the sheets that was covering my body and dropped my bare legs on the tiled floor.So cold...“You shouldn’t be up, sir” came a voice by the door. A lady dressed in blue pants and top rushed to me dropping a clipboard she was holding unto the bed to push me back to lay down slowly.“Th-thirsty...”“Right!...that’s why you have that thingy. See? Just press that next time you need something okay?” She motions to my left hand with a smile. A little remote thingy to my reac
So thirsty....my lips felt so dry as I lash out my tongue over them. I opened my eyes slowly to a bright room and a biping sound that I noticed was coming from a machine beside the bed.My eyes travel to my left hand that was hooked unto a bag of blood hanging over the bed. I felt a sharp pain in my right shoulder as I struggle to sit down.Where the hell are the nurses when you need them...I threw the sheets that was covering my body and dropped my bare legs on the tiled floor.So cold...“You shouldn’t be up, sir” came a voice by the door. A lady dressed in blue pants and top rushed to me dropping a clipboard she was holding unto the bed to push me back to lay down slowly.“Th-thirsty...”“Right!...that’s why you have that thingy. See? Just press that next time you need something okay?” She motions to my left hand with a smile. A little remote thingy to my reac
I have never seen anyone so determined. Aiden was driving like we were the only ones on the road. I stole a few glances at him but couldn’t find anything to say. I mean what can you say to a man that is about to loose the only thing that matters in his life. Loosing Estel will be like loosing Sandra once more. There was no words to console him at this moment. I felt his determination and all I want at this very moment is to put Estel into his arms.I was monitoring thegpsthingy and directing him on which route to turn. We soon came into view with his car and before we could overtake him a truck crossed us.“Fuck! Fuck!” Aiden cursed heating the wheel and stepping hard on the breaks.“Calm down, please. We are no use to her dead, alright?” I reasoned frightened shitless.“Look, there is a turn around here. If we take it we will catch up to him right ahead” I inform pointing to my right where
I walked slowly with Aiden hanging onto me back into the house then straight to my room. I sat him down on the bed and went back to the kitchen to get him a glass of water.“While we wait for Ash, am gonna call the police.”“No don’t!” He stops me while I was reaching for my phone to dial the emergency line.I knew something was wrong when his first instinct wasn’t to call them.“Why not?” I asked surprise, “I heard the first hours are the most important times. We can’t miss that window, baby.”He shook his head slowly and took my hand in his while I just stared at him calmly.“He-He said not to call the police...”“He? What does he want? Money? You can’t be serious about not calling the police.”“He doesn’t want money. He just called to tell me he was taking her away...forever.”
I felt a weight on my back as I try to turn in my sleep. I stire awake realizing where I was. The play room. My hands were in bondage while I layed flat on my stomach. Aiden’s head was right on my right butt where he slept soundly. I chuckled dropping my face back into the pillow while the images of last night came flooding my mind.I didn’t know it was going to be this fun. I always knew there was an air of dominance in Aiden but actually being dominated by him in bed tops it all.He moved and placed a kiss on my ass while I giggle rising my head from the pillow, “how long you been awake?”He replied nothing but got up hovering over me to lay flush on me knocking the air out of my lungs.“Are you trying to kill me? You monster” I asked trying to breath trough my mouth.He chuckled, “why would I do that?” He licked my earlobe and I moaned.“I wanna see you”
I was woken up by the infernal sound of a phone ringing.“Babe?”I turned over and stretched out my hand to tap his cheek lightly.“Your phone.”He mumbled in his sleep and stirred awake. He stretched out his hand tapping blindly on the dresser to pick up his phone. He stared at the screen squinting his eyes at the brightness. He answered bringing it to his ear.“Hello? Who is it?” Silence. He sat up slowly, “I think you dialed the wrong line” he brings the phone back to his face to stare at it again, “hello?”“Strange.”“What’s wrong, babe?” I call for the second time surprising myself.“I don’t know. Something about they are coming for her?”“That’s creepy.”“I know” he replied calmly running his hand trough his messy locs. He turned b
I can’t remember the last time I saw my mom in the kitchen. I walked into the kitchen and found her humming.“Mom? Everything okay?”“Hi baby! Remember these?” She motions towards a plate of cookies. I took one and munched into it humming.“You made these?”“Of course! I know they are your favorite” she grinned happily.“These are delicious!” I praised with my mouth full.“I know!”“Esther?” I asked after swallowing.“She came home late last night. She is still sleeping. You should get ready for work.”I was reluctant to leave her alone in the kitchen but it was nice to see her being her old self for once.“I will see you tonight, mom. Love you” I kiss her head while she sat on a stool with her hands securely around a cup of coffee that rested on the kitchen co
The ride to wherever he was taking me was in silence while we stole glances at each other.For fuck sakes! We are two grown men but look like two high school boys on their first date.Technically it is our first date.“Are you okay? You look nervous.”“Yeah... yeah sure. A little too excited maybe” I chuckled and he nodded taking my hand surprising me. I look at our entangled fingers and back at him. He winked and my mouth went agape with a huge blush creeping on my face.He chuckled, “you are too adorable, Tyler.”Heat rose to my cheek and I tried snatching my hand from his but he gripped tightly and I gave up smiling at my own embarrassment and look away from his dominating eyes.“Let’s go inside” he informed after the car stopped infront of a huge classy restaurant. I nodded and got down feeling all of a sudden out of place.We were directed by somewhere t
Mom fell asleep on the couch with us and I got up picking her up bridal style to her room.“I like her.” Aiden says with a smile when I came back and sat down.“She likes you too” I chuckled.We stayed silent while I try to focus on the tv-screen which seemed impossible with Aiden’s eyes on me. We shared a few kisses and touches and I must have fallen asleep because I woke up at dawn with a blanket covering my feet up till my hips and no Aiden.I fell asleep while he was here! That’s definitely not cute.The next couple of days at work was with us kissing whenever and wherever we found ourselves alone. He didn’t seem to care about privacy though. I couldn’t risk it. I know he is the boss but we were still at work.I arrived at work and after chatting with my colleagues as always I walk up to my desk to find a card. I look around like it was a bomb. I picked it up and slowly