Chapter Two: Different Lives –
Different Lies
~ LATER THAT NIGHT ~
Charisma
walked through the bay doors of the dining room, onto the outside
deck. The air was typically warm, pushing softly against
her tanned skin. She breathed in slowly, as if taking the
entire world in with one breath. She could hear the
chatting of the others behind her, but she was really not paying
too much attention. She starred down at the rolling yard,
it went for as far as she could see, stretching out a boundary
much like a farm, but lined with oaks and garden love seats.
“Admiring
the view?” Nick inquired stepping out onto the patio.
“It’s
very pretty out here” Charisma smiled, without turning her
head from the sky
Nick strolled
slowing over to where she was standing, placing his hands lazily
on the railing in front of him, leaning down he starred over to
the ground only a matter of about a meter below.
“I
suppose, I prefer the ocean more” Nick remarked, reaching
down to touch the flowers that grew below him. His
fingertips graced their velvety tips only slightly before he
pulled away.
“It’s
serenity, or its chaos?” Charisma laughed as she pulled her
hair from its tie. It had been bugging her all night, her
hair was almost like a safety blanket. She felt more at ease with
it wrapped around her shoulders.
“Where
are you going?” Zara whispered as Brian went to walk outside
“Out
there” Brian laughed goofily as he pointed out to the patio
“No, can’t
you see their talking, lets just leave them” Zara smiled,
pulling Brian back from the door
“You’re
an odd breed” Brian grinned as he wrapped his arms around
her waist
“Yeah but
that’s why you love me” Zara responded poking her
tongue out jokingly
“Both I
suppose” Nick shrugged “The chaos, keeps your mind from
wandering” he added shrugging
“You don’t
like to wander?”
“I prefer
not to. What’s the point?”
“There
isn’t one” Charisma laughed “The point of
wandering is to let your mind go, to escape reality”
“Live in
a fairy world?” Nick mocked
“It’s
what you make it”
“I make
it a fairy world, and sooner or later you meet reality and then
you’re fucked cause you don’t know shit about the real
world, or what its capable of, then what do you do? You cant so
shit all, you’re righteously fucked” Nick commented
before walking inside
“Thanks
for dinner, goodnight, I’ll see you later” he spoke
hurriedly to Zara and Brian as he grabbed his coat and made a
hastened exit.
“Did I
say something wrong?” Charisma inquired as she stood in the
doorway, her long arms hugging herself subconsciously
“Nick’s
just high strung at times” Zara sighed. All she wanted
was to see him happy, somehow that didn’t look like it was
happening any time soon
~ SAN DEIGO
– CALIFORNIA ~
Abby sighed
softly as she slumped into the comfort of her couch, she kicked
off her high-heel shoes and sunk deeper into its fabric relief.
She flicked the radio across the room on with the remote in her
hands and sighed as the soft music played into the atmosphere.
The familiar sound of the loud banging from the apartment above
her started again, along with the muffled yelling of an annoying
60yearold, bitter old man, who had nothing better to do with his
life then stick in into other peoples.
Abby pulled
herself from the couch and flicked the volume down as she
strolled into the only bedroom in the small intercity apartment.
It wasn’t much, in fact it was pretty much nothing, a small
1 bedroom apartment, with a small kitchen and an even smaller
lounge. The paint was peeling off the wall, the couch was
well worn and second hand. The floor had little carpet, in
fact it was closer to the size of a mat, that was only in the
lounge. The bathroom consisted of a shower head above a
leaking bath and a toilet, that despite frequent cleans, never
seemed to look clean. But despite its leaks, holes,
cockroaches and noise from the surrounding city – it was
home, and the only one she had.
She pulled her
thick dark hair into a ponytail as she changed out of her
waitress uniform and into a pair of well-worn faded jeans and a
small blue t-shirt. Her thin legs shifted across the small
apartment and into the kitchen. She flicked through the
newspaper she’d thrown on the bench earlier, paying no
attention to anything really, but she needed someway to keep up
with the world around her. As usual, nothing took her
interest, until she flicked to the entertainment page –
there he was, starring up at her in simple black and white, but
she could still imagine the blue in his eyes and soft tan on his
face. She sighed quietly, closing the newspaper with one
swoop, trying to convince herself that she felt nothing for this
man.
~ BACK IN
FLORIDA – LATER THAT NIGHT ~
Charisma threw
her jacket carelessly onto the coat rack as she closed the large
wooden door to her house, swiftly behind her. She unhooked
her hoop earrings placing them on the dining table as she sulked
around the flash house. It was as big as she wanted, but
with time she would move onto bigger and better things, but for
now, the house nestled in an exclusive gated community would suit
her just fine. She slipped off her stiletto shoes carrying
them in her hands and she strolled down the long hallway, she
opened her bedroom door and flicked on the light. She
smiled to herself as she wandered around her familiar room.
She reached around the back of her dress and slowly pulled down
the zipper with ease and precision. The small black dress
she was wearing fell softly to the white carpet.
She stepped
from the crumpled dress and bent down to pick it up. She
flung it over the desk chair as she walked into the bathroom.
She starred at
herself closely as she stood in front of the full-length mirror
in only her underwear. She was tall and thin, something she’d
worked on for a long time. Her slender frame was tanned,
from the hours spent in tanning salons. She pulled her hair
from its prison and let it swoop down over her shoulders. As
she peered closer, she saw only the person she once was. Her
smiled turned into a scour as she scathed herself silently.
She huffed in annoyance, she wasn’t perfect – she hated
that.
Charisma
pulled a cigarette from the packet lying on the bathroom vanity
and poised it between her fingers. Lighting in quickly, she
inhaled the familiar scent of the smoke, something, which sent a
shiver of delight down her spine. She placed the cigarette
between her thin lips and sighed in comfort as its familiarity
encased her.
~ AT THE SAME
TIME ~
Nick sculled
back the last drop in the bottom of the beer car before throwing
it carelessly to the decking floor. It was a beautiful
night, a full moon illuminated the beach below him, and stars
graced the clear night sky, yet he felt anything but their magic.
He was angry with himself, he still held onto a distant memory,
yet it was fading. He was gripping Melissa with both hands,
yet slowly as time went by, she was slipping away from him.
He was loosing her, something he’d tried not to do for so
long, for 2 painstaking years.
He hated her
for leaving, but he hated himself even more for allowing that to
happen. His heart was dark with hate, hate for so many
people, hate for so many reasons, yet he cried. Bitter
tears, hurt tears, hated tears.
The wind blew
softly against his tired eyes, he swore to torment him –
every time the wind blew he was certain he heard Melissa calling
to him, telling him he was forgetting her, telling him he wasn’t
trying to help her, he wasn’t there when she needed him.
Her voice haunted him day in and day out, calling to him, begging
him, crying out for him to help her, for him to save her. He
heard her screaming his name as she lay petrified and barely
alive in the front seat of the blue Volkswagen Beetle she
cherished and adored. He heard her screaming as flames
engulfed her….
Nick screamed
loudly as he pushed a pottery vase with a small fern in it off
the decking, sending it unforgiving smashing to the ground below.
'