The night was chilly
as the wind
engulfed me into a hug the moment I departed the presence of Bradley.
Fresh air.
No longer toxic.
But the tears fell as they wished
as my body ached in
agony.
That's what Brad is like;
agony.
So it was just me
walking alone
in the middle of night,
with tears freezing on my face.
But he was there,
the new boy.
Smoking a cigarette.
'What is a girl like you doing out alone at this time at night? Someone might get a little bad with you.'
He said
no emotion.
Oh the irony.
'Heading home.'
But I had no home to go back to.
Just a house
a broken house.
With broken people.
'Sit.'
His demanding voice made me cringe,
but I did so
that's just me
always accepting.
'So why are you crying?'
I sat there in silence,
why does he care?
'Rough night.'
I settled on.
Not daring to look him in the eye.
'Adam.'
He greeted without heart,
but I guess most people don't put forth emotions when they first meet you, do they.
'Ariel.'
Silence fell for some time.
'Here.'
I looked over to see that he was offering me a cigarette.
'oh, no I don't smoke.'
'You don't have to smoke to try. It's bad for you, but it takes the pain away. So it's worth it.'
I took the tiny tobacco filled cylinder
and fiddled with it
in between my fingers.
'It doesn't take the pain away.
Just subsides it.'
I finally mumbled, not sure if he could hear me.
'Better than nothing.'
He had a point,
so with that,
I lit the tip and inhaled.
It burned
my throat
my lungs.
It hurt so bad
so bad that it felt good.
