When The Light Goes Out

Chapter - 2

Monique took to loitering around the psychiatrist's on her lunch break. She had seen him standing on the steps after tripping the other day. Since that day she had walked by, trying to make the same time as when she saw him first, but he was never there. She had been doing this for a week now and some people were starting to recognize her and wave whenever they saw her. Monique stood as long as she could before starting back the way she had come. What would she even say to the man if she saw him? He was still a stranger to her after all.

Looking up from her watch she found herself staring right into the face of said stranger. Monique froze, her nerves instantly stopping her in her tracks. He smiled at her and walked hurriedly past. He was going up the stairs before she found her voice again and turned around.

"Trash guy!" He stopped and looked at her, confusion plain on his face. "No! I mean, you helped me when I fell the other day."

The light of realization shone in his eyes and he smiled at her. "Yeah, yeah I remember you. Um, I can't really-"

"I know, I'm not going to keep you I-I just... I saw you the other night outside the zoo. I was out with my boyfriend and we walked by and..." She was feeling more and more like combusting instantaneously with each word. "A-Are you okay? I couldn't do anything at that time because of him- I mean, my boyfriend but I-I wanted to make sure you were okay."

His expression softened and he nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Everything's fine now. Thanks."

She went up to him and handed him a piece of paper. "If you ever need anything just, um, you can call me or text or whatever. My name's Monique, by the way." She smiled nervously.

"Barry," he said shaking her hand. "Well, I got an appointment to keep. I'll see you around, Monique?"

"Yeah, same. I have work too so..." She turned and walked briskly away, clutching her blouse as her heart pounded painfully beneath her skin. Why did it hurt so much just to interact? She didn't hate people, but it was just too draining interacting. She glanced at her watch again before running back to work.

Thinking back on it now, why had she given her number away to the stranger? I mean, Barry. She sat at her desk staring at a spread she had taken the pictures for a while back. It was impulse. She had wanted to feel like she was doing something...something to help. She was scared that night when they had been walking. They weren't friends or anything, but they had interacted.

It was so painful, both physically and emotionally, that she had filed him away in the back of her mind as someone she "knew". She didn't know him. She knew nothing about this man. Monique sat at her desk rubbing her aching forehead as all of these thoughts cycled over and over in her mind. Terrence was going to be so upset if she told him. Regardless, everytime her phone vibrated in her pocket she snatched it out and glared at the screen.

After work she thought to make a stop at the zoo, she had certainly stressed herself out enough to warrant it. The only reason she didn't go that day was because she had gone just last week...and it made her think about Barry. She went home instead, switched into her comfortable clothes and laid about the house. She was glad she lived outside the city, less outside noise and all that. Her phone rang and she grabbed it, shoving it to her ear. "Hello?"

"Hey baby," Terrence replied. "Everything okay?"

She sighed heavily, going limp in the recliner. "Yeah, everything's fine," she replied. "I was just relaxing at home."

"It's good you're home," he said. "Too much action and you look on the brink of exploding."

Monique giggled. "The sad part is you're right about that. That's why I'm at home. What about you?"

She could hear papers shuffling around. "I'm always at work. I live here, you know that." He chuckled. "But I was calling to see how you were doing. You seemed upset last night."

"I-I'm over it now, it's fine," Monique replied. "I can't let it distract me from work, I'm nervous enough without distractions."

"That's my baby. Keep pushing on even if you want to explode. I love you."

"Yeah, yeah," she laughed. "I love you too. Now get back to work. You can't use me as an excuse if you get yelled at."

"Even when I'm not talking to you, you're a distraction," he replied.

Monique smiled and rolled her eyes. "Focus, focus. If I can do it so can you."

"Alright," he chuckled. "I'll call you later, okay?"

"Okay, bye."

"Bye baby."

She ended the call and dropped her arm as if it weighed a hundred pounds. Just as she was relaxing into the chair her phone vibrated and she sat up again. A text from an unknown number. Her eyes widened and she jumped up out of the chair to began pacing the room. She read it as she paced.

"Hey, I wanted to say thank you for caring about me even though I'm a stranger to you. It means a lot."

Monique smiled to herself. "You helped me when I fell so I just wanted to offer my hand to help you."

She waited but it wasn't long before another text arrived. "Thank you. Monique. Can I ask you a question?"

"Yes."

"The way you were dressed the day we met was not at all flattering for you. Do you dress like that all the time?"

Monique's hands shook as she communicated with him for the next thirty minutes. Somehow the conversation turned to fashion and apparently she was not dressing her body in a flattering way. Let's not even talk about the worn styles and shades she was sporting. He had to go back to work but he did promise her that they would figure something out for her because what she was doing wasn't going to fly.

After that she felt a lot better and rather drained. She fell asleep right after they said their goodbyes.

The buzzing of her phone woke her back up a few hours later. Monique stretched her back and wiped the sleep from her eyes. She looked at the screen and was surprised to see Barry's number again. "What are you wearing right now?"

She hesitated before replying, "Shorts and a tank."

"Where are you?" Immediate reply.

"I'm at home.Why?"

"Would you send me pictures of your clothes?"

This last line gave her pause. She was starting to think he was kind of interesting but now he was asking for pictures. Perhaps she judged him too early? Had she seriously given away her number to some creep? Monique nervously responded, "I don't feel comfortable sending pictures."

"No, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that. Here, I'll send you some pictures of a few pieces and you tell me which ones you like."

That's how it all started. He had given her positive interaction and she wanted to give him emotional support. It had been a little overbearing just to approach him and she had felt dizzy afterwards and her head pounded and her legs felt weak and she was short of breath. She took the risk, reached out to a stranger; regardless, it was worth it because he had reached back.

                                                         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: This chapter was so short I just didn't see a reason to wait until next week to post it. Speaking of which, Wednesday might be upload day. It's a weird choice but it's kind of what I'm feeling right now. So far I'm eight chapters deep into the story. Yes, I am typing chapters in advance, which doesn't mean I'm not open to things changing, but the wait between chapters should not increase. Thank you for reading and please do continue to enjoy the story!