اوووه! هذه الصورة لا تتبع إرشادات المحتوى الخاصة بنا. لمتابعة النشر، يرجى إزالتها أو تحميل صورة أخرى.
⎣ ⎦
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10...
tendrils of dark hair floated towards the surface of the water, surrounding her face— a safety blanket.
11
12
13...
the grip she had on the chain around her neck was light, but firm; her eyes shut, features calm. the spitting image of her daddy.
14
15
16...
on the chain, hung a lonely ring; a wedding ring, on the ring — a promise...
17
18
19...
"Till death do us part."
20.
it did.
•••
ʙᴀɴɢ, ʙᴀɴɢ, ʙᴀɴɢ
CAME the muffled raps on the bathroom door. She sat up in the tub, hands gripping the edge of it. Water, like waterfalls, ran down her back and front. It made her tank top and underwear stick to the skin they covered. Shivers shook her as the cool bathroom air hit her wet skin. She ran her hands over her face and eyes; puffy with tiredness.
"You're hoggin' the bathroom again," called the annoyed voice of David. Hollis scoffed and leaned on the edge of the tub, picking up her cigarette from the ashtray on the floor (still simmering lazily).
The woman took a drag, letting the poisonous smoke sit in her lungs at it's leisure. She waited until they got tight, before exhaling, by now used to the taste it left behind — like cotton stuck in her mouth and throat. It swirled and danced a lazy tango, before hitting the ceiling and dissipating.
With a sigh, "So? S'not like you pay any of the bills here," she called out, loud enough for the asshole on the other side to hear her, "Unless, of course, you got a job while I was in here?"
The door was pushed open and she looked up at him, her eyes dull but challenging, lips upturned. She loved getting on his nerves — it was one of the only pleasures she had left. He was a raggedy fella. One of those guys that you look at and assume is a wife beater — short, not too stocky, but definitely able to do some damage to a person smaller than him; his clothes were loose and always somehow not in place. His cheeks were a bit hollowed and eyes were constantly watery, like he survived purely off of alcohol (which he did), a few bruises here and there, from getting on the wrong horse at bars.
Lucky for him, he hadn't beaten on his wife, otherwise Hollis would've made sure he wasn't standing at the door now. He was, however, a major asshole and a verbally abusive bum.
He had an annoyed expression on his face, lips and brows furrowed just the slightest. He was clearly not amused, but wouldn't dare do something stupid. Not to a cop.
"Don't get all uppity with me, jus' cuz you haven't been fired yet. You're still off duty," he growled out, stumbling to the toilet and starting to unzip.
"Me bein' off duty is a separate issue. If you ain't payin' any of the bills, don't act like you own the place. It's Val's on paper." She scrunched her nose up in disgust and looked away from him. He had no shame, did he?
He scoffed and it was silent for a while, other than their breathing and the sound of him doing his business. Hollis took drag after drag from her cancer stick, laying back in the tub.
It always came back to this damned tub. She would come home from a night out at a bar —drunk off her ass— fill it up and spend the rest of the night in it. She didn't know why, but she always seemed to wake up in it. It has come to the point, where she always has a pack of cigarettes tucked into the cabinet under the sink. It's become her little safe space.
"You're gonna have to take Della to school," David uttered after he zipped back up. He started walking out, didn't wash his hands either.
"And you can't because?" She trailed off, "s" turning to a "z".
"None of your damn business, just take her to school. I don't need Valeria on my ass again!" She heard him yell, before the front door slammed shut and the apartment became silent.
Hollis let the sigh leave her lips.
The water in the tub had grown even colder, her skin was in goose pimples. Head leaned against her arm, the cigarette between her fingers nothing more than a butt, ready to be snuffed out.
A final huff through her nose and she finally stood from the water, letting the excess water run down her body. She carefully stepped out, one foot at a time, and grabbed a towel, starting to dry off wet skin and hair.
She opened the door to the bedrooom. A twin sized bed was pushed against one of the four, almost barren, walls; a lump of blankets with a mop of curly, black hair sticking out from under it.
Her body leaned against the door frame, hesitating to cross the barrier it put there.
She hated being in this room, it exuded echoes of distant memories and reminded her of long-abandoned futures and possibilities.
Children made her anxious; as did she.
•••
i hope you enjoyed this first "chapter". i've never been great at those, simply because I can't find the words to start, but i hope you enjoyed it none the less.
(i'll probably rewrite this, so keep an eye out for that)
