I sat drenched in perspiration in a pitch-black hole under thick concrete and steel. It was no use calling for help anymore because they won't hear me. The dust from the rubble filled my lungs but I didn't even have the energy to sneeze or cough it away. I just sat there listening for anything or anyone that would give me any chance of surviving this at least for now. My heartbeat got fainter; I was alone, hungry, hot and most of all, I won't be able to see the one I love one last time before the world ends. I wish we didn't have that stupid fight about a guy friend and ended up in different regions trying to escape each other. He's all that I thought about as my breath got more and more shallow.
The day started at a climax with a nasty hangover and Advil. I was out with my friends the night before to celebrate my breakup with Vaughn and the after-effects were now hitting me. I rolled off the bed and my feet touched the ground in agony since they were sore from dancing in six inches of cheetah print heels in Club Avalanche all night. I knew it was a mistake for someone in their thirties to party that hard over something as frivolous as a break-up but, after giving that imbecile the best of my twenties I needed something to get the load off. Jemima and Teesha were happy to oblige and bought me tequila shots for every tear I shed- which as you can tell by now were many. I wish we had done our grinding and body rolls on a Saturday night because I was going to be at work all day with a hangover. Or so I thought.
I hopped in the bathroom wearing just my towel and took it off to get in the shower. Before I took another step I saw my reflection in the mirror and gasped in astonishment. I was covered in hickies! I frantically searched my mind to fill in the blanks of what transpired the night before because that memory was somehow vacant. Then it dawned on me that I might have left the party with a guy and brought him back to my place. I scrambled my towel off of the towel rack and tip-toed back to my room, to the kitchen, and the living room but there was no sign of him. I went back to my room to get my phone and call Jemima to find out what happened. As I was dialing I noticed a torn piece of paper on the floor that must have fallen when I got out of bed and bent to pick it up. It read "You fell asleep so I left. Call me on my new number though. 6789749". I winced at the thought that a strange man was in my house and while I was drunk. How could I have been so reckless? Did we fuck? Did we use a condom? So many questions in my head and I was almost having a panic attack.
I deleted Jemima's number from the dial-pad and called the guy's number instead. "Hello" a familiar voice answered on the second ring.
"Hey...umm...You w-were over at my h-house last night. W-who is this?" I tried to sound blunt but my stuttering surely give me away
"Oh hey, Samathra? It's Kareem. Are you ok?" It was Kareem. Shit. Kareem was an ex of mine and we did end on amicable terms but I was advised to keep him out of my life by my now ex-boyfriend Vaughn. We had a major conflict over us staying friends which caused him to leave Georgetown to work in the interior. I promised him I would cut off Kareem, which I did; I deleted his number and blocked him but Vaughn had already left town. I can't believe I slipped and hooked up with Kareem. I felt dirty.
"Yea i'm good. What happened last night?" I was praying to God I didn't sleep with him especially while pissing drunk.
"Haha," He chuckled. "You asked me to bring you home and help you undress then you fell asleep so I left"
"Kareem did we fuck?" I plopped down on the bed in my bare towel feeling repulsive.
"What? No" He sounded aggrieved at the implication but I just needed to know.
"So how did I get hickies all over my body?" I started to raise my voice because I needed him to tell me the truth.
"Girl you being a skunt right now. I would never fuck you while you're drunk. I'm no rapist" He sounded furious at the accusation.
