POV: Nyoka
This is humiliating.
I just met this girl and I've already made a fool of myself and I'm having a full breakdown in front of her. I'm having a breakdown on the steps outside her tattoo shop because my mind doesn't understand how to handle basic human interactions at a small party of mostly people I know.
I just want to leave. To go home and sleep and regret my existence.
This moment will be burned into my mind and haunt me for years to come and anytime I'll try to relax it'll come back to me and make me wince as I try to sleep.
My legs are shaking too much for me to stand and leave so I'm stuck leaning on Celeste's shoulder, unable to stop my gasps for air that I try to keep quiet and the tears dripping down my cheeks from my swollen eyes. My nose twitches as it starts to run and I wipe my face with my arm, instantly feeling even more disgusting.
Celeste, noticing my running nose and still streaming eyes, reaches into the pocket of her black jeans, passing me a clean tissue. I shyly take it from her, dabbing my eyes and nose before scrunching it in my palm like a stress ball.
My breathing takes a little bit longer to calm down and my heart still pounds in my chest, beating against my ribs. I hold my struggling heart as Celeste waits patiently for me to gather myself but even as my breathing slows my throat is still too dry and raw from crying to bring out any sound.
"Sorry," I mutter.
"It's okay," she assures me. "Just take your time to calm down. Do you want a lift home?"
I consider it for a moment but do I really want this girl to know where I live? Perhaps I could give her an address close to my apartment and walk the rest of the way. Miss Colleen's voice echoes through my mind reminding me to talk to her before I leave but dread and anxiety flood my system at the mere thought of re-entering that hell of loud music and the growing scent of alcohol and sweat gathering in the air.
I must have been taking too long to answer because Celeste tiredly sighs, getting up from the step, holding her hand out for me to take reluctantly. She tugs me up, ready to support me as my legs shake. My hands fold in front of me, clenching around the crumpled tissue that, with all the sweat on my palms, is completely unusable.
Celeste rubs my back as I take deep breaths that return some stability to my limbs. She passes my bag to me, letting me hug it close to my chest like a comfort plushie.
"So?" Celeste pushes, clearly wanting an answer.
I try to get a sound out my dry throat as I nod, swallowing hard in an attempt to smooth the scratchiness at the back of my mouth. "I just need to tell my boss I'm leaving," I croak, instantly coughing.
"I'll go tell her for you, here," she places a ring of keys connected to a plethora of key chains into my hand as she steps towards the shop entrance. "My car's in the nearby car garage, third floor, on the left and to the back." She describes her car, giving me the end of her licence plate before setting me off, promising to be quick to catch up.
The instant she steps into the shop and the door glides shut behind her, my mind forgets everything she just described and directed to me. I just recall her mentioning her car being in the garage on the third floor. Uncertain of anything else she literally just said, I decide to walk really slowly in the direction of her car and hope that she catches up and can lead me the rest of the way.
I take exceedingly slower steps as the car garage enters my view with its blocky and steep concrete steps and the questionable lift. My heart is already pounding at the thought of stepping foot in that lift and my pulse only quickens as I notice the two men lingering at the bottom of the stairs, a crate of beers on the ground beside them, some already opened and drunk.
I keep my bag close to my chest and keep my eyes on the ground, walking quicker as I aim to reach the stairs and pass by them unnoticed. Despite my efforts, one of them yells to me as I approach, his words slurring as he stumbles and blocks the stairs, his arm barricading me from going further like a troll guarding a bridge that requires me to answer the most obscure riddle.
"How are you doing, little mouse?" He slurs, his eyes shifting up and down my body.
"Oh, come on man, you're scaring her," his mate slurs, stepping to my side. "It's your beard, I'm telling you."
"I like it when they're scared," he chuckles, leaning closer until his alcohol filled breath overwhelms my senses, burning my nose. "It makes little mice like her even cuter."
"Excuse me, I just need to get to my car," I say as I try to squeeze past.
"Where are you going, little mouse? Why don't we... escort you there?"
How he speaks makes my skin crawl and they both lean closer to me, giving me no space away from the strong whiff of alcohol on their rancid breaths. I don't even want to breathe, the air they breathe feels toxic for my lungs.
I try to step away as he looms over me, his eyes constantly scanning my body making me increasingly uncomfortable. I know that I can't try to push by, there's two of them and they're both bigger and stronger than me. They're also quite drunk according to their stumbling and slurring so if they have a sudden mood swing this could just get worse for me and that will be even more difficult to get away from.
"Sorry, but I really need to get to my car."
"Ah, come on, little mouse, don't be shy, we ain't gonna hurt you." He steps closer to me as his words merge and start to become even more difficult to understand.
"There you are," a female voice calls from behind me, an arm wrapping around my shoulders. Celeste, thank goodness. "Is there a problem, gentlemen?" She asks slyly, her hand gently squeezing my arm, ensuring I stay close to her.
With how tall she is, her tattoos and piercings, and quite dark appearance I understand why they back away, removing his arm that was barricading the stairs. They slink back into the shadows to their crate of beers and Celeste ushers me forward, staying close behind me as I go up the stairs, hauling up the fabric of my skirt in one hand.
"Are you alright?"
"I think so," I say through shallow gasps. I struggle with stairs way too much because of my weak lungs but I prefer stairs to any lift, even if they do put my health at higher risk. "They were just a bit..."
I'm at a loss for words to describe how uncomfortable they made me. With all the words that exist in the English language, not a single one or a combination of them can explain how much I hated them.
"It's alright," Celeste assures me, ushering me to the door of the floor where her car is parked. "Come on, where do you want me to drop you off?"
I mindlessly give her my address, not taking a second to remember my earlier concerns since my mind is still filled with lingering panic. A dark blue car's orange lights flash and a click echoes off the graffitied concrete walls as she presses a button on the fob attached among her keys. She lengthens her strides to get in front of me and graciously opens the passenger side door.
After muttering a thank you I slip in, dropping my bag beside my feet in the footwell. I wrinkle my nose a little as I sniff the air in her car. While she does have an open air freshener that blocks out most of it, there is still the faintest smell of cigarette smoke invading my nose. The instant she sits inside and turns the ignition key, I roll the window down to get some fresh air and clear the sticky air from my mind.
She smoothly drives towards my house, not forcing any conversation on me as I calm my mind and the radio plays quiet nonsense in the background. I watch the scenery rush by as she drives, clenching whenever she overtakes someone. Driving makes me extremely nervous and I've never learned how to drive, nor do I intend to.
I hear Celeste grumble a little as she discovers the construction blocking the quick route to my home before turning to follow the diversion, which is completely clogged up with other diverted vehicles. They've directed everyone from all the constructions in the area down the same route so it takes forever to get anywhere now.
"If you turn down the next road on the left there's less traffic. It's a thinner road and is falling apart but it should be quicker than being in this standstill," I direct her.
"Great," Celeste exclaims. "How often is it like this?"
"For the past three months," I complain. "And they're nowhere near finishing it, and the buses to my area are limited so when I walk home it's already dark."
"Why don't you learn to drive if you don't want to walk at night? Or get someone else to drive you if you can't get the bus on time?"
"Well..." I don't know how to answer her last question without it being really depressing. "Okay, don't take this the wrong way but I don't really have friends... anymore. I mean, I never really had many anyway but, since a few years back I just got increasingly isolated."
"Were they isolating you on purpose?"
"No. Well... But I don't want to get into all that," I explain, feeling the memories bubble up and my body tingle as it did back then. I hug myself as we turn out of the queue of cars moving at a pace a snail could overtake.
I watch the fields behind the wire fences speeding past the window as my ears tune into the distant music playing from the speakers. I keep my face out to the window as I listen to it, following each word and beat in my head.
"You know this song?" Celeste asks with a chuckle. I turn to look at her, noticing the flush of my cheeks in the reflection from the window. My brow furrows, not comprehending how she could tell. "Your lips were moving with the words," she chuckles. "If you want to turn up the radio you can, I like this song too."
"Really?" I ask, genuinely surprised that she knows the song.
"Yeah, I've listened to this band for years," she mentions, a bright smile across her lips, revealing her perfectly white and straight teeth.
We converse for the rest of the drive about our favourite members and songs. Turns out she even got to go to one of their concerts, in the front row. Even after she parks outside my apartment building we continue feverishly talking, unable to stop. I haven't enjoyed someone's company this much for years.
"Goodnight, Nyoka." She finally bids me farewell, a contagious smile over her luscious rosy lips that as she's been talking have been looking ever more attractive.
"G'night. Drive home safe, okay?"
"I will, don't worry. And I'll pop around tomorrow to the shop to return your jumper tomorrow."
I wave to her until she's out of my sight before quickly turning, dragging my keys out of my bag's front pocket and rapidly unlocking the door to the building, skipping up the steps with a shocking amount of energy for how tired I was earlier and my usual problems with breathing and stairs subdued.
I nibble my lip to try to hold down my smirk still lingering on my lips from Celeste. It's a surprise that someone I found so creepy for so long is actually so pleasant. And we have so much in common. I try to shake off the joyful feeling lingering over me from her as I ready myself for bed and tuck myself tightly under the sheets. I hide my smile under the covers as I snuggle down, staring at the ceiling as I try to sleep.
****
Since I've now finished 'She’s My Curse' this'll be my new focus so I hope you'll all stick around through this story and give it just as much support as you gave that story!
:^)