The sequel to this story is up. Well, actually, the prologue is.
And I'm willing to post the entire prologue right here.
I'll post the link to the sequel in on my ask.fm, facebook, and tumblr.
Without further distraction:
Recrudesce ~
Narrator:
The green eyed girl pressed her lower back into the car behind her, lifting her prosthetic leg and resting it against the door carelessly as she brought the cigarette to her bare lips.
When she released the grey smoke into the black night, a small gust of wind blew through the parking lot, chilling her to the point that she shrugged her wool sweater tighter over her shoulders.
The street lamp over head flickered a moment, catching the 19 year old's attention. Her dark auburn curls bounced with the turn of her head and cascaded down her back as she watched the lamp post. She never took lightly to meaningless happenstances anymore.
She put the cigarette between her lips again and inhaled, her lids growing heavy over her bright green eyes. She had needed to step away from the "small" party in an apartment that her friend had urged her to go to. There were too many people that she didn't trust at all. Too many people with unknown intentions. It wasn't safe, so she left the party the moment an unfamiliar college boy had handed her a drink and began to flirt.
A smile played on her lips as she recalled throwing the drink on the guy's leather jacket and hissed those 3 words with such venom in her tone, that he recoiled, "I'm not stupid."
She knew she had been rude, but she didn't care anymore. The entire world had been nothing but rude and disrespectful ever since she was able to leave the hospital, unable to even walk, mind you.
So as the boy cursed at her and threw insults at her, she only rolled her eyes and headed for the door.
"Crazy bitch!" he shouted just as she had opened the door. That was enough to stop her. She hated that word. Mainly because she felt crazy every waking hour ever since she had returned from being kidnapped two years ago. So she calmly closed the door and turned back around to face the asshole with a devilish grin on her face. "Unfortunately, this crazy bitch has done worse than throw liquor on a horny college freshman."
Everyone had fallen quiet now and their eyes were all on her. She hated being stared at. She felt inferior. So to counter that feeling, she straightened up and shot daggers at the boy with her eyes, purposefully avoiding the other eyes on her. "Like, help kill a man." her voice came out casual, nonchalant almost, before she waved her fingers in a mock flirtatious manner and ripped the door open, leaving the apartment and heading back to her car.
As she stood in the parking lot now, her metal and plastic crutch-looking prosthetic propped against her car and a cigarette between her fingers, she almost laughed to herself. She knew that would come back and bite her in the ass. But right now, she couldn't help but feel amused with herself.
"Hey." a deep voice rumbled through the September air, causing the girl to jump and whip around to face the speaker.
He chuckled a little and raised his hands in surrender. "I didn't mean to frighten you."
She studied the man apprehensively, her eyes narrowed in distrust. He looked older than her; at least 25 years old and he had a negative vibe to him, immediately putting her off.
The man only jammed his hands into his pockets and shrugged his shoulders anxiously. "I'll take that as an acceptance of my apology. My name's Jared." he rambled on with a grin.
The girl pushed herself away from the car with her prosthetic and crossed her arms defiantly, holding her cigarette at attention as not to burn herself. She still refused to speak. His name was too close to his name. She decided mentally. He's not to be trusted.
Jared shifted uncomfortably as the silence ensued. "I didn't get your name." he mumbled, his dark eyes now watching the street.
"Probably because I don't want to give it out." she spat venomously, eyeing Jared.
He shrugged again and looked up at the overcast night sky, trying to hide his grin. "So you can talk." he remarked, putting an emphasis on 'can.'
"I'm not obligated to talk to strangers." she hissed, now turning away from him to finish her cigarette.
"Come on, we're not in elemantary school anymore. We can all handle speaking to strangers every once in a while." he chuckled softly, still keeping his distance.
The girl took a deep breath and closed her eyes, bringing the cigarette to her lips and evidently thinking of an appropriate response as she inhaled the nicotine. "The more I experience, the less I trust anyone at all." she muttered, smoke escaping through her teeth.
"Oh come on," the man began, warranting the girl to open her eyes and catch his eye roll. "you can't be more than 20."
A smile tugged at the corner of her lips. "Wisdom doesn't come with age." she sighed, turning to look at him again. Her green eyes pierced him and rooted him where he stood. He found this girl of few words to be oddly captivating. "Wisdom comes with experience." she finished, taking another long puff on the cigarette.
He felt inclined to inquire further into what she said, but ultimately decided against it and dropped the subject, his feet now slowly coming closer.
"So how long have you smoked?" the question hung in the air, making him immediately want to take it back. It wasn't an intrusive question, was it? He had only really meant it in a casual way. He meant it in an attempt to make the young girl less apprehensive.
"I don't." she finally said nonchalantly, flicking the cancer stick slightly to rid it of the building ash.
Her answer earned her a skeptical look and, for once since the conversation began, she didn't actually mind.
He smiled and pulled his hands from his pockets, waving them towards the cigarette questioningly. "Then I feel slightly inclined to ask what it is you're smoking."
She dropped the cigarette to the ground and smeared it into the asphalt with her sneaker. "A cigarette." she replied shortly.
Jared raised an eyebrow and leaned back against the car behind him, relieved when no car alarm sounded.
The young girl sighed and absentmindedly fiddled with her prosthetic leg. "It means I don't smoke. This is the first cigarette I've had in months. And before then, I only smoked about 3 times." she explained, feeling the unnecessary urge to make Jared understand- as if it was really any of his business.
"Can I ask the occasion?" the slightly older man asked. He sounded too educated for such a casual conversation. Then again, she thought, isn't it the incredibly intelligent ones that prefer casual chat? However, she couldn't be more put off by the stranger in front of her and all she really wanted to do was get in her car and leave the man in the dust. But she didn't. She had been rude enough tonight, a trait that was completely out of character for her and made her feel more like an old friend she had known once upon a time. A friend that was dead now and even the mere thought of that caused her chest to constrict and her breath to hitch. She wanted to run now, but an idea sprang into her mind.
Tell the truth. The scares them all off.
She smiled despite herself and ceased with messing around with the prosthetic.
"Today is the anniversary." she susurrated, her tone sounding seductive.
"Of?"
She couldn't hide the wide grin that spread across her face that now made Jared apprehensive. Anniversaries were meant to be good. So why was this woman celebrating by picking up an unhealthy habit at 10 o'clock at night in a parking lot?
"Today is the day I was kidnapped." she hissed, her suddenly exhausted tone sending chills down his spine as the words hung in the air.
She didn't stick around to wait for the awkward silence. She only made her away around the small, economy car and jerked the door open before sliding into the driver's seat. He watched, speechless as the girl who smelled of cigarettes and sadness escaped into her vehicle.
"Wait!" Jared called out, taking a hesitant step forward. When the girl stopped and glared at him, he found himself stumbling over his own words for the first time tonight. "I-i Uh, I d-didn't get y-your name." he managed out.
She didn't smile or put on a false attitude at all. She only jammed her key into the ignition and glared at him through the passenger side window. "Mona." she answered shortly before slamming the door as hard as she could and starting the car.
As she drove off, she couldn't help but feel a drop of satisfaction. She hated feeling cornered and inferior. She hated feeling small and as though everything that happened should be a secret. So she took pleasure in rendering people speechless every time she had the chance. It made her feel in control. Something she hadn't felt since she had been kidnapped two years ago.