Page 6 of Hearts Held
As I arrive to my paint-stripped apartment door on the second floor, unfortunately, Carlton is waiting.
“It’s rather early for you to be up?” I swiftly mention—then secretly place the apartment key in between my middle and forefinger, so it juts out of my knuckles.
I’m innomoodthis morning.
“Ah! My beautiful Brielle, as stunning as a bell. Just tha girl I was lookin’ foh!” His greasy smile spreads across his face as my skin shrivels in disgust. If it weren’t attached to me, I figure it would crawl to the welding factory and burn off at Carlton’s glance.
“Interesting I’m the girl you are looking for, since there are no other females in this building.” I stop seven paces away from him as he looms outside my door. I swear he purposefully gave me the apartment on the second floor, end of the corridor, so he could cause these awkward “run-ins.”
“Bri, darlin’. When are you going to let me take ya out on tha town? Huh? I keep askin’ and a prettay gurl like ya deserves a good time.” He winks and I nearly vomit in my mouth.
Wait—if I did vomit, maybe hewouldleave?
My hand clutches my waist as I scrunch up myface.
“You all right, love?” Carlton tilts his head to the side in confusion as I do my best interpretation of becoming sick.
“I… Ugh… I had a bad lunch and…” The gagging sounds emit from my throat as I hold out a hand to warn him not to come close. Carlton’s swollen, round red nose turns up in disgust. Quickly the hand that was clutched to my stomach makes purchase of the apartment keys, and swiftly opens the room door. I keep my other arm out steady as I walk myself promptly into my flat, then slam the door and its several locks behind me.
“’Ope ya feel better, poppet!” Carlton yells through the door as if he needed to expel his voice over the sound of a railway train. I shake my head then gracefully make sickening sounds loud enough for him to hear. I try not to chuckle as I hear something escape his voice distantly in the hallway: “Disgusting.”
I peel the hospital garments off my exhausted skin as I anxiously wait for hot water to arrive in my shower. Alas, only lukewarm water spouts out. That was another tactic Carlton tried to pull, lying that this was the only available apartment and that it only ran hot water from time to time. It rarely runs warm water and heutilizes the ploy of offering his own shower for my use. His multiple offers of his shower haven’t gone unnoticed, and those days I do decline, my showers run ironically cold.
After scrubbing my skin from a long shift, I settle into bed, and back into the same nightmare that haunts me.
The depths of the dark drag me into oblivion as I try my best to run within a void landscape.
Flames.
Seven-foot flames reach from the ground and surround me as I hearhimscreaming in the background.
As I feel the scorching heat lick my skin, a loud knocking wakes me from my nightmare. Cold sweat clings to my lower back and forehead as I curse to myself.
Of all people, why is it Carlton to have awoken me? Hopefully, I can rest my head once more and just pretend I’m out cold and he will leave.
Before I can shut my eyes and pray I don’t return to the past, a knock raps upon my door.
“Brielle, you’re coming with us! Whether we have to take you hostage or not.” Anice’s voice comes singing through the wooden door as she knocks again.
“Don’t make me call the fire department and report that I haven’t seen you! I’m sure they’d love to see ya in your knickers!” Hearing her faint chuckle.
I spring from my bed, messy hair rustling in front of my face. As I pull the door open after unlocking the several locks, I see her standing there, long purple dress, short black heels, a green sparkling shawl and a tilted fashionable hat. Beside her stand Tilly and Amanda, two other nurses from the hospital. They each have one hand on their hips, looking as if I’d held up their whole livelihoods.
“Well, you can’t go out looking like that!” Amanda pushes herself into my small loft.
“Amanda, I just worked last night. I can’t go out, girls, I need to rest so I can work my other jobs.” I frantically try to tidy my loft. Luckily I don’t have many belongings.
“You’ve been sayin’ that for a year now and we’ve decided, we are taken ya to our favorite spot. They have great music, amazing drinks and handsome men!” Tilly states as she claps her hands together.
Amanda steps forward with a hairbrush in tow. “Not just any men. It’s the Adders’ pub. The Den” She winks at me as she begins brushing my hair.
I stare at them in confusion as I allow Amanda to brush my rat’s nest of brown strands. “I don’t know what that means.” Yet the wordAddersdraws some sort of recognition to tug in the back of my mind.
They all laugh at the same time, leaving my cheeks to heat in embarrassment for feeling like the butt end of a joke.
“Of course you don’t, silly! It’s ’cause you never leave work, or you never leave this flat! I don’t think you have ever had fun!” Tilly gestures to the dress in her hands as she hands it in my direction. I slink into the restroom and swiftly put it on, thinking of all the possible things that could go wrong.
I’ve never been positive. So many traumatic things have happened in my life, leading me to constantly await the next horrible thing that could go wrong. I anticipate any possible bad scenarios and plan a response even if they never arise. If I go to this pub, I will be surrounded by drunks. I can’t stand drunkards; they make me so uncomfortable. I don’t even drink.
