Never ending cycle

“Hi, I’m Josh.”

She jumped back and looked at the man behind the voice. He stuck out his hand. She shook it. “Carrie.”

“Well, Carrie, care to dance?” He asked. She smiled and began walking back to the dance floor. “Sorry, I’m actually looking for someone.” 

“Wait, can I have your number then?” He asked. Her eyes widened. “My number? We just met.”

“Well, how are we supposed to meet again if I don’t have a way of contacting you?” 

“Smooth, I’ll give you that.” She recited her number to him. “I’m going to be expecting a call tomorrow.” 

He nodded and she turned around and walked back. She began texting her friend, but was responded with a “sorry, i decided not to come” text. Typical Maya. Annoyed, she went back to the dance floor and for the rest of the party, she seemed to only be thinking about Josh. Occasionally, she would turn around, hoping to meet his eyes, but it would never happen. Clutching to her phone she realized that she didn’t get his number and that if he forgot to call, she wouldn’t be able to contact him. After a few hours, her mind flushed out Josh and filled itself with tequila. Slowly, her senses began to close down. 

Bzz Bzz.

She jolted to the sound of her phone. “Who is it?” She hazily said. 

“Josh, from yesterday.”

Her adrenaline came back. “Josh, hi.”

“Hi, so do you want to meet again sometime soon?”

“Yes, definitely. When are you free?”

She could hear Josh rustle through a planner. “Tonight?”

“Tonight?”

“Is that too soon?”

“No, no,” she got off her bed and walked to the closet. Rustling through the clothes, she realized that it wasn’t hers. “6 pm, you choose the location,” she quickly said. He agreed and she hung up. 

“Where am I?” She whispered. Her head was throbbing and the room was unfamiliar. Focusing on the items around her, she recognized a few things. Her purse, her phone, and her jacket. She clutched onto each of them and walked out the room. The more she walked, the more she recognized where she was. It was her dorm, but it wasn’t her room. She wobbled around the hallways and found herself inside her room. She threw her things down and slumped on her bed. “I have a date tonight,” she whispered. “I HAVE A DATE TONIGHT!” She squealed. She scrolled through her contact list, who to call? She called Maya but it went to voicemail so she continued scrolling and decided to call Sabrina.

“A date? Thank god, it’s been how long since your last one? Two months?”

She rolled her eyes. “Well, I had a good reason.”

“Getting over Wilson is not a good reason.”

“Well, now I’m over him.” She began going through her closet. “What do you think I should wear?”

“Well, where are you going?”

“I told him to choose.”

“Go for the wildflower dress, it’s good for any location.”

“The wildflower dress that Wilson gave me?”

“You’re right, how about the black one?”

“The one I wore to my Aunt Susans’s funeral?”

“Well, dresses are multi-purposeful.” 

“Sabrina, no.”

She began flipping through her dresses. “When’s the last time I went shopping?”

“The last time you went on a date.”

“Ugh,” she sighed. “I’ll just go shopping in the afternoon.” 

There was a slight pause on the other end. “It’s four, Carrie. How much did you drink?”

“Too much. I’ll just wear the wildflower one.” 

“The first one I suggested?” Sabrina teased.

“Yes, now bye, I have a date to get ready for.” 

She grabbed her makeup pouch and ran to the dorm showers. She washed the tequila off her and the chunks of what looked like vomit off her hair. She dried off and slowly put on the wildflower dress. Looking at herself in the mirror, she began applying her makeup. When she was done, it was 5:30. She texted Josh her address and he came at 6:00 sharp. 

“You look amazing,” Josh said, his eyes glowing. 

“Thanks, now where are we going?” She asked.

“My apartment, I made a homemade meal,” he said.

“Ooh, what is it?” 

“That’s a surprise.”

On the ride there, the two of them talked about politics and ended up arguing about the evilest color. She thought it was purple but he believed it was black. Their argument went all the way up the stairs and to his door. He unlocked it and revealed a table with a lit candle. She sat down and he placed a plate of spaghetti in front of her and handed her a glass of sparkling wine. “I’ll pass on the wine, I’ve had enough.” He tried to persuade her into it, but in the end, he poured it down the sink and went to the pantry to retrieve a glass of apple juice. 

“Bubbly,” she laughed, observing the juice. “Are you sure this isn’t cider?”

“Maybe, or just expired apple juice,” he laughed. She did a pity laugh and placed the glass down, reminding herself not to drink it. When she finished the meal, she asked for water. He pointed to the juice. 

“Water would be fine, actually.”

He began walking to the pantry. “Tap is good.”

Josh laughed, “I’m not going to give a girl tap water on our first date.” 

He returned with a glass of water. 

“Bubbly, also, you must really like carbonated drinks.” 

He laughed. “Carbonated drinks have a bit of sophistication to them, don’t you think?” 

“A sophistication that I don’t have,” she politely said. “Tap is preferable.”

“Our tap is actually broken, I’m sorry. Will this do?”

She nodded. She already felt as if she was too picky. It was their first date, she should’ve been more grateful. She began drinking the water when she realized it had a strange taste to it. “Is this flavored?”

He shook his head, grinning. Her eyelids grew heavier, and her senses began shutting down again. 

He stood up and dragged her to the back room. When he came back out, she was sliced into pieces and stuffed into an assortment of trash bags. “At least I relieve them from the pain beforehand,” he told himself. Checking her phone, he prayed that Carrie didn’t have time to call her friends, that he could stop this cycle. Opening her recently called, he saw three. The one with him, one with Maya that went to voicemail, and a nine-minute call with a girl named Sabrina. He sighed. “Sabrina will need to be taken cared of too.” He observed Sabrina’s photo on her phone and scrolled through her feed to get a better look at her. When he was done, he began to text her.  

Hey girl.

Hey, how was the date?

Horrible, I need a drink, can we meet at the bar?

Do you really want to be hungover two mornings in a row?

If it helps me forget about it.

He put on a suit and slipped Carrie’s phone in his pockets. When he arrived, he got a call from Sabrina. He declined it and texted her. 

Hey

Where are you?

I felt sick and went home, are you here already?

Yeah, did you not feel like telling me earlier?

Sorry, my phone died.

Whatever, get better.

Are you going to go home?

Since I’m already here, I might as well stay here.

Where are you?

The island, chugging shots. If you plan to come, I’ll be right here.

He pocketed the phone and spotted her talking to the barista. He straightened his tie and walked up to her.

“Hi, I’m Josh.”