To do it Right

It was 9:32 a.m. and I was already late for another day at work. I had stopped at the little coffee shop on Riverside to fuel myself for another late night at the office. It seemed as if that was all I did anymore. 

After my traumatic

experience with my former boyfriend, my life seemed as if it had been through a

hurricane. I went from the manager of my own business to a lousy receptionist

at an office working for only a few dollars more than minimum wage. I went from

a house owner to being late for every payment of my rent in the shabby

apartment I live in. It only had two rooms, one being the bathroom, and the

other holding the fridge that hardly ever worked, my twin-sized bed, and a

small closet containing my three pairs of shoes and five outfits, one for every

day of the week, every week. The cycle only repeated.

    I finished up my coffee and slung my bag over my

shoulder. I didn’t bother leaving a tip and I threw my cup in the trash, though

I didn’t actually make it. I headed on to work checking the time because I had

nothing else to do. Not that time mattered to me anymore. 

I was crossing the

street from Riverside to Madison Avenue when a car rushed past. Being a New

Yorker, I cursed them out and turned to cross the street again. I stopped once

more but not for a car. This time, I saw a hauntingly familiar face. 

His jawline was sharper

than ever, and his scruff looked the same. He never could grow a full beard.

His dishwater blonde hair was messy, but perfect. His eyes though, were the

most chilling of all his features. His eyes were usually a steely blue with

hints of green, but this time they seemed cold and dead. After all it wasn’t

long ago that I saw him lifeless in front of me. 

My jaw dropped and I

couldn’t move. I wanted to look away, but he held my gaze. At that moment, I

was so confused that I almost didn’t notice the corners of his lips turn

upwards. He was smiling at me. After everything that happened, the last thing I

expected my late boyfriend to do was smile at me. 

His toothy smile brought

me back to the day my life had been turned upside down. I remembered the sound

of the alarm clock was particularly annoying that day. Getting out of bed I

pulled on a pair of jeans and a hoodie. I walked to the kitchen ignoring the

man sitting at the table.

“Well good morning

gorgeous.” He said sarcastically.

    I only rolled my eyes. He was always so irritating;

I wasn’t even sure why I had still been with him at that point. I rummaged

through the cupboards and cabinets, but nothing looked particularly appetizing

that morning. 

“Charlie could you get

some cereal and bread from the store today?” I asked, hoping he wouldn’t

complain this time. 

“Sure.” He replied

patronizingly. 

I walked into the living

room and fell into the couch. I turned the TV on and closed my eyes.

“Don’t you have work today?” Charlie asked.

“I’m working from home today.” I said, “So you can forget about bringing Renata over today.”

           He always wanted me out of the house so he could bring his pretty little secretary home. He gave me a sad look but said nothing as he walked out the door. He couldn’t even deny it. Then again, he never was a very good liar.

           I closed my eyes again and woke up a few hours later. I heard the shower running and turned my head. As I sat up and scanned the room, I noticed an old vase that hadn’t been used in years sitting on the kitchen table with a bouquet of colorful flowers in it. Next to the vase was a note that read:

Steph,

I don’t want to fight with you anymore. Our relationship used to be fun. I packed a few things for the both of us so we could go on a road trip. I really think we need some time off to make this relationship work again. I love you.

Charlie

           I sighed. For a moment I though maybe he really does care. Before I was completely overcome with foolishness though, it dawned on me that he expected me to say no. In fact, he wanted me to say no, so he could bring Renata on his little road trip instead.

           I heard the shower stop and I yelled at Charlie to come out into the living room. A few minutes later he emerged from the bathroom with wet hair and his clothes were sticking to his body in weird places.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, as if he didn’t already know.

“Don’t play dumb with me!” I shouted, “What is this?” I pointed furiously towards the flowers and the note.

“Do you not like them?” He asked, I knew he was messing with me now.

I grunted and sat down on the couch resting my head in my hands. Charlie took a seat next to me and started rubbing my back.

“Please talk to me.” He said, this time sounding genuine.

“Am I not enough for you? Am I not as pretty as Renata?” I asked, tears in my eyes.

           This is what our life was like every day. I wake up, we argue, and he makes it all better with his charming ways. I was too naïve to realize that he was only playing me.

 He walked back into the bathroom again and I talked to a few friends to get my mind off of our conversation. I curled up on the couch and watched a few movies, losing track of where the day went.

It had been a few hours from our conversation and had started to get dark when there was a pounding at the door. Charlie stood up and looked at me nervously. I shrugged my shoulders, silently telling him that I had no idea who could be at the door. He cautiously walked through toward the door and looked out of the peephole. On our front porch was a man in a ski-mask.

“What do you want?” Charlie shouted, without opening the door. I had started to get up, but Charlie held up a hand for me to stay put. The man seemed to have left as Charlie let out a breath.

“That was weird.” He said, but before he could walk back to the couch, the door was kicked off its hinges and swung wide open at an angle. The man was holding a gun and aimed at me. Charlie, as foolish as he was, stepped in front of me and I flinched as the gun went off. Lights of neighboring houses had begun turning on and people were stepping outside to see what the noise was. The man fled from the scene, leaving me alone watching as Charlie slowly bled out, struggling to keep his eyes open.

A few months later they found a guy named Val Kingsley. He was an ex fling of mine. He was quite pathetic really; he was very clingy and did whatever I told him to do. The saddest part was that he was so desperate for return of affection that he was driven to murder.

I was now an hour and a half late for work, I was sure to be fired at this point. I didn’t care though, because looking back at Charlie I realized, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.