Tainted Memories (GxG)

14

One Month Later

Samantha's POV

I stood there with the box of supplies in my hands patiently waiting for the elevator to arrive. A month had passed since I had started working here and over time I had grown comfortable with not only the surroundings but the people, a majority of them also having prior convictions like I did which in return made it easier for us to build relationships since we all had the ability to empathise and understand each other.

It was seemingly the first time since I got out that I had felt accepted and understood. It was nice to speak with people who understood what I went through on a daily and at the same time, I was still left feeling like an outcast as well since the motto around here was 'Time is the greatest healer' and I was always left constricted on whether to believe the statement or not.

Especially when my mind was filled with situations where time did nothing but press against my painful wounds. For me, time seemed to be a beautiful excuse to run from reoccurring emotions since I found myself saying time heals in the moments I was afraid of putting in the necessary work, but if time was truly the thing to heal the people who held scars that were close to mine I guess I was just a lost cause.

I had paid my rent two days ago and it kinda cemented the fact that the apartment was mine in my head because for the longest time my lack of hope had me convinced it was only a figment of my imagination.

I had also been spending my evenings at Ms Tammy's house tending to her garden and creating memories that pulled me from my lonesome thoughts.

The doors opened and I stepped in greeting the woman who was already inside.

"Down?" She questioned.

"Yeah" I replied and she pressed the button allowing the elevator to descend. The scent of lavender circulated the elevator which I knew she emitted as my eyes met her figure through the mirror built into the wall.

Her head was buried in her phone which concealed her face slightly, her attire being business casual while her melanated skin shined with pride pulling a small smile from me as my gaze moved to her crown appreciating her locs, that she wore shamelessly, the mere action screaming bravery since society had deemed the hairstyle unprofessional and unkept.

"I love your hair," My lips voiced before my mind had a chance to hold the words captive and she looked up with confusion on her face but it slowly began clearing up once her eyes met mine through the reflective wall in the elevator.

"Thank you," She voiced, smiling appreciatively as the doors opened and I offered a nod before stepping out and immediately going to the exit where the van was waiting for me.

I moved to the back of the vehicle, placing the box inside before closing it and walking to the front passenger side to get in since I knew Joel would be driving today which in return gave me a much-needed break.

"I thought your ass was lost," He voiced, making me smile.

"They couldn't find the box because of the new shipments," I explained as he drove off. Joel and I had started working at the same time with the both of us recently greeting freedom again while also being convicted for the same thing.

He believed that our friendship was fate while I merely saw it as a coincidence whic-

"You trying to pull up at poetry reading later?" He asked, interrupting my thoughts.

"I actually got somewhere to be tonight," I replied as my train of thoughts pulled the memories of Ackeem practically forcing me to attend a club with him tonight to the front of my mind.

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