Axel

5

I S A B E L L A

I groan and push my face into my pillow. The cold breeze coming from my creaked window tickles my uncovered legs and i immediately kick them under the covers as i peel my heavy eyes open, adjusting them to the light.

My head is pounding when I sit up, and I scan my room for my phone when I spot it at the end of the bed, a groan escaping me as I reach over to grab it. It's early in the morning, and my entire body screams at me in pain as I unlock my phone and look at the notifications.

None from Abby, which meant she was really pissed.

My memory for last night is hazy, and troublesome to wrap my head around but I remember the envious look Abby gave me before she stormed off. I remember the strong smell of Keith's perfume, his tight grip and the taste of burning liquor. I didn't enjoy the aftermath of being intoxicated, I didn't like being unsure of the events that happened and I had come to the conclusion that I'd never drink again.

But if there was anything that I was very sure off, it was my stranger.

The way my name rolled off his tongue was impossible to forget, the feel of his cold gaze remained crawling on my skin even now - haunting me.

He hadn't made it easy for me, finding out his name had only fuelled the fire that I've been trying to take out even more.

I tend to have an obsessive personality, something intrigues me and I grow insufferable with the need to solve what it is that's itching at my brain so beautifully and fix it. I was not going to let him become apart of it. He was a stranger for a reason, and he was going to remain as such. I was not going to loose sleep over it any longer.

I was sure last night would be the last time I'd ever see him again, and that eased my conscious. I was going to sort my life out step by step, and that starts with keeping my obsessive personality far from the surface. Abby would come around in time, space is what she needed and when she grows bored with holding a grudge she'll come running back like it had never happened.

I wasn't exactly keen on the idea of her coming back, but she was more of a need than a want. Her presence had kept me from going insane, i could not walk the earth alone any more than I already am. I had struggled with this fear for almost a year now, ever since my parents had died in a car crash. It hadn't been easy juggling school with work, trying to pay for rent and feed myself.

Its exhausting.

With a resigned sigh, i venture out into the living room of my small apartment and trudge into my bathroom, preparing myself for work. My blonde hair is in a loose ponytail, and by the time I throw my clothes on - my head can't take it anymore and I'm rummaging through the kitchen drawers for pain killers.

Liquor was overrated.

I had realised that when I left my apartment and was soaked in the rain, my feet dragging themselves to work and my eyes hardly keeping themselves open.

I arrived at work with a puddle in my shoes, my leggings sticking to my thighs and my curls now frizzy and a matted mess. I rushed to the back of the cafe, soaking the floor behind me with each step. The shop opened in fifteen minutes and I could not serve customers like this, so I kicked off my shoes and stuck them on the radiator along side with my socks.

My coworkers who were talking amongst each other, paused their conversation to watch me run past the locker room barefoot, no doubt leaving behind a further trail of puddles behind me. My fist gently knocks against the wooden door and I wait for the muffled "Come in."