𝘽𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮 • 𝙅𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙤𝙧 𝘿𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙨 • 𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚

01. Cuts & Bruises

We all have ghosts that haunt us and skeletons that lurk behind closed closets. We all have invisible scars that remind us of our past that we've lived. But you know what? Some of us are still out here living. Doing our best; fighting every day to stay alive another day.

So despite everything falling apart in my life right now, I managed to groggily shuffle underneath the thin blanket I was sleeping under while trying to find my phone that was blaring my alarm on the floorboard of my car.

About two months ago my mom was busted for distributing and snorting Heroin off our kitchen table in our apartment. Which of course; caused us to lose our apartment and leaving me to live in my car.

Most people wouldn't be as optimistic in my situation, but when this isn't the first time you've been in these shoes before; so you sadly get used to it. My mom has been trying to get clean for the past year and each time she says she's going to change I believed her.

But this time I can't. I don't have the energy to keep on believing her over and over again when it's all just lies. So I have to move on without her while she is in rehab; and that's what I have been doing.

Finally shutting my alarm off I stretch as much as I can inside the backseat space in my car and quickly look around, shuffling through clothes to find my uniform, "come on, where is it!"

After finding my uniform I run my fingers through my hair to de-tangle out the knots while get dressed and get out of the car, trying to straighten out my apron with my hands as much as possible.

Locking the car behind me I walked down the block to Dina's Diner to start my first shift of the day. I wasn't surprised when I came in to see the Mount Kev. Horse Racing Derby playing on the small TV in the corner of the room.

"Ace has gotta win this race!" Mason; a diner regular, said while shaking his head as the horse was losing the lead; falling back into fourth place out of the sixth.

I laugh to myself as I pour Mason a fresh glass of coffee, "We all know who my bets on."

"I don't know what you see in that horse, Spencer." Another regular chimes in, "Spirit hasn't won a single race since he started this year."

"That's because he's lacking the proper training." The all too well of a familiar voice from this week reached my ears as he sat down at the seat in front of me.

I act surprised as his statement, "Oh, Pablo! Are you saying you're loosing your touch?"

Giving me a soft glare he smiles at me softly, "Never said that. When I mean he is lacking the proper training; maybe I meant the right person to ride him."

My eyes practically roll in sync with my attitude, "What is this? The billionth time you've come in here this week and tried to sweet talk some horse riding shit into my brain."

He laughs out loud at the joke, "Come on, Spencer. You and I both know that you miss it."

I bite the inside of my cheek in thought, Pablo has know me since I was sixteen. He's the one who taught me everything there is to know about horses; including horse racing.

Besides stalking me multiple times this week at the diner, Pablo normally comes in once or twice a week and we talk; catch up on things.

When he first came in he knew that I had a passion about horses from the way my eyes looked. Or that's what at least he told me. He hasn't seen that look in anybody in a long time; so it grew his interest of learning more about me.

Which I'm still surprised he hasn't regretted that yet by now, "How can I miss something I've never done?"

His jaw tightens at my words, "Sometimes you don't need to experience something in order to get that feeling we all crave for; a rush."