The Displacement of Insanity

Chapter 2

Regret smacked me in the face when I closed the door; the temperature outside had dropped more than a few degrees. The walk to my truck was chilly enough to give me goosebumps. I opened the door, which squeaked in reply, and climbed into the seat, cranking the heat. The ole beast had been my favorite thing since I bought it; the way the thick rumble of the engine filled my ears and vibrated the air was almost calming to me. I pulled out of the driveway and onto the road behind an ugly white Scion car. 

While I drove, the beautiful fall scene surrounding me, I thought of home and how dearly I missed my family. I had to turn on the radio to stop from thinking about if I really deserved all I had made of myself. I popped one of my three days grace CDs into the slot atop of the radio, the thing hadn't worked right since some kids broke the antenna on Halloween a few years ago but the CD player worked fine, so I kept a collection in the console.

I got home around dark. A city is a dangerous place in the dark.. People looming around the buildings, homeless lining the streets. With the truck now placed in park, I got out and stepped into the eerily luminous light of the street lamps in the parking lot. Tommy, my downstairs neighbor, was standing outside the door to the stairs smoking a joint. I could smell it from across the lot, he had probably 3 or more bottles of Bud Light leaning on the brick of the apartment complex and a quart mason jar of some green liquid that I didn't doubt was moonshine in hand. Tommy was in his late 40's and his wife had just left him, or at least that's what I heard from the hall janitor. When I grabbed the door handle, he pushed the door closed and grabbed me by my waist. 

"Hey sweetie, where do you think you're going?" He drunkenly slurred, "A hot piece of ass like you shouldn't be alone tonight, I hear there's a big storm comin'." I flinched as the stench of chewing tobacco and alcohol assaulted my nose. Despite my constant rejection, there was nothing I could do for him to leave me alone-- I'd tried previous nights before-- so I offered to go to his apartment with him. I knew what to do.

"Are you gonna protect me, Tommy? 'Cause I'd really love to have a big strong man to keep me safe." I winked at him, hating every word coming out of my mouth. "We should go back to your room, baby."

He led me into a narrow hall near the stairs, his apartment directly under mine. He fished his keys out of his pocket, needing my help unlocking the door. When the door finally swung open, the living room was a disaster: couch littered with bottles and cans all over, the coffee table in front of a bulky box TV with 4 or 5 pizza boxes stacked on it-- the top box still containing over half of a large pizza that was now collecting flies. Tripping through the kitchen and the laundry room Tommy led me to his bedroom, but I had a plan.

 His room was the opposite of the rest of his apartment. He had a king size bed with a tidy closet and dresser. The walls were painted a deep maroon, and the bed was made sloppily, but there was a little effort there. I walked over to the bed and sat down on his soft satin comforter, motioning for him to come lay beside me. He came quickly, almost tripping over his own feet. I told him to wait, that his breath stunk horribly, he needed a mint or some water. 

Stepping over trash and dirty clothes covering the floors, I made my way to the kitchen to fill a glass and drop in two of his sleeping pills, which I found in the cabinet. After a few minutes of me locked in the bathroom saying "I'm almost ready!", I came out to find he was out cold but had fallen into the floor. I tried to put him in his bed, though I knew he'd be too heavy. I pulled the blanket off of the bed and put it on him whispering, "Sorry," in his ear, flipping off the lights, leaving the way I came.

***

The door to my apartment squeaked open--the middle hinge had been broken for a few months. I walked in and closed the door behind me, tossing my things on to the couch as I meandered to my tiny kitchen. The fridge had nothing but eggs and milk, but luckily scrambled eggs made a fine dinner. With a full stomach and a dirty feeling, I took a shower to rid the stress of that day. With Hayden, Leo and Mikey, and Tommy flooding through my mind I lost track of how long I'd been in the shower. 'My water bill is going to skyrocket' I thought to myself. I hurried out and checked my phone. It'd only been 5 minutes. Deciding that I was just too stressed to comprehend time, I thought it would be best if I went to bed. My soft blanket was inviting and warm. Luce waddled in behind me and hopped in my bed as if she owned the place. As soon as I hit the sheets, I was out.

My morning repeated itself on the last day with strange things happening as each class period washed away into the past. In lunch I sat by Mr. James again, making small talk as I enjoyed my peanut butter & jam and he pushed around his goop they called biscuits and gravy.

"It's the last day of school, so would there be any way I could catch a date tomorrow night?" Hayden asked charmingly, "A friend of mine is wanting to go on a double date."