Before Incarceration

Piper

     The overwhelming growls from my stomach woke me up from my much needed 8 1/2 hours of sleep. I tried to keep my sleep schedule on routine— they say it's good for your health. Circadian clock and all that jazz. Normally when I woke up this hungry, I would go grab whatever fruit or cereal I had available for breakfast; however, due to the fact that I've been out of a job for two months, I had nothing to eat or any money to buy something to eat. Attempting to take my mind off of food, I checked my phone: messages from mom, Polly, and a random message from a toll free number. I needed to respond to my mom. It wasn't too far down the road that I'll probably end up having to live with her. I shrugged and put that down as a task to worry about another day. My mother was very critical of me. Nothing I did seemed to be good enough. So the thought of moving in with her only to be called a failure and then be judged everyday didn't seem too appealing. BANG! BANG! BANG! Startled by the sudden outburst, I scrambled for decent clothes before answering the door in a large t-shirt.
     "Damn. You look sexy, Pipes," Alex said, looking me up and down. Before I could wipe the astounded look off of my face, she slid past me and sat on my couch. "I hope you're hungry! I brought you a bagel and some coffee for that morning I had to skip out on."
     "Had to skip out on?" I asked, grabbing the bagel and coffee without hesitation. God bless Alex. But also... damn her. She looked uncomfortable and gazed at the ground, I assumed she was trying to come up with some excuse.
     "Okay, I know what it seemed like. But it had nothing to do what Silvy. She means nothing to me. Just an old flame. Trust me," she explained. The calmness in her voice told me she wasn't lying, but I still didn't want to believe her.
     "Then why did you leave? Did you change your mind about me?" How did I always manage to sound so pitiful with Alex? She let out a smile at my questions.
     "No, beautiful. How could I change my mind about someone as wonderful as you? Something just came up. Which I would have been happy to have explained had you let me say anything at all," her tone sounded regretful— or maybe I just wanted it to. Nevertheless, she ignored my first question.
     "But why did you leave, Alex? Why are you here?" I prodded.
     "Do you really want to know?" I nodded, receiving a sigh from Alex. "Okay, remember how I said I work for an international drug cartel? Well, I wasn't kidding. I really do. Some business came up, and when it does, I really can't skip out on it. I didn't want to leave you. I promise." Her words hit me like a truck. No wonder she had so much money at such a young age. At least she was honest upfront. I can't actually be rationalizing liking a drug dealer... can I? "I completely understand if you don't want to see me again... but I honestly think that'd be the wrong decision." As I contemplated my choices, I watched Alex take a sip from her coffee. Her red lips pursing over the lid as her black outlined eyes looked at me with a hint of sadness enveloped in the green. I couldn't help but feel my heart ache for her potential sadness.
     "Of course I want to see you again," I admitted. Her dimples flashed along with a giddy smile.
     "Good. Now let's get to the serious business. You owe me." She joked. My face flushed pink as her lips crashed into mine.

     "You know, for a hot girl, you like the shittiest shows!" Alex teased me as we snuggled on my couch watching my list on Netflix. Her tattooed arm draped around my shoulders.
     "Too boring for a drug dealer like you?" I joked, and she pushed my face playfully.
     "Oh, hush!" She said, kissing my face a dozen times all over. I loved how her tough outer shell seemed to crack the more time I spent with her. This having been the third day she's spent with me, I could only hope for more of the real Alex.