Palpitations

Stinky Mess

Lucine's P.O.V

It was late night. I was cleaning up in preparation for closing. No one seemed to worry and look for the man lying on the couch. He must be creating trouble to everyone that no one bothered to look for him.

Should I just take him to my place?

Ha-Ha.Only when hell freezes over.

"Hey! Where do you live" I poked him with the broom stick expecting him to give me a small hint,but he didn't budge. Instead he kept murmuring water. I grabbed a bottle from the refrigerator and threw it at him. But he was asleep like a baby.

I sighed and went back arranging items in the shelves.

I suddenly heard gaging.

Oh No.

I turned around to find him already puking his guts out.My arms fell down and my jaw dropped. The couch and the floor were a terrible mess.

If the shop owner found out about the couch and everything.. I will definitely get my butt stamped with another shoe print.

I'm too pathetic. Oh darn.

I groaned and shut my eyes trying to control my anger.I got a wet cloth and gave it to him to get himself cleaned up,but he didn't seem to fully come back to his senses. I glanced at his clothes which were totally another story. Wiping didn't even look enough to clean his mess at the first place.

I pulled a mouth mask from the drawer and put it on.I wrapped my hands with plastic bags from the checkout counter. I pulled him up and let him lean on my side. I walked him to the restroom and let him wash his face like a kid. His smell was horribly pungent. He smelled like a real armpit. I don't know how was I able to endure that.

And why am I even bothering to clean him up? Only God knows.

I found a tank top and a pair of black shorts Adrian left in his locker. I brought them to him. He was sitting on the floor with his head tilted down, legs extended forward and his back supported by the tiled wall. I knelt down and lifted his head up a little using my index finger.

"Wake up stranger.." I slapped his flushed cheek gently.

"You gotta change your nasty clothes"I finished.

But his head tilted to his right shoulder.

He was asleep like a log.

I exhaled thinking of plan B. I opened my hand exposing my palm flat and cuffed him so hard that I left a red print of my hand on his cheek.He groaned in pain rubbing his cheek. "Put this on right now!"I demanded.I placed the clothes in his lap and stepped out the rest room closing the door behind me. I waited about 15 minutes unsure of checking if whether he was done or not.I didn't want to see something I was definitely trying to avoid.

"Are you done in there?" I knocked.

There was no reply.I slowly opened the door to sneak peek . I vowed to myself that I will close my eyes if I saw something inappropriate. When I looked through the ajar door,it looked like something behind it was blocking me from viewing inside. I slowly lifted my sight upward, along the door slit, to see the guy standing there. I flinched back and accidentally pushed the door open.

"Woah" I sprinted and halted in front of him to support him with my back before he almost hit the floor.His chest weighed against my back while his head rested on my shoulder.

I brought his arm around my neck and walked him to an armchair. He sat their with his head supported by the head rest. He was able to put on the tank top but not the shorts. And I noticed that he wore the tank top backwards. I rolled my eyes and looked at the filthy mess he created earlier.

I used a wet cloth to clean the couch and mopped the floor from the stinky slimy liquid. I had to throw every equipment used in this mission. I sprayed a lot of air freshener making sure that the customer repellent smell totally vanished. I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand and sighed. Suddenly I heard the bell chime. I wondered who would come at this hour and I also remember I flipped the sign on the door to closed.

A young made-up brunette in a knee-length bejeweled red tulle dress,stood on her black ankle strap heels at the store's entrance.Her long hair was neatly styled in a side fishtail that rested down her exposed shoulder.

"I'm sorry but we are closed" I apologized rubbing my palms together.

She looked at me with a faint smile. I could sense worry in her face. "I'm not here to buy. I'm looking for someone." she sighed.

I felt relief wash throughout my body when she said "I'm looking for someone"

"This is him. Have you seen him somewhere?" she held her phone to show me his picture.But without looking I walked off and brought the dude sleeping on the chair.

"Oh My Gosh. Arthur! " her heels clicked against the floor as she dashed towards us. She cradled his face between her hands inspecting him with her glossy eyes everywhere.

"Oh thank God, Thank you so much for finding and keeping him safe and sound. You don't know how much I'm grateful to you right now."she almost cried holding my hand.

"It.. It is fine." I replied awkwardly and pulled my hand away.

She held him to her but she struggled grasping him up securely. He almost plopped but I caught him.

"What am I going to do now? "she sighed.

"Leave it to me" I stood in front of him with my back facing him.The nice lady slowly moved away letting him fall on my back. I lifted him and secured his legs up with my wrists.

What- in- earth- just- got- into me?

"Wh-what are you doing? "she asked in astonishment and surprise. She definitely didn't imagine a woman giving a man a piggyback.

"You lead, I will go behind you"

She nodded still shocked.

She walked ahead and I followed her with a snoring man on my back until we reached a tall fancy building . She gestured me to enter and we got into an elevator. She pressed number 15 and the elevator rose. I heard the bing sound indicating that we reached the 15th floor. I stepped out following the lady through an aisle to an apartment which seemed three doors far from the elevator. She rang the bell and a hefty, dark skinned guy opened the door. He stood aside giving us a way to enter.The dim lit apartment looked like a mess.Pizza boxes, beer cans, and red plastic cups were scattered all over place.People in fancy clothes were lying everywhere. The strong smell of alcohol filled the place. My nose scrunched from the horrible smell.

"Where did you find him??And.. who's she?" asked hefty shifting his sight from the rice sack I was carrying to me.

"I found him at a nearby store. She is the one who actually found him.She works at that store." she pointed at me and smiled.

The guy beamed and thanked me for "Keeping him safe blah blah blah"

He took him from me and walked away.

I went back to the store to close it.I rode my bike and finally departed home.

Home sweet home..

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