Coffee

☕ 1 ☕

Lyn_z

My eyes scaned over the crinkled and slightly damp newspaper, my pen tapping in thought. The sound of unfocused laughter and chat, cups and cutlery tinking heard as customers enjoyed their meal. A strong scent of brewed coffee and old books lingered in the air. What the hell, I can't find empire anywhere! This shit is rigged. I tossed the half finished find-a-word aside as a customer came up to the counter, it was one of the regulars, Chantelle; Dripping with stray raindrops.

"The usual?" I asked
"Of course, thanks" she got out her wallet and handed me the cash, 3 dollars extra.
"Here's you change lovely..."
"You keep it, its only lose change" she dismissed, waving her hand.
I got to work on the order "So how are you and Jimmy?"
"Fucking awesome, we went out the other day to this really nice Italian restaurant, I would so recommend it" she grinned.
"I would if I had someone to take"
"Aww, how come a pretty girl like you doesn't have a date?"
"I'm just a mess, I have too much school work to have a social life. Besides I'm not pretty, I'm fine with it though, it's just that I don't think people would want to date me".
Chantelle slamed a hand down on the counter, porcelain knocking together. "I'm calling bullshit, you are really fucking pretty and have a wicked sence of humor, a lot of people would begging to date you. And don't worry about school, once it is finished you can go out and party as much as you want"
I giggled and handed her the caramel latte "enjoy, I tried"
"Thanks hun, see ya tomorrow" she chuckled.
"See ya".

Tomorrow. And the day after. And the day after that. It's not like I don't enjoy Chantelle's company, it's just that that I want to change it up, do something different. If it isn't work, it's school or home life that has me stuck in the same daily drag. I made a list for things I had to do as soon as I got home, I didn't want mom making a fuss. She had gotten more tence ever since she started dating Rob. The stress of commitment hadn't been a worry since my dad left, but now it was back to the same routine. He controlled everything we did.

The rain outside got heavier, the sound loud in my ears. The windows had started to fog up due to the heat of the people in the room, it was comforting.

~☕~

The rain still poured as I made my way home, windshield wipers creating a blured affect on the screen. The sound of raw music from Misfits pumped though the speakers in the little faded navy car. I saw a man holding a breif case above his head to protect himself run across the zebra crossing, nodding politely in thanks. As I neared home, I saw some homeless people huddling under a bus shelter, sleeping bags clutched tightly.

I pulled up at my house and cut the engine. The sound of rain on the roof was like drums. I sat there for a few minutes before I willed myself out of the car. As I opened the front door, the smell of cigarettes and musty carpet wafted to my senses. Home. It was dark inside, but the glow of the kitchen told me where my mother was. I slipped off my docs and hung up my jacket.

She sat at the wooden table, cigarette hanging from the side of her mouth. "Hey mom" I said and sat down next to her, taking my own packet of cigarettes out and lighting one up; horrible habit I picked up, I know, but It's hard to stop since I've been doing it for 4 and a half years. "Hey Lindsey , how was your day?" She said and looked at me with red eyes, she must have been chain-smoking again. "It was good, school was boring and stressful as usual, work was same".
"Nothing new?".
"Nope, sadly. Alright good chat mom but I have an English assessment to finish".
"Alright, see you at dinner" she waved me off and I walked upstairs, a trail of smoke following.

~☕~

"Lindsey! Get down here! Now!" I heard Rob yell from downstairs. I quickly ran down the stairs to see Rob with my docs in hand. "How many fucking times do I have to tell you to put your shoes out of the way! I've tripped over them so many times and I'm so sick of it you absolute slob! How hard is it?! Are you fucking stupid?! Answer me you cow!" He yelled at me with rage, throwing the shoes at me and one hitting me on the brow bone, the other hitting the wall, smearing dirt. I was trying to hold back my tears "I'm sorry, I won't do it again".
"Fuck off you slob, of course you will do it again and you aren't sorry at all you selfish little bitch!" He stomped to stand right in front of me. "Clean the mud off the wall. Now" he growled and stalked off to the living room.

That's the norm around here. Even though it still hurts, I'm used to it. After cleaning up and eating dinner silently, I went up stairs to continue my assessment, my head still aching.

~☕~
A/N

Wow mate, how dramatic is Rob. He needs to chill his man titties. It's all good though, I got one hell of a shit-storm ready for the plot.

- A_Can_Of_awkward ☕