devil

part nine

Lauren can't begin to ponder why that specific question Camila asked confused her so much.

Why her?

It was simple.

She could remember the day so clearly that she could see it when she closed her eyes. It was a night she knew she could live to never forget.

That night had been the Fourth of November.

That early Saturday had started off as a normal lazy morning, but little did she know that day would be far from mediocre.

Lauren sat around smoking a packet of cigarettes on her balcony as she stared at the foggy streets and the constant individuals who walked past in a hurry.

The day continued to drag on drastically. It felt like it was endless and tiring, but the rest of the night would change completely, she was just yet to find out.

After a work meeting in Manhattan that took up majority of her day, Lauren felt worn out and wasted.

She had never been a people's person and being an independent contractor helped avoid human contact, until she was needed in corporate meetings. 

Her heels clicked on the wet floor as she walked and she could feel the harsh rain against her black umbrella like bullet descending down on her.

Lauren had known that traffic around this time in Manhattan was always hectic, which is why she decided to take the subway. Though, if she had known that the weather was going to turn into this whirlwind, she would've thought twice about that.

That was the first effect of the night that would lead up to the moment: taking the subway.

As Lauren neared the subway stairs that led to the underground station, she paused for just a second looking up at the sky.

The evening had begun to darken and the blazer she wore didn't shield her enough from the rain.

Her skin had been begun to grow goosebumps from the dampness and her teeth shivered softly.

When she paused by the stairs about to enter the subway, a light to her left that was in the corner of her eye caught her sight.

A coffee shop.

Between sitting in a dirty cold subway surrounded by other wet filthy humans and sitting inside a coffee shop for a few minutes sipping on a latte to keep her insides warm, a coffee sounded like heaven.

The second effect of the night: choosing to stop for a drink.

As she sipped on the latte and somewhat picked at the banana and walnut muffin, she sat at the window table half watching people rush by in a hurry and half studying her own reflection in the mirror.

Her raven hair was a stringy mess because the rain had gotten the best out of her. And her makeup seemed to be fully ruined, except the dark red lipstick on her lips that seemed to be the only thing untouched except the residue it left on her coffee mug.

She ignored her reflection for a second as she stared at the strangers wandering by.

A man wearing a black raincoat trying to drag his dog by the leash. Though the dog was mopping wet, it wasn't enough to distract him of putting his leg up every chance he got to mark his territory.

The blonde lady with the identical blonde daughter she carried in her arms. She held an umbrella on her free hand and tried to secure her hair which seemed to just have gotten a blowout. Lauren knew her hairdo wouldn't last, not in this weather.