Plastic Roses

Chapter Two - Ethan

Ethan let out a tired yawn before flopping down onto the bed that creaked and groaned with even the slightest movement. All day he had been with his crazy girlfriend, who he loved to mess with. It was the usual, every day he would show up with something she needed before sitting down and relaxing with her in his arms.

Ethan smiled slightly, remembering how she would curl up close to him and snuggle into his chest before she began to tell him everything about her day. With a sigh, he laid back and stared up at his dull white ceiling. Old Christmas lights dangled down and were the only light, other than the natural light that piles intohis room during the day. As Ethan stared up at the colorful lights, he slowly began to drift into a deep sleep.

Ethan woke just as the sun had begun to come up over the horizon. The bright beams of sunshine invading his room chased away the darkness, revealing the pigsty that it was. The mountain of unwashed clothes that leaned up against the wall threatened to fall at even the smallest of sounds. Old food and pizza boxes were tossed lazily across the floor because the garbage bin was already overflowing with trash that was supposed to be thrown out weeks ago.

Tossing his legs over the side of the bed, Ethan trudged over to his pile and began to rummage through for a uniform that wasn't covered in grease stains or smelled like it hadn't been washed in years. He gave a small tug to a somewhat clean uniform near the bottom of the pile before it came toppling down in an avalanche of dirty laundry. His eye twitched slightly as he watched the mountain come tumbling down to his feet.

"Well at least I have my uniform" he mumbled quietly, lifting it up.

It was a nice blue uniform which wasn't too smelly and seemed perfect for the occasion. Ethan stared down at scattered piles and slowly began cleaning up, tossing pile after pile into the wash. He surveyed theroom in front of him, clothes hung neatly in his closet, trash emptied, and food was no longer sprawled across the carpet. The best thing about his now clean room, by far, was how the smell of moldy gym sock and rotten milk was long gone.

Checking his watch, he saw that it was already 7:30. Ethan grabbed his coat, putting it on. He removed his keys from his pocket and put it in the left pocket with his keycard slipped in its place.

Locking the door behind him, Ethan strode down his walkway to his car, an Acura TLX. Shining and gleaming over its metallic white frame of the car. Unlocking the car, Ethan stepped in, the soft purr of the engine interrupting the silence of the neighborhood. As he looked up from the wheel, he glanced back at his garage, where his motorcycle sat patiently. He had bought it a while back in hopes that Ashley might come out of her tiny cottage. He had hoped that he would hear her excited squeals as she held tightly to his waist.

Unfortunately, there has still been no progress with Ashley's Agoraphobia. He has been all over the place, calling therapists and even doctors to her house, Not even they could lure her away from her house, andaway from the thought that someone was going to get to her, just like they did her mother. Ethan let out a sad sigh as he pushed away from the unhappy truth and began to back out his driveway.

*****

"Hey, Ethan." Sam, a coworker of Ethan's, said as Ethan made his way up the stairs to

Cinq Étoiles Tout le Temps, a restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the 5 star Palais Imperial, a French hotel.

"Hey Sam," Ethan answered as he reached the ends of the stairs. "How's Kimberly? She still going to that gym?"

Sam chuckled slightly "You know it, she practically lives there now." he paused "how's your girl, shedoin' okay?"

"She's doing fine. Just scared of the outside, mostly. I'm barely making any progress with her."Ethan said as he and Sam walked to work. "Well, hurry up, gotta serve some tables today. Wonder what Abby'sgonna say about you being late?" Sam said with a smirk on his face.

"Abby's probably going to kill me," Ethan says as they walk into Tout le Temps.

"Ethan again?" Abby began as Ethan check-in.

"You know him, always late either cleaning or visiting friends," Sam says to Abby as he walks by her toget changed into his waiter suit.

"I know, I'm sorry about that Abby," Ethan said as he went to go change.

"Well, hurry up and get ready. Five dishes are already ready to be served." Abby yells.

*****

Ethan mumbled to himself as he weaved through the many tables, plates balanced carefully in his hands. Gingerly, he placed the dirty dishes on the counter and pushed them slightly towards the other end. Abigail, one of the cooks, quickly swept the pile into the sink, scrubbing off any excess food that had been stuck to the plate.

That was the end of breakfast, and slowly people began to disappear from the restaurant. For the next 7 hours, Ethan had to serve dishes made by the cooks and quietly flick off some noodles on his suit.

"How can you stand this?" Ethan asked Sam while eating some soup.

"Hey, it's all about patience and if you are good at being social," Sam said while slurping some coffee.

"At least I'm done today." Ethan sighed as he stared up at the sky.

"Well, I'm going to check on Kimberly. Better make sure she doesn't pull a muscle." Sam said as he got up to his car.

"See ya, Sam!" Ethan called out as Sam drove off.

Ethan made his way towards his own car. He let out a loud sigh before starting it up, making his way towards his girlfriend's house. The drive wasn't very long, her house being quite close to his work. When he got there he saw that the door was open. The door was broken and splintered, pieces of wood laying across the lawn. He bolted out of his car and into the house.

The home was torn apart, shattered glass was scattered across the floor and furniture was out of place. Ashley was gone, and lying on the floor in the middle of the living room was a bright red rose.

***1097 Words***