Flaming Roses

SIX}*{ Arlo (POV)

I sat in my car, inhaling and exhaling the smoke around me. It filled my chest, making  me feel dizzy. How long had I been there? Two minutes? Three hours? It didn't matter. My eyes began to droop, and my vision was started to go fuzzy. I decided to get up and go outside for a walk. Still not sure of where I was, the night overlapped corners and alleys between buildings, making it difficult for me to understand where I was going. I staggered around until I made it to a convenient store. I slumped in the doorway for a moment, trying to steady my legs under me. The aisles swayed as the milk fridges became closer to me as I walked in, florescent lights engulfing me and my vision.

A steady pounding throbbed in the back of my head. I felt heavy blankets tucked around me. The smell of wood and coffee filled my nose, my throat, and chest. I gently turned onto my side, afraid I might have other injuries. It was often that I blacked out with no memories in the morning. Tentatively, my eyes fluttered open, revealing a bright light. My eyes slowly adjusted to the light and I took in the scene. I was lying in a bed, in a room with two soft yellow walls, and two walls paneled with light wood. A large bay window took up most of the space on the window to the left of the bed. Taking up the space of the wall in front of the bed was a closet, a dresser, and farthest to the left, a door. I stretched myself out, not taking the time to look around the rest of the room, and jumped out of the warm bed. I walked to the door, but stopped with my hand and the knob. I glanced down to make sure I was decent. I had on boxers and a grey wife-beater. I turned around to find a pair of shorts on the bed. Grabbing them and pulling them on, I turned back to the door and stepped out. There was a small living room to my left, open and airy, complete with a T.V. and a sliding door leading to a lousy balcony. To my left was a medium sized kitchenette, with someone busy at work in it. Not wanting to turn my back to the person, I glanced around taking everything in. There seemed to be a small hallway to my far right, at the end of it a bathroom, and between it another door. I guessed it was a bedroom. The front door was to my far left, facing the balcony directly. After quickly thinking over all the ways I could escape or hide, I made my way to the kitchen. The person turned around, suddenly noticing me. "Oh! Good morning. Just on time." The guy said. He seemed friendly.

"Where am I?" I asked warily, trying to seem as cheerful as him. Just as it always did in situations, the frosty metal bit into my hip. Could I trust this person? Did they help me? Do I even care? Why shouldn't I just blow their head off? I could always just blow his head off...

He nodded and began to pull dishes and silverware out of cabinets and drawers. I tensed and gripped my gun in case he was pulling out a weapon. "Let's get you some food and I'll explain everything." He told me. Realizing I was ravenous, I nodded and turned partially to see behind me. I sat at the table I saw and watched as he dished something onto plates and carried them over to the table. He had made scrambled eggs, toaster waffles, hash browns, and fruit. Next to the inviting platter he had set before me was a glass of orange juice. "Dig in," He said motioning to my plate, "Go ahead." I dug in to my plate and listened expectantly as he began. "Well for starters, my name is Sai. I own the convenient store below us. Last night I was on the last shift of the night, and was only 15 minutes away from closing the shop, when you stumbled in. Literally," Ha laughed at his joke. I tried to make a chuckling noise as I washed down a mouthful of hash browns down with orange juice. "Anyway, you stumbled in and walked towards the milk. Then you fell over and passed out. I could tell you were intoxicated. I wanted to take you to the hospital but—and you really can't tell anyone this—but I'm actually not a.... well—citizen you could say." He said under his breath, as if not to let anyone hear. I nodded and speared two strawberries.

"So instead of taking me to the hospital, you—you... took me to your apartment?" I asked. I could not understand why somebody would help me. He just nodded with a confused and serious look. "Well, thank you! Can I ask where I actually am?" I asked.

"Yes, you are in my apartm—"

"No. Where am I? Like what road?" I asked more impatiently.

"Oh," he said embarrassed. I felt bad for raising my voice. "We are in Marrin Road and 14th Street." He replied.

"Thanks, and what time is it?" I asked gulping down the last of my orange juice.

"It's almost eight o'clock," he said taking a bite of his fruit. I thought about whether or not to go to school or not. I decided it was best to get out of here, so I will go. I told him I had to leave for school and he gave me my clothes. Luckily, I didn't have a gun on me. Unfortunately, that also meant an exposed weapon could be sitting in my car. I rushed to get my clothes on and headed out the door.

"Thank you so much...um—Sai." I said. "And by the way— you never saw me here." I added as I walked out the door. Now— to find my car.

I will add to this chapter later but it has been a while since I posted so I just figured I'd post something. Thanks for reading!