The Fallen Goddess

The Crash

"What are you doing after work?" Crissy, my girlfriend, asks me.

"Probably just gonna go back to my apartment." I say in response. "I'll be too tired to do anything else afterwards."

Crissy gives me a pouty look. I just smile and kiss her, and when we break away I smile again.

"See you tomorrow?" I ask.

"Yeah, whatever."

But she smiles too.

She gets up from the table I was sitting at for my break, and heads for the door. I get up as well but I head for the kitchen instead.

I work at Taco Bell. I know it's a sad place to work; I mean, no one really wants to work in fast food, but it's the best I can do right now. I'm studying to be a full-time author, so I can't guarantee that I will ever leave fast food, but I can still go to college and try.

Which is exactly what I'm doing.

I finish my shift after a few hours, and I say goodbye to my coworkers. I'm always so tired after a shift because I'm typically scheduled for super late at night, or, as know-it-alls would say, "really early in the morning".

I head to my car, still thinking about my shifts and desperately hoping I can get my manager to start letting me work at times that can accommodate to my classes that are starting in a few days.

The drive back to my apartment feels long and is full with yawns, which is why I am grateful to finally see the familiar building. I find a parking spot near my door, and walk over to open it. 

I sigh as the door swings open and I get a good view of my new apartment. Life hasn't been a great friend of mine so far, at least not in the place-to-live department, and this apartment is no exception; it's dismal at best, but I couldn't afford any better.

It's small, even for one person, and the walls are peeling and broken in places.

I step inside and set my car keys down on a little side table next to the door. I run my hands through my hair as I walk over to my bedroom.

I open my closet door and get out a pair of sweats to sleep in. Having just come from work, I do have my work clothes still on, so I quickly throw those aside and put the sweatpants on. I don't put on another shirt; I just collapse onto my bed and almost immediately fall asleep.

I hear an enormous crash that startles me awake.

It is the kind of crash that happens all at once, and when the noise stops, the air is filled with a ringing silence.

I get out of bed, slightly hesitant to see what happened. I peer through my bedroom doorway and see... Nothing. There is nothing out of place.

I step out into the hallway, hoping to find something because not seeing anything is worse than the apprehension about what could have caused that noise. I walk down the hallway into the kitchen and still I see nothing.

I start trying to look for something small that could have fallen, knowing perfectly well that the crash was much too loud to have been made by a small object.

Growing ever more curious and creeped out, I walk into my tiny kitchen and see... Something. There is a naked woman sprawled on the floor. She is looking up at me with an angry stare.

"Oh, uh! Uh- let me go get you some blankets or towels or something..." I stutter as she starts to get up.

I nearly sprint back to my room and grab a couple towels from the adjoining bathroom. I put on a shirt as well and when I get back to the kitchen, the woman is holding my phone. I hand her the towels, which she wraps clumsily around herself.