Ensnaring Darkness

VII. In which he was given a lifesaver

The week passed by in a blur of meetings and project deadlines. Julien worked himself to the bone, not because he wanted to prove himself but to keep his mind of insignificant things. But even with a weary mind, his dreams were plagued with a certain gray-eyed man and his words were like sharp blades that sliced at his heart.

Julien felt the pain of heartbreak and disappointment for the first time.

That Friday night, as he stepped inside his darkened apartment, sadness overwhelmed him. His throat constricted and he took a step back and locked the door once again. An hour later, he found himself seated in a conspicuous corner of a bar not far from his home.

A bottle of beer sat in front of him, the foam fizzling out each passing second. His alcohol tolerance was average and he wasn't fond of drinking that much but tonight, he decided he needed liquor to help clear his mind, be it by pain caused by hangover or dizziness from being drunk.

Soon, empty beer bottles littered the small table. His small face was flushed beautifully and his blue eyes were more vivid than before as the unbridled part of him slowly surfaced. Yet. Knox's handsome face pervaded in his mind. Tears blurred his vision. Annoyed, he raised his hand up to call for a waiter and ask for a stronger liquor.

The waiter's name was Lou Hammond and he had noticed the young and good-looking customer who was sitting by himself and was intent to drowm himself in alcohol. It was not his first time seeing such a scene. Yet there was a different kind of sadness that irked him. What bothered Lou was that the young man resembled him from before when his one-sided love came to an end many years ago,

"Man, do you think I should just chuck him out of the club, Earl? He's real depressing to look at." He asked the bartender, a middle-aged man who have gentle amber eyes and a permanent smile on his face.

"There's still two hours left before closing time." Earl had a disapproving tone despite his smiling expression. He peered at the man Lou was looking at. He shook his head at the despairing look of the young man. "He looks like he's been dumped."

He suddenly remembered something and rummaged at his bag. Lou frowned at his movements. "What do you got there?"

"There's an app that my cousin gave me to try."

"An app? Why do you suddenly need that?" Lou was stunned at the odd shift in their conversation.

"Well, supposedly that app can help you win your love."

"There's such a thing?" Lou guffawed. "You actually believed that?" And then he suddenly was suspicious of the bartender, was he having troubles with love? Such a thing was unthinkable when Earl looked as carefree as always!

Earl scowled at his partner and held out a black card with a red barcode embossed on it. On the other side, the words "Dark Love" were printed in a spindly silver font of some kind, and below that were the words "Goal-Set-Romance: Beta Version".

Lou inspected it once more. The card looked elegant and catchy but it looked dark and gloomy as well. The design was definitely too gothic for romance.

"You give this to that customer." Earl pushed the card on him.

"Why me? And what good will this do?"

"Sometimes in the midst of despair, even this kind of thing can be a lifesaver."

"Lifesaver my ass." Lou grumbled but he still accepted the card, grabbed a cold bottle of beer and strode to where Julien was. The thick scent of alcohol stung him as he stood in front of the despairing customer. Hesitant, he placed the beer in front of the man and held out the card.

Julien was lost in his thoughts when suddenly a card was shoved in front of him. He leaned back and blankly accepted it.

A loud throat clearing made him looked up. The tall and handsome waiter stared down at him with an odd look in his face.

"That's an app that can help you." Lou said in a rush and immediately strode away.

Julien looked down at the card and his gaze was attracted to the words -Goal-Set-Romance. Still not thinking deeply, he pulled out his phone when he saw the bar code and scanned it. But before the installation could finish, dizziness swamped his consciousness. The phone slipped from his grip and tumbled down the floor as darkness claimed him fully.