Morning creeps through my window as I force myself from my bed and place my feet on the ground for the first time in eight hours. My night was filled with nightmares of him. I can still feel his hands around my throat, and although I am not usually an early riser, I have to wash him off of me.
I walk to the bathroom, slightly unbalanced and still gathering my thoughts together for the day. I turn the shower dial to the hottest temperature that I can handle, hop in, and begin to scrub. My skin turns red and begins to get sore but I don't stop until I feel like I have scrubbed every last skin cell from the night before away. I'm a new person now, and it's time I felt like it.
I turn the water off and am met with the cool breeze from my AC. My skin welcomes it and begins to calm down.
No one is home, so I dry off, skip clothes, and immediately head to the kitchen to get a small glass of orange juice. I see some fresh bread sitting on the counter and it calls to me, begging me to open it and grab a slice. I do, and decide I don't regret it.
I grab my phone from my nightstand and unlock it. Time to check what little notifications I have. Mostly Twitter, telling me that so and so has posted or retweeted someone else's tweet. My best friend always asked me why I have post notifications on for so many people. She thought it would be annoying, but the truth is, it makes me feel important. I lost a lot of friends because of him and each notification, no matter how irrelevant it is to me, makes me feel sane.
I finish going through Twitter before noticing a text from a number I don't have saved in my contacts.
"Hey, your friend gave me your number. She said you could use a friend to show you around the city. Let me know if you'd be down for that."
Confused, I read the text again. Who is this? What friend would give this person my number without letting me know first?
I moved to this new city, Westbriar, two weeks ago. I had to get away from my past and thought a small, quiet town would be perfect for me. I'm not big on large cities. Since moving here though, I haven't left my apartment. I stocked up on groceries as soon as I arrived and haven't needed to restock yet.
I ponder on a reply and whether or not I actually want to get a tour of the city. While the two weeks at my apartment have been nice, I decide it's time to integrate back into society.
"Hi there. I would love to see all your favorite places. How does tonight at six sound?" I hit send and wait.
A few minutes pass before my phone vibrates again, signaling another text.
"Sounds good, shoot me your address and I'll see you then."
I reply with a "thanks" and my address before setting my phone down and deciding to go through my closet to look for a presentable outfit for the evening. I have quite some time before six rolls around, so I try on a few before choosing a black dress with small sunflowers scattered throughout it. It's new, and I think it will be perfect for my fresh start.
Exhausted from my early morning, I find myself back in bed for a nap, setting an alarm before drifting off into sleep once again.
YOU ARE READING
The Stars Weep With Us
General Fiction"They say that somewhere, distance unknown, your soulmate is watching the same stars as you are. Looking up into the sky, I see the moon and stars as nothing more than big balls of gas and stone and fire. What could they know of love? What could the...
