【ｍｙ ｒｅｄｅｍｐｔｉｏｎ ａｒｃ】

ｄｅａｄ ｍａｎ． グ永ぶ

It's quite fair to say you don't exactly like how things are right now.

Today felt particularly gloomy but you couldn't put your finger on why.

The skies were grey and it felt like the sun was intentionally hiding between the dull leaden-blue clouds. Though it was cold and foggy, there was no rain.

That wasn't exactly the point though.

The point was, your knotted gut was warning you of something.

You desperately wanted to ignore this feeling. Leaning over your ashtray, you held a cigarette between your lips and your lighter to the edge with a hand cupped over. Perhaps the stress would subside now. You glanced over to the window but the fog on the other side had grown so thick you could hardly tell what exactly was laying on the other side.

He said he was going to take a quick shower before bed, but you could still hear the water running even after 15 minutes.

The pipes beneath your feet had made their presence known with the rushing water. Your stomach kept tossing and turning but your brain came up with an excuse to disregard your heart and nerves.

Maybe he had a long day. Leave him be.

Sounded about right

...

Okay, maybe not, you just really don't want to walk into something you can't mentally prepare yourself for.

As you took the occasional drag on your cigarette you thought.

How rough of a day would you have to have had that would compel you to run your water bill up the wall?

Not that you would know much about bills..

You shook your head with scoff as the burnt up ashes fell onto the plastic tray. The familiar smell of nicotine smog began to fill the air but you had gone noseblind to it so long ago. With one hand you steadied your cigarettes with pinched fingers and with the other you brushed your unkempt bangs out of your eyes. Your surroundings seemed a lot clearer now. Blinking to adjust to the dim lights, you could feel the chemicals slowly rewire your brain to put you at ease. Your legs began to bounce as they always did but you did nothing to stop them and your senses seemed to drift elsewhere. That was OK though. Sometimes just enjoying the presence of yourself is the best thing you can do. Your heart which was once pounding out of your chest seemed to slow down with the rhythm of your breath.

Still, you couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right. You didn't want to believe it but the longer you chose to ignore the situation the worse your stomach sank. Frustrated, your shoulders tensed as you sunk further into the soft cushions of the couch.

You brushed it off as just anxiety from smoking so much in a day or maybe your brain was trying to trick you into thinking you left the stove on but as you listened to the pipes creak you began to suspect something was seriously wrong.

The water had been running for almost 30 minutes now, and yet you've heard no noise from the bathroom.

Reluctantly, you began to tap the remaining glowing embers down to the butt of your cigarette before putting it out against the crooks of your neck. The sensation made a shiver run down your spine but it went away after a few seconds.