Refreshed

I plopped down into the sagging cushion of the couch that marked my favorite spot. The cold beer bottle I grabbed from the fridge clinked on the now cleared off mirror table as I set it down and finally opened the box of pizza to enjoy something to eat. I expected it to be cold at this point, but the cheese still pulled with a gooey beauty as I picked up the largest slice that was left. I took a huge bite and enjoyed my slightly delayed meal. I loved how melty the cheese was and they went all out with the extra pepperoni; every bite had an abundance of pepperoni goodness while also having plenty of sauce. The pizza was the best I had eaten in a while. I finished the slice in record time and pulled a few pieces of pepperoni off and set them on one edge of the coffee table. Rocky mowed as he hopped up and starting munching on an especially cheesy one.

After finishing two more slices I took the box into the kitchen. I put the last slice into a Tupperware container before taking the last few swigs of my beer and tossing the bottle and now empty box into the pile of trash that had overtaken the trashcan. I stared around the kitchen. although I never cooked the room was a disaster. Empty take out boxes, microwave meals and empty snack wrappers piled up on the counters. The sink was overflowing with dirty dishes. I knew the inside of the microwave and the toaster oven were covered in splatters and crumbs. I grabbed the tupperware and opened up the fridge. More mess. I made space in the over packed mess of both recent and forgotten leftovers.

I looked out into the livingroom and saw all the clutter and discarded clothing and random items scattered about the room. I sighed. I never really noticed how bad the mess had gotten. I would just ignore it. Cleaning was always her thing...the enjoyment that she would get out of cleaning up from top to bottom was always strange to me. I felt my heart get heavy as I thought about her. Rya.

I grabbed my phone from where it was sitting on the end table by the front door when I noticed the two business cards that Rose had given me. The image if Rya disappeared as I smiled noticing the number she had written on one of the cards.

"She is obviously flirting Rocky, look." I pointed to the heart she put next to her name as I showed the cat who always shadowed me,"Don't give me that look. You know she will never replace your Rya mommy." I stared at the number for a moment before finally deciding to enter it into my phone.

-Hey this is Tara. I'm the girl with the boring taste in pizza;)

Almost immediately my phone pinged.

-Well hi there Miss Mundane! I was wondering how long it would take you to text me ;)

I smiled as I typed:

-Well I was too distracted eat the best pizza I've had in a long time lol

*ping*

-Hey its busy so I can't talk but my boss have me some free meal coupons to give to Mama Welsh. It played on his heartstrings when I told him why I was late getting back. wanna hang at your place since I will be right there? I can be there around 9 p.m. I will bring beer ;)

-Sure

My heart skipped. She wants to hang out at my place? Fuck! She wants to come hang out at my place! I looked in horror at the state of my living space. The time on my phone read 2:15. Almost seven hours. I can do this.

I collapsed on my bed and looked at the alarm clock on my nightstand; it read 8:23. I groaned as I lifted myself up off the bed and walked over to my closet. I struggled to get the sliding door open as I had stuffed all the laundry I wasnt able to get clean into the closet and out of sight. After rifling through the clothes hanging up that I did manage to get clean I finally decided on a an old, purple plaid button down and tank top with jeans. I stopped by the old painted dresser I had since childhood that was covered in various stickers and i grabbed the cutest bra and panty combo I could find. cute outfit in tow, I grabbed a towel from the linen closet and headed for the shower.

The music blared out of my blutooth speaker as I washed my body for the second time today. Cleaning always left me feeling contaminated and dirty. The thought of Rya crept into my mind again as a melancholic indie song started playing. She always loved depressing music. She would always be at the computer writing as she would play her sad songs too loudly. Mama Welsh never complained though. I remember she once said the sad songs reminded her it was ok to still miss her husband. My throat got tight as I wondered if letting another girl into our home would be betraying her. This is the first time I would be letting another girl into my home since she died.

I shook the thought away knowing that she would want nothing more than for me to be happy in life and still enjoy other people.

After toweling off I got dressed and put on some mascara. I hated wearing make up, but something made me want to try tonight. For just a moment I felt uneasy, thinking that I was misinterpreting things and she would think I'm creepy. What if she wasn't even into girls? I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water to calm my nerves. I looked around the now clean house and smiled. I almost can see why Rya liked cleaning so much.

I looked at the clock on the microwave. 8:47. I went to my spot on the couch and powered up the laptop as I got comfy. I opened up facebook and started scrolling through my feed.

*ping*

-Hey I am just about to head your way :) I will be there soon!

My stomach fluttered. This is it. I am going to hang out with a cute girl that I hope likes me. The worry set in again. If I flirted with her and she was straight I would be in for an awkward night, especially if we were drinking. I am a flirty drunk.

Still on facebook I clicked on the search bar and typed: Prudence Rose Williams. I needed to know what I was getting into. I scrolled through the names, but couldn't find her. I switched over to Instagram and searched again but yielded no results for the cute pink haired girl. I started to get frustrated as I googled and still found nothing. I put my laptop on the table and threw my body down on the couch as I finally decided to give up on my failed stalking endeavor.

*ping*

-I'm here :)