Chapter 3
The Social House Cafe is a great place to work, but now and then I would have to deal with an unruly customer. I love working here and I miss being on the same shift with Hadrian and Bella. This time is better for me considering I need to try and get more sleep most nights and sleeping til 11:00 am or 12:00 pm usually helps me get more hours since I can't sleep til 3:00 or 4:00 am most nights. Some nights I don't go to bed at all.
Today is one of the good days where I got at least 6 hours of sleep. Luckily I don't have to work long hours since I inherited my grandparents' money after they died when I first moved to Brooklyn. That's the only reason I can afford the house I'm living in now. I also don't have to work as many hours to be able to afford rent each month. It's a blessing they adored me and knew my mother was a bad person.
They were the ones that took care of me and I spent every moment I could with them. I'm just grateful they gave me everything in the will. I couldn't bear to sell their house so I'm renting it out. I get a monthly deposit from the agent that takes care of the property. She's in charge of keeping the house in its best condition for the renters. I want to keep it, but I know eventually I'm going to have to sell it. There's no point for me to visit unless I'm visiting my grandparents' graves on their birthday or anniversary.
*****
I'm sitting on the windowsill watching the not-so-busy street. Tonight was one of the sleepless nights lying in bed, tossing and turning. Not sure how much time passed but I got up and made some chamomile tea and I am now sitting on the windowsill with my head against the cool glass. My back is supported by the pillows. The fairy lights light the room in a soft yellow glow, creating a relaxing ambiance with the music playing softly in the background.
Looking outside I look out at the dark street admiring the quiet. The darkness and solitude from the usual hustle and bustle during the day are now nearly non-existent. Only a handful of cars drive by every once in a while. The music, my tea, and my warm fluffy blanket lulls me into a dreamless sleep.
A bright light behind my eyes wakes me up. The early morning sun glaring through the windows blinding me. Moving the blanket to the side, I pick up my teacup and put it in the sink. I go upstairs to my room and flip my phone over from the nightstand. Saturday. 8:00 am.
Might as well get ready for the day. I go to my bathroom and put one of the purple towels, from the shelf above the toilet, on the white countertop. Stripping off my PJs, I step into the bathtub shower with white shower curtains. I take my time doing everything I need to get done for a full-body shower.
Afterward, I dry myself off, wrap a towel around myself, and put a towel on my head to dry my hair. Wiping the condensation away from the mirror I see a tired woman looking back at me. Sighing, I know I cannot get a perfect 8 hours a night, but I still try. It seems as though I got about 3 hours last night. Maybe a total of 10 hours over 5 days. I brush my teeth and do my whole skincare routine plus concealer.
After I go to my room, to decide on the outfit I want to wear, I browse through my closet. Moving all the shirts to the right, I go through them one by one moving them to the left. My mood is not in very high spirits today, so I'm leaning more towards something comfortable. A light pink long-sleeved shirt and a black cardigan are the perfect combination. I throw them on my bed behind me while I go to open the green drawer on my dresser to get to my pants. I pull out black yoga pants and grab a pale pink pair of socks from the blue drawer.
I put the whole outfit on and like what I see. Deciding on my light pink Converse completes the entire look. I spray myself in my strawberry perfume and now all I have to do is take my hair out and brush it. For my hair, I want to leave it down today. I haven't had it down flowing freely for a while. I always would have it up in a hairstyle or it would be half up half down.
Grabbing my tote bag, I pack my computer, a book, and my chargers. Today is a nice day to work on my writing project, but first I'll go to the coffee shop and see Bella at work. Maybe on her break, she'll have enough time to talk to me. I make sure I have my keys and my headphones. I go downstairs and to my front door. I step out and lock it. Walking I begin to make my way to the coffee shop to get some writing done.
A few minutes go by and I see that man again. He's standing in the middle of the street. Like he's waiting for something, and wearing the same outfit as the last time I saw him. As I'm watching him, I see this car coming down the road not slowing at all.
Panicking I yell "Hey! Move! Get out of the way!" at him to move because there's no way I can reach him in time.
Turning his head towards me, he looks at me questioningly. As if he's not sure I'm speaking to him.
Staring in his eyes I shout again, "Yeah you! Get out of the way!"
The man has a shocked look on his face and I feel as though I was too slow in warning him. As if in slow motion the car moves closer and closer to him. Not bearing to watch someone die I cover my eyes and wait for the sound of a body hitting a car. Confused I hear the car continue driving like normal. Hearing footsteps I peek through my hands seeing black and white nikes.
"Hey," says a man's voice.
Removing my hands from my face I say, "Hi?" questioningly because it's the young man. "You're not hurt."
"I'm not and why do you care?" he says.
I defensively say, "What do you mean? I saw you were about to kill yourself. I wasn't going to stand by and let you die."
Sheepishly he rubs his neck, "I'm sorry you saw that. Can we start over? I'm Charlie."
"Amara." I reach my hand out to shake his, but he takes a step back.
"I h-have a thing about touching others."
"Okay, not a problem," I fold my arms, "and it's nice to meet you, Charlie."
I smile at him and he smiles back. Charlie's eyes are a beautiful shade of brown. Almost like a caramelly chocolate color, he wears rectangular framed glasses, has dark brown wavy hair, and dimples when he smiles. I like his smile. It's cute. His eyes. They have many emotions swimming in them. It's hard for me to make out what they are.
Distracting me from my thoughts, Charlie clears his throat, "So where are you headed to?"
"Oh um, a coffee shop not too far from here. Do you want to join?"
"I wish I could but I got somewhere I got to be. I'll see you around yeah?" He slowly starts to move the other way looking a bit sad, like he knows something I don't.
"Yeah, see you around," I say a bit dejectedly. Losing hope that I would see him again.
Not sure if I would. I wave and continue on my way to my destination. A few steps later, I turn around to see if he's still there. He's not.
*****
About 20 minutes later I arrive at the coffee shop. Taking my usual seat at the corner table, where I have the best spot to people watch. Observing others is an entertaining pastime for me. I like to guess what the peoples' jobs are, and what kind of day they had, and I can also use them as inspiration for my characters.
Bella comes into my line of sight. "I got you this. On the house, " She says as she places a piece of banana bread and a large chai latte on my table.
"Thanks, Bells. You didn't need to do this. I can pay for my food and drink you know."
"I know you though. It would have taken you forever to get up from your corner before you ordered something. You need food and something to drink. I know you haven't been eating or sleeping well. I can see it on your face."
Hearing the concern in her voice I realize I may not have hidden the half circles so well. "I'm doing my best and you know that. I have my good days and my bad days."
"I know. It's just that I'm worried for you. Are you going to the brewery's opening tomorrow night? Jazz and I can pick you up."
"Yes, I'll be there. Just don't complain if I look like a zombie tomorrow okay?"
"Okay," she smiles, "we'll be there at 7:30 sharp."
Laughing back I say, "Got it. I need to get some work of my own done too."
Bella leaves and goes back to behind the counter. Already filling in orders for customers in line. She's a sweet friend and too caring at times. I'm lucky to have her and my other friends. They check in on me now and then. They also come to my place in the mornings to make breakfast knowing I usually eat one or two times a day.
Now onto a book I've been writing for weeks. It has always been on and off but I am determined to finish it within the next 6 months. It's one of the secret projects I've been working on. Not one of my friends knows what they are about and I am determined to keep it that way until it's published.
The other project is poetry. All of my poems are compiled into one book. Poems about my life, the world, the people surrounding me. All the things I encounter in the world that I deem are worth writing about. Little muses, but I have not yet found the muse that would inspire so much emotion and it would be art. Immortalizing that muse forever in words of prose.