Try Again ~ Chapter Two ~
You Will Have To Try Harder
Chapter Two
You Will Have To Try Harder
She had fucked it all up again.
Delia lit a candle then let her body fall onto the bed, burying her face into the pillow Santi had been using. Not a single drop of his scent remained. She called MaryAnn without thinking and her friend picked up instantly.
“You lost him again, didn’t you?” Her voice was warm.
Delia didn’t answer, but her crying was audible.
“Honey, I feel your pain. I’m so sorry.”
Delia had underestimated her mental state. She ended the call without a word, her friend would understand. She rolled to her side feeling like her body was pinned down with stones. Every inch of movement caused excruciating pain.
Time swept by her like a montage in some movie. A deep voice peppered the breeze outside her window and she managed to crawl towards it.
Oscar was home. He was pacing around the car chatting loudly on his cellphone. Delia sighed heavily and stopped watching him. She slid her back down along the wall until she reached the ground and dragged her knees to her chin. She didn’t know what she would say to him.
The apartment door swung open and all three cats emerged from their resting spots. Oscar moved right past them. He spotted Delia and met her at the ground.
“What’s wrong?”
Delia shook her head, “What time is it?”
“Band practice time! Almost 7. Just came home to get my sneakers.” Oscar kissed her cheek with so much intensity that she bumped the back of her head against the wall.
“Oh.” was all Delia managed to get out as Oscar moved back towards the door.
“We can get dinner tomorrow or something? After my shift.” Oscar shrugged. Delia was frozen, unable to answer him one way or the other. She folded into her knees and stared at the shadow her shape made on the hardwoods. “Or I’ll get a 6 pack. We can just hang at home, whatever.”
When she next lifted her gaze, he was gone.
Delia groaned and walked towards the bed. She snatched up a pillow and ripped the cotton case off of it. She repeated with the other pillow. She looked at the long silky tags and without another thought she let out a scream as she ripped each of them off in succession.
Fuck.
She fell backwards onto the bed and called up MaryAnn once more.
“Babe?” she answered right away again.
“I’m going to try again.” Delia nodded as if MaryAnn could see her confidence.
“Ok…Same outfit, okay? Same hairstyle. Same time.”
“I understand.” Delia felt tears falling down her cheeks.
“You will have to try harder.” MaryAnn warned.
“I know.”
Lonely Moon
She squeezes her body between the cement wall and car door. The familiar scraping of her knuckles against the bumpy stone reminds her that she never learns. Fresh blood pools out of yesterday’s scabs, but not enough to drip. It never is. She laughs to herself like usual as she imagines which neighbors might be watching…
What's Broken Becomes Better
Out in the yard, Jack can almost see where the ocean begins. Soft green grass rolls out far past the wooden fence he built last year and once the land drops over a lumpy hill, wildflowers and thousands of stinging nettles sparkle under moonlight.