- GENIE -
A truck appeared right in front of me; I hit the brakes; the car brushed through the tarred road, smashing against the back of the truck, but there was a weak impact. Nothing bad happened.
My head was lowered, hair touching the steering wheels. I looked out the window; a sigh escaped my lips immediately I saw the damage. I survived, narrowly. I fell back to my chair, breathing slowly. I almost lost my ghost here. I opened the car door and stepped out. The truck driver jumped down after me.
"Are you mad?! Do you want to die?! How can you be over speeding like that on a public road? Do you not care about your life?" He hurled insults at me.
"I'm sorry." I apologized.
"F**k your apology, I'm calling the cops. What a stupid woman. I bet your husband hates you. Who would want to be with someone who can't even drive a car properly?" he said, going to his car. I went into mine immediately and reversed into the other lane, going back the way I came. His last words kept ringing in my ears. Perhaps it was because I felt that he was right. Why on earth would someone's husband leave them for their mother if not that they are not good enough?
I turned the car onto the bridge; my eyes went to the water. I parked the Mercedes and stepped out, walking to the railing. I stared at the sea with an aching heart.
"Dad, you are right, anything is possible. Oh dad, what do I do? Where do I go? There was no one left. I'm alone." I cupped my lips, tears drizzling. "I'm tired of living, dad. I want to come to you. Everything will be all good again when I see you."
I pushed my body forward, to go off the bridge. That's when… it hit me. I stopped, my feet returning to the ground. I slipped to the floor of the bridge.
'What do you think you are doing? You are going to die because of a whore and a bastard who don't give half a F**k about you. If you go, they will throw a party. They will rejoice because the headache finally deleted herself; no way.' I got off the floor. Although my legs wobbled, I still made it to the car. I sat inside for a moment. A heavy exhale left my lips. I really need right now is to cool off and clear my head. I picked up the second phone I left in the car and dialed the only person left to trust. He picked up on the first ring.
"Antonio, are you there?"
"At the bar or on this call?"
"Both."
"Yes I am. What can I do for you, Mamasita?"
"I just tried to kill myself."
"What? Wait, are you for real?" There was surprise, shock and fear in just that one sentence.
"Yeah," I replied. "And I still feel like dying. You've got anything that can make this go away?"
"I have no permanent solutions, but I have one close to permanent," he said, the sound of glasses clicking in the background echoed in my ear.
"In the bar, right?"
"Yes."
I hung up, threw my legs into the car and started the engine. The next moment I was zooming onto the road again, heading for DI 1NCE bar on the outskirts of the city; my goal… to drink myself to death.
The ride took me an hour to make but soon after, I was walking into his bar with my jacket in hand and slippers on my feet instead of black heels. I threw the jacket on the table and pressed my slender body against the counter.
"Hit me, Antonio. I want to die," I said like a grumble.
"I will, but can you stop saying this death thing please? Even if no one wants you alive, I, Antonio want you alive, so please do not feel like you should die."
I looked up; he had his back to me looking for the best fix for my mood. A silly smile crept up my lips. "If not for one thing I would have married you." I said idiotically. I heard a chuckle. It wasn't Antonio's, it came from behind me.
"If only flattery was how to find a friend, then I would have had too many of them."
I threw my eyes behind me to see the owner of the deep, baritone who was oddly amused by what I said. My gaze fell on a fellow in a dark-grey suit and a black tie, his sleeves struggling not to rip under the pressure of his bulging muscles. He looked at me, in a way that displayed his slick brown hair worn over a fair lady-like skin and a hint of danger in his blue eyes. He made a half smile with his faint red lips. They looked like I should bite them. Unconsciously, I didn't know when I said. "DAMN."
He laughed. "Looks can be deceiving little girl." He said and walked towards me. My heart began to race all of a sudden. I sat up trying not to look too bemused, but he got me feeling hot in all the wrong places, the hazy feeling I had a moment ago, gone in a flash.
"Here you go." Antonio's voice drew my attention to the table. The shots were there, and they were bubbling hot toxic shots, very intoxicating.
I saw a firm, heavy hand pick up one of them. I felt his presence, his clothes rub against my skin while he pulled one of my drinks to himself. We clicked glasses and emptied our cups. I looked at the last minute and caught him rolling his tongue over those suckle lips. He eyed me and I suddenly forgot how to breathe, holding my breath until he left the table to find a cozy chair to sit down.
"You are married." Antonio whispered into my ear. Just like that, all my feelings vanished immediately, leaving a deep frown on my lips. I looked at the tiny glasses of wine. 'I wish I wasn't.'
I took a second shot, the third, and the fourth. Antonio turned just in the right time to see me run down the fifth one. He grabbed the remaining three and pulled them away. "Are you…" he almost yelled but quickly toned his voice down. "Are you mad? This stuff is as frisky as Rohypnol; do you want to go crazy?"
"Maybe I need to or maybe I already am." I threw my hand in the air; the alcohol had already taken over. I laughed at myself.
"Stop that." Antonio wrestled a little with me, but I was clearly too wasted to listen. I heard him beckoning someone and begging him to come and help me. He told him my room number. The next thing I knew, my feet were off the floor and in the air. I could see the stairs below me, but I couldn't understand why they were there until the man carrying me put me down, one of my hands on his shoulder while the door clicked open. The next place I saw myself was on the bed in the room. I sank in a little and the feeling was amazing.
I heard the sound of a key turn and lock. He had left the room. It was quiet for a while, then the key turned again and heavy footsteps stepped into the room. I heard something fall somewhere a little away from me, more staggering footsteps and then there was no more noise, just the feeling of warm breath on my face. Then a whisper.
"Up close, you look like some angel. I know that's not true though."