So this is starting over. John thought as he looked around the nearly empty one bedroom apartment. He stood at the bar that separated the living room and the kitchen looking at the couch, the small entertainment center with the 19" tv and the DVD player. There was no end tables or coffee table, and no pictures hanging on the wall.
He was starting over, and the life he had led before was one he wished to forget. Sure he loved his ex-wife and kids, but the drugs had ruined every ounce of that life.
In the divorce settlement, he was not granted custody, which was no surprise to him, or any visitation what-so-ever. Which had seemed to just brightens the kids' day.
John walked around the bar and sat on the couch. He turned on the television and flipped through the stations as quickly as he could. He had no interest in watching anything at all, but he needed something to distract his mind.
Before he could flip through every channel, he gave up the fight with his self loathing and turned the television off. John stared at the blank screen trying to think of a time when he, Julia, Matt and Danielle had been a happy family, but all that came to mind was the drug induced hazy that he had lived in for the past three years.
In all truth, the drug induced hazy he was still living in.
His drug use had dwindled drastically, but it was still a major part of his life.
John leaned his head back and stared absently at the ceiling.
What the fuck are you doing John? He asked himself.
Fucking up your life.
Was the answer he heard repeating in his head in the voice of Julia, what had once been the voice of reason in his life.
He had had it all at one time in his life. A great job at one of the top banks in the state, a huge home with a large backyard for the kids, friends. But one night with the wrong crowd had started his downward spiral that he seemed to still be sliding down.
Tomorrow he would look for work, any kind of work he could find, no matter how meaningless. He needed a job, he had spent the last of the money he was left after the divorce to rent this small cramped apartment.
John sighed heavily before the darkness of sleep swept over him.
John awoke with a start. He was still in the same position he had fallen asleep in, and his neck was stiff. He leaned his head forward and rubbed his neck. The apartment was eerily silent, and dark. John didn't know what time he had fallen asleep, but it was early. He remembered flipping through more then one talk show, so it had to be before or a little after noon.
The only light in the apartment was from the street light shining in through the window.
John looked to the television and saw himself reflected, but there was something else in the reflection of the television. In the television, he could see a young boy, the boy looked no older then 5 or 6, dressed in a tattered white T-shirt, spotted with yellow stains. There was also darker stains around the collar. The boy had long blond hair that looked like it had been ages since it's last washing, and the boys skin was drawn tight around his cheeks and sunken around his eyes. John jumped off the couch and turned to the couch. He was alone in the apartment. John closed his eyes and shook his head. When he opened his eyes again, the couch was still empty, but a shape at the window caught his eye.
It was the boy.
John looked to the window to see the boy standing at the left edge of the window. The boy quickly turned and walked away.
John quickly made his way around the couch and shot across the living room to the front door. He knew the boy couldn't have gotten far, but he had gotten far enough away from the door that it wouldn't hit him.
He opened the door and looked down the balcony that ran the length of the apartment complex. The balcony was empty.
The only place the boy could've gone was down the stairs, so John ran to the stairs three doors down from him.
When he reached the stairs, he quickly turned only to take a step back, nearly throwing himself over the railing. Coming at him was a woman, he hadn't expected anyone to be coming up the stairs this late, or was it late, he didn't even know what time it was.
"You scared the shit out of me," the woman laughed.
"Sorry," John laughed back. He hadn't really looked at the woman yet, until now.
What he saw made him completely forget about the boy. This woman was breathtaking. She had long straight blondish-brown hair, and light blue eyes that seemed to glow in the darkness around them. She was wearing tight blue jeans, and a white button up shirt. The top two buttons of the shirt were undone, revealing the cleavage of the largest breast he had ever seen in his life. He had no idea who this woman was, but the sex crazed head between his legs told him he was going to know this woman inside and out.
John realized that neither had said a word to each other, and that he was staring. He smiled at her again and held his hand out to her.
"Sorry," he said. "I'm John Reynolds."
She took his hand. "Lorna Estees," She said smiling.
John lost all train of thought.
"Umm," He started but couldn't think of anything else to say. "Do you know what time it is?" he finally said, and felt stupid immediately. Here he was talking to the most beautiful and most sexually alluring woman he had ever seen and all he could think of the say was ask the time.
"It's 2:30 in the morning."
"Shit," he said. He had been asleep for over twelve hours.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize it was so late," he said. "I'm sorry, you must've been on your way to bed."
"No," she said. "I keep late hours."
"Oh," he said. "Well, I'll let you go. Besides, I have to get to bed."
That was far from the truth, he was far from tired. He just felt like an idiot, and couldn't come up with anything close to a pleasant conversation. All he could think about was the cleavage and what was under the shirt. He had to escape with what little dignity he had left.
"Okay," she said.
John nodded and turned away from Lorna. Halfway to his door, he was stopped by her voice.
"It was nice meeting you John," she called after him.
John stopped and turned to her. "It was nice meeting you too," he said with a smile.
"Maybe we could meet again when we can talk a little longer."