Post by mac on Jun 16, 2017 2:34:36 GMT
Arthur waited for a response from his phone. Sitting there in the dark, alone, he waited for Chardonnay to text him or call him back. He expected her to chew his ear off, or be angry at him. But there was nothing. With every second that passed Arthur felt more and more alone, his sobs getting worse until he couldn’t hear anything else. What in the hell was wrong with him? How did his life get to this point? He considered calling someone, but the only person who he could vent about this to was Maxine. She already had a low opinion of Chardonnay, and Arthur really didn’t want it to get any worse. So he stayed there, alone, with no messages asking if everything he was or telling him good night.
He didn’t get any sleep. He brewed himself coffee at 2 AM, and chugged half a glass once it cooled down. He went out to his balcony and smoked when the crying subsided, not caring at all about the effects of the smoke on his body. So what. Chardonnay only cared about him in relation to the baby between them – if he died she wouldn’t even care about him. Just for the baby. Just so she wouldn’t be alone.
He snorted bitterly at that thought, flicking ashes off of the edge of his balcony. Salem was gorgeous at night. It was rare he let himself stay up to view it.
By the time morning came Arthur was still outside, still zoning out. He had a headache so he chugged down some asprin and took a shower.
Work was excruciating. Arthur was a complete mess, with deep bags under his eyes and a sour temper than rendered talking to him pointless. His manager on duty – not Jasmin, a different one – was the only person who dared interact with the boss. Arthur didn’t’ deal with customers and instead did inventory and stocked things here and there, swept theaters alone, and emptied trashes.
Unfortunately, the week dragged on about the same. With the first night since, Arthur received the usual text from Chardonnay. He responded with the upside-down emoji. There was no inquiry to him at all. But there never really was. Because she never cared about him.
Arthur’s temper worsened throughout the week. By the time Monday came around Arthur was excited to sleep in – only for the garbage collectors outside to wake him up at 9 AM. He was up, then, and showered. He changed into some old galaxy shirt, jeans, and threw his glasses onto his nose. Right, he looked like something Chardonnay would probably hate. He didn’t care anymore.
Arthur was expecting her to come over, and she told him to buy certain foods for her to cook. He went to the store and bought exactly what she told him too, and cleaned his kitchen. The stove was not sparkling, as was the sink and counter. Once he had done that Arthur flopped onto the couch and fell asleep.
He was startled awake by a knock. ”Shit – shit – fuck – hold on,” He called out, knowing it had to be Chardonnay. He was wide awake now, at least. He quickly flattened his clothes before he opened the door, spotting Chardonnay looking like she walked out of Wall Street in slightly elevated boots and a jacket. He glanced up at her, fully away his hair was a tossed mess and he looked like he just woke up. ”Right, uh, come in.”
He held the door open for her and scratched the back of his neck. Strangely enough, he felt nothing at the moment. No nervousness, no annoyance. If she didn’t care about him, why should he react in any sort of way? ”Are you thirsty?”