Undying Read Free Page A

front of all my coworkers. I couldn't process it. That moment still haunts me to this day. So does the doubt. I think the doubt haunts me a tiny bit more.  
      That night I got home and went straight to the shower. I must have been in there for over an hour, just standing emotionlessly. I remember making dinner for Penelope and I. She would be home soon. I made lasagna, which took a while. I was surprised that she still wasn't home even after an hour of baking. I left it in the oven and turned the heat off. I'll just lay down on the couch for a few minutes until she gets home, I thought. I wanted to just hold her and have her tell me things to feel better about everything. Even if it wasn't true, have her tell me that I would never end up like Hector. I waited, and with time came thinking too much. I couldn't believe that the world could be so bad that even genuine people are shown no mercy. A single tear fell from my eye and I fell asleep.
      Several hours later, she came stumbling in. I peeled my eyes open when I heard the door shut. I leaped up from the couch and walked towards my girl.
        "I missed you. Where have you been?" I put my arms around her and did my best to ignore the smell of beer and cigarettes.
      "I got off work late then went to my mom's for a while." she pulled away. "I need a shower."
      "I made us dinner. Guess you forgot we were doing that tonight.."
      Then she snapped. That was the first of many one sided fights that ended in me just giving up to preserve the relationship. Things were hard enough without ruining my home life. The few years it took for me to finish school, make thousands of designs, and sell one were some of the hardest years of my life. We hardly saw each other and when we did it was typically awkward. A lot of the time I felt like I was the only one trying, but who doesn't say that in every relationship?
      I remember one time, we were driving home from the store and we saw a car stopped with its hazards on. We pulled over to help out the guy. I must admit, I was a little irritated to see how excited she was when she recognized the guy. Some douche looking guy with a hat on backwards. She gave him a flying hug and a "How've you been?" That's more than I get most days. Perhaps I'm just being paranoid or insecure. Even if she would ever consider doing stuff behind my back, getting crazy about it would make the whole situation worse. I wasn't going to risk losing my dream girl because I was feeling inadequate. So, I helped the guy jump his car battery. We talked briefly while hooking up the cables.
      "So you're the guy who lives with Penelope." An odd statement.
      "Have we met?" I asked, trying to not sound noticeably rude.
      "Not really. I've seen you driving down the street. I live practically right across from you guys."
      That's reassuring, I thought with disdain. I then remembered seeing him a few times. He'd always stare at me from his yard when I would drive by, pretending to be a tough guy. Maybe he wouldn't be such an ass, now. I got on with helping him out just to get on with my day. We still had groceries that needed to get into the fridge. They hugged, we left, and that night we fought. All I did was ask how come I've never met that guy before. I knew I should not have said anything. It just seemed to keep getting worse every week until, finally, that life saving call came in. You'd be surprised how quick things can change. More money than I know what to do with for a project I hardly remember? I'll take it. It even got me my loving girlfriend back. Well, fiancé, now. Thank God. Now, I can rest easy and, for once, be confident that tomorrow when I wake up everything is going to be just fine. When you haven't been born into money, that is a very rare feeling.

Act II
Fireworks
     
      I wake up from a nightmare today. I cannot, for the life of me, remember what it was about but for some reason, it's bothering me. I hate this unexplainable feeling.