I awaken to the sound of my alarm clock ringing. I slap it to make it stop. 6:30AM I pull the thin blanket off of me and sit on the side of my bed. The metal frame squeaks as I do. I rub my eyes before standing up and walk out of my bedroom and into the bathroom.
I look in the mirror and see my face. Its not fat its? Pudgy? Filled out. I'm 36 so my metabolism is long gone and I don't exactly eat healthy. A 5 O clock shadow covers my face. Apart from my top lip. Which is covered by my mustache. A simple little thing that's about the length of my lip. I notice a loose hair shooting out from the side of it. I grab my scissors and snip it off. I then grab my shaving cream and cover my face with it. As the sink fills I grab a razor from the medicine cabinet and drag it across my face. Then wash away any hair and excess cream in the water. Then I do it again. And again. Making sure not to get the mustache I drag the razor down my face one last time.
"Ouch!"
I feel something warm run down my face and look down into the sink of water. A drop of blood falls into the water creating a ripple effect. Another one falls before I grab a towel and press it against my face.
6:42AM
I look away from the clock and back at the pan on the stove. Mushrooms, bacon, and scrambled eggs. I finish flipping the bacon and turn around to face the grapefruit on the countertop. I cut it in half, wrapping one half in plastic wrap and putting it back in the fridge. I place the food onto the plate and spend a few seconds assembling it. I grab orange juice from the fridge and fill up a glass then I put the plate, cup, and grapefruit half on a bed tray and carry it to my moms room.
I push her bedroom door open with my shoulder and see her awake on her bed reading a book.
"How long have you been up?" I ask.
"Oh not long"
I sit on the side of her bed and place the bed tray over her lap.
"Now the store I usually get the grapefruits at was out. But the next store over had some. They aren't as fresh though. Is that ok?"
"Its fine"
"Were you warm enough last night? Its gonna be getting colder apparently"
"I was fine don't worry" She takes a sip of her juice.
"Hey you know I can start buying fresh squeezed if you don't like the concentrate. I'm making enough now"
"Denis I'm fine" She chuckles as a grin grows across her face.
"Ok... I gotta go get ready for work" I grab the pill bottle on her bedside table. "Remember to take these" I put it back down before getting up and leaving.
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7:15AM
I grab one of my toaster tarts off of my plate and bite into it while watching the TV.
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"Good morning Philly my name is Garry"
"And I'm Darlene" The woman sitting next to her says.
"And this is the UNNS. The news station, you can trust" He smiles.
"With 1977 in the rear view mirror and 78 people are as excited as ever!"
"Darlene? What are your new years resolutions?"
"To spend time with my family and friends! And you Garry?"
"Why do you guys give a shit? You're firing me after this anyway"
"Ok well we're gonna move onto the weather with Ted. Ted?"
The camera cuts to an overweight man with a goatee. Who stands there a little shocked by what Garry just said.
I switch the TV off and grab my jacket.
8:12AM
I turn around a corner in my banged up 4 door sedan. I switch my radio on.
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"That was just crazy. I mean Garry Moores just saying that? On live television? There's just no respect. It's-"
Click
I switch the radio back off. They're gonna be talking about that for a while and I don't really care to hear it. I park my car at the curb and get out. I walk into the liquor store. A man stands behind the counter.
"Hey Denis" He says
"Hey Ryan"
He leaves the counter and walks past me and out the door. I take his place behind the register. I sit on the stool and pull a newspaper out from under the counter before flipping it open.
Before I can even start reading I hear the bell attached to the door ring. I put my paper down and see a man open the refrigerator and grab a case of beer. He closes the door and walks up to me.
"Is that all?" I ask
"No uhh. Get me a pack of Taro's and a bottle of that Kentucky bourbon"
I grab his bourbon and cigarettes from behind me and place it on the counter.
"That'll be 10 dollars and 43 cents"
He hands me a 20. I put it in the register and grab his change before handing it to him.
"Thanks" He says before leaving with his stuff.
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5 hours later
I take a puff of my cigarette and ash it into the tray. I hear the door open again.
I look up to see a scruffy looking man in a tattered jacket. He drunkenly stumbles into the store and wrenches the fridge open. He grabs a case of beer before losing his footing and falling on his ass like a toddler.
"You need help?"
"NO nooo I'm fine" He slurs in his raspy voice.
He gets up and stumbles to me. Placing the beers on the counter.
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"4 dollars"
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He slaps some bills and coins in front of me then leaves. I count the money and see that he's given me over 15 bucks. I put 5 dollars in the register and remove 1 dollar. Then I put the 10 and the 1 in my pocket. Along with the coins.
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7 hours later
I put on my jacket and grab a bottle of whisky from the shelf. I walk out the door and lock it behind me. I look up and see snow gently falling down on me. As I get in my car I put the bottle in the passenger seat. The engine roars to life as I twist the key and I steer into the road.
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30 minutes later
I park my car next to the apartment building. I get out and walk through the door and up the stairs. I walk until I reach my door and unlock it with my key.
"You up ma?"
I put my keys on the countertop and make my way to her room. I knock before opening. I see her in her bed reading a book. She lowers it and faces me.
"Denis" She says with a smile.
"Hey ma. You take your pills?"
"Oh no not yet sorry"
"Ill get you some water"
I walk to the kitchen and grab a glass before filling it up at the sink. I walk back to her room and hand it to her. She takes a sip and swallows.
"You been out of bed today?"
"A little bit. I made some food for you. Its in the fridge"
"Alright. Try to get some rest"
I leave her room and walk to the fridge. Opening the door I see a sandwich wrapped in plastic wrap. I take it and sit at the table. I bite into it as the flavour of ham and mayonnaise coat my tongue.
After finishing my sandwich I take the money I stole out of my pocket. I get up and grab a coffee tin from the top of the fridge. I pop it open and put the money in there with the rest. There's a little over 200 dollars now.
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15 minutes later
I sit on the edge of my bed with my bottle of whisky in hand. I take a deep breath before exhaling and quickly bringing the bottle to my lips. I chug as the liquid burns my nostrils and makes my throat sting. I focus all of my mind on continuing until everything goes numb and the liquid begins to taste like water. I finish the bottle and lie back in my bed.
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I awaken to the sound of my alarm clock ringing. I slap it to make it stop. 6:30AM
I pull the thin blanket off me and sit on the side of my bed.
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I look in the bathroom mirror and shave.
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I bring breakfast into my moms room.
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I take a bite out of my toast.
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I drive to work.
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"That will be 8 dollars and 17 cents"
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I drive home from work.
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I lie back in my bed.
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I awaken to the sound of my alarm clock ringing. I slap it to make it stop. 6:00AM
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I rub shampoo into my hair as the shower sprays water on me.
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I look in the bathroom mirror and shave.
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I bring breakfast into my moms room.
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I take a bite out of my candy bar.
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I drive to work.
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"We don't sell cigars sir"
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I drive home from work.
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I lie back in my bed.
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I awaken to the sound of my alarm clock ringing. I slap it to make it stop. 6:00AM
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I look in the bathroom mirror and shave.
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I bring breakfast to my moms room.
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I take a sip from my beer.
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I drive to work.
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"That's 15 dollars and 31 cents"
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I drive home from work.
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I lie back in my bed.
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I awaken to the sound of my alarm clock ringing. I slap it to make it stop. 6:00AM
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I rub shampoo into my hair as the shower sprays water on me.
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I look in the bathroom mirror and shave.
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I bring breakfast to my moms room.
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I take a long drag from my cigarette.
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I drive to work.
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"I'm not selling you beer without an ID kid"
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I drive home from work.
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I lie back in my bed.
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I awaken to the sound of my alarm clock ringing. I slap it to make it stop. 6:30AM
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I look in the bathroom mirror and shave.
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I bring breakfast to my moms room.
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"What are you doing up?" She asks.
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"I have to get ready for work"
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"Its Saturday"
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"Oh"
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11:12AM
I push my shopping cart down the aisles of the grocery store. I grab a bottle of whisky, grapefruits, orange juice, bread, milk, butter, beer, and a carton of cigarettes when I get to the cashier.
1:24AM
I drink roughly half of the whisky in my room. Beer bottles litter my floor and I turn to see my shirtless body in the mirror. I run my hand across the numerous scars on my body. The one on my chest, the one under my left nipple, and the big one on my stomach, I remember that one. I remember how my guts spilled out of my body. It was so hard stuffing them all back in. I walk over to my closet and open it. I pull out my old uniform and look at it. I fall backwards into a wall and slide down it before landing on my ass. The sounds of gunfire and screams begin bouncing back and forth in my head. I put the bottle of whisky to my lips and chug. Everything goes blurry.
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I awaken on the floor. I set no alarm.
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I bring breakfast to my moms room.
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"Ma?"
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I open the door. she lays in her bed motionless.
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I put the tray on her nightstand and sit on the side of her bed. I grab her cold hand.
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"Can you squeeze my hand? Ma?"
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I embrace her lifeless body and close my eyes.
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"Don't do this to me ma. Don't do it to me. Not today"
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I begin sobbing with her in my arms.
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3:15PM
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The paramedics walk out my door. I walk into my bedroom and look at myself in the mirror for a while.
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I lie back in my bed.
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I awaken to the sound of my alarm clock ringing. I slap it to make it stop. 7:15AM
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I drive to work, park my car at the curb and walk in.
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"Hey Denis"
"Ryan"
"Hey there's a box of liquor in the storage room. Could you unpack that?"
"Yep"
"Alright man thanks"
He walks out the door. I go back into the storage room and grab a box cutter off of the table. I find the box and cut it open. I look at the boxcutter for a moment. I decide to put it in my pocket. I grab the liquor and stock the shelves with it before sitting back down on my stool and looking down at my news paper. I hear the door open and look up. 3 men walk in. an overweight man stands by the fridge. A black man with a mustache stands on the right side of the room looking at me. And a skinny man with blonde hair and a beard walks right up to me. They're actually all staring at me. The man in front of me draws a chrome plated pistol of some sorts and points it right at my face.
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"Don't think about reaching for anything man. Just open the register"
I raise my hands by my chest and lean back. "Uhh. I uhh wha-"
"HE SAID OPEN IT!" The overweight man shouts.
The man on the right crosses his arms as he stares at me.
"I cant do that. You're gonna have to leave- THUNK
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The man pistol whips me in the side of the head causing my head to throb. I touch the side of it and look at my fingers. Blood.
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"You open it otherwise your brains are gonna be on the wall"
"Ok ok" I begin opening the register
The man pointing his gun at me looks behind him to face the other men. "And dont forget to get the-
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I grab his wrist and push it away from me. The gun goes off causing my ears to ring. A bottle of liquor explodes behind me.
I continue to hold onto his wrist as I jam my other hand into my pocket.
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"Let go!" He punches me with his freehand.
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I pull out the box cutter and jam into the side of his neck. Just bellow his ear. He screams in pain as I drag the blade down. Cutting all the way to his colour bone. Blood flows out of the wound and sprays into my face. I drop the box cutter and take the gun out of his other hand as he drops to the ground. The black man pulls a revolver out of his waistband and shoots at me 3 times. I feel the bullets impact my chest and shoulder. I fall back into the bottles causing them to fall off the shelf and smash around my feet. I look him in the eyes before taking aim at him and firing. The first shot hits his chest. The second goes into his throat. He drops to his knees clutching his neck before going limp. I take aim at the overweight man who's hands are up. I take a step forward and fire 4 times into his body. I see red stains begin to form on his shirt before he falls back. I look down and see my bloody clothing. I touch my chest and it stings.
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"Shit" I mutter.
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I hear a sound and look up. The man who I stabbed in the neck begins crawling to the door with one hand. The other is pressed firmly against his neck as blood pools beneath him. Before he reaches the door he rolls on to his back and sees me aiming the gun at him. He leans his back against a wall and puts his hand out.
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"Please. Dont- BANG
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I fire a shot into his head. blood splatters on the wall behind him and leaks out of the hole in his head.
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I walk out from behind the counter and begin making my way to the exit. I'm starting to get light headed. I hear police sirens in the distance. I look around the store and see all the bodies and broken bottles. I look down at my chest once more and see that a puddle of blood has formed under me as my bullet holes continue to leak.
I cough before falling back and landing on the cold floor. My arms and legs sprawled out. The corners of my vision become blurry as I stare at the ceiling light.
Then everything goes dark.
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