Page 111 of Running from Drac
She nods. “It took me moving back to Mexico to get over my ex-husband cheating on me. But now I’m back in the States, exploring each of them as I quench my thirst for wanderlust. Trust me, your heart may be broken and shattered, but little by little it will put itself back together again.”
Taking a step back, she holds out her hand, then proceeds to rip my dress until I only have the elastic tulle skirt left.
“Now you can keep running without fear of it falling.”
“Um, thank you.”
She admires her work, then picks up another one of her shopping bags. “I hope wherever life leads you from here, you will find the pieces of your heart along the way, so you can put it back together again.”
She disappears around the building. Leaving me no name to remember her by. Just her parting words and a scratchy T-shirt I’ll probably treasure forever.
Slowly, I continue down the alley, ignoring the sounds of chaotic slot machines and drunken idiots urinating on the brick walls behind dumpsters. Fear isn’t an option. This is all about salvation and finding peace. I guess that’s why I find myself standing over the Truckee River, staring over the only bridge that crosses the river downtown. The casino’s bright lights dance and move with the slow-moving current as a family of ducks paddle along below me, bobbing up and down as they fish for insects and minnows cruising beneath the surface.
It’s a different kind of peace than the one I’m searching for.
A couple walks by, and their laughter explodes in my ears like a grenade. It takes everything in me not to tell them to shut the fuck up, but my unhappiness doesn’t mean they should be unhappy as well. So, I bite my tongue, tears stinging my eyes as I try to process everything that just happened.
A girl, probably around seventeen, snuggles up to her gothic boyfriend on a bench nearby. Both are dressed in all leather and spikes, and are wearing boots so long they cover their knees. But they look good together. His bright green mohawk compliments her bright pink hair that’s parted, braided, and pigtailed next to her giant ear lobes. I hate people that put gauges in their ears; but hers aren’t that big, and don’t look too bad on her either.
She giggles as he tickles her side, and I wonder if those bracelets on his wrists are poking her?
I find myself admiring them and wishing I could go back to a time when I was that happy. Naïve love is such a blissful thing. They probably haven’t even experienced a broken heart yet, and with the way he looks at her, I bet he wouldn’t even dare cheat. No. Their love is innocent and pure, something I once had with Eddie.
It makes me think about the first time I ever met him…
“You have to meet this guy I’ve been hanging out with, Amber. He’s awesome!” Pippa shouted, dancing around her bedroom like a lunatic. “His name is Eddie, and he’s amazing!
“Are you two dating?” I asked, flipping to another page in the magazine I was reading while twirling a piece of hair absentmindedly around my finger.
“Nah, we’re just friends. We have a lot of fun together though. He’s like my partner in crime. Plus, he works on cars, and I am hoping he can fix the Stang for me.”
“I told you, Pippa, all you’re going to need is an oil change.”
I looked up from the magazine to find midnight blue-colored eyes staring at me from behind the shade of a Wolf Pack baseball cap.
A gasp caught in my throat, heart thundering and twittering beneath my shirt.
He moved further into the room, his maroon and blank flannel shirt slightly revealing the white undershirt beneath it that was stained with grease. He leaned against her dresser, arms crossed over his well-sculpted chest, his gaze briefly focused on her.
Then he turned, only to find me staring at him like a complete idiot, all slack-jawed and ogling. He uncrossed his arms, just long enough to tip his head to me, since his hat is sitting backwards.
Butterflies fluttered in my stomach, my breath catching as our eyes lock and hold.
His mouth turned upward slightly, both of our gazes never wavering. At least not until Pippa broke the silence.
“You’re early, Eddie!” She flew across the room so fast, basically attacking him as she wrapped her arms around his waist.
He gave her a half shoulder hug, then moved toward me, stopping only when he was eyes to crotch with me. And my eyes couldn’t look away. They should have. But they didn’t. In that moment, I had no shame, staring at his crotch like I was ready to devour it. Which was silly. I didn’t even know who he was, just that he was Pippa’s friend.
Nervously, I shifted, moving from my belly to sit up higher on the bed, still unable to look anywhere above his belt until I see a hand come into my line of sight.
“I’m Eddie, and you are?” His eyes twinkled the more his smile spread. I held out my hand and placed it in his. Immediately, electric shockwaves skyrocketed through my body, and I had to drop my hand nervously.
He grinned as a row of perfectly white teeth flashed me behind his lips.
“Amber.” I gulped, and it was audible, which only made him smile even more.
“That’s a pretty name, but with how beautiful you are, I’m not surprised.” My cheeks warmed as I shyly hid behind my hair. Eddie was the first guy who had ever really talked to me besides Daniel. And even though his line was cheesy, it still made my heart race.
