BEL

a bed that

ury. For a long second, I lay there, my mind tangled in the fog of sleep, my body so

overthinking, no self-sabotage, no last-minute exit st

A tiny, pathetic part of me was relieved. Because if he were still here, wide awake, loo

iling windows that displayed a breathtaking city view, the kind you only saw in magazines. The morning light pour

d double as a guest bed. A glass coffee table sat in front of it, a

in a glass case, and an autographed basketball on a shelf. The man I'd slept with wasn'

I would have a one-night stand with someone wi

ncing as I smoothed out the wrinkles. My worn-out shoes were by the couch, and my tattered purse on t

ne that clung to my skin. The ride down was silent, but the se

stals catching the light. The air smelled of fresh roses, expensive

ware of my cheap dress, the smudged eyeliner und

t say anything as I slipped outside. Cold

to go

of the skyline. It wasn't silk sheets, c

and so much misery I wanted to barf at the thought of it. I had only spent on

roads were cracked, littered with cigarette butts and crushed soda cans. Stree

en whistled

" one called, his voice

him, walki

at," another chuckled.

I'd come here chasing something better, yet here I was-dodging catcall

ment I saw my door, my stomach sank. A

YMENT IMMEDIATELY OR

. Because one night of pleasure meant

neighbor yelling at someone over the phone. The faucet in my kitchen dripped, the air sme

my bed, I stared

d a bet

*

job-hunted like my life dep

extra shifts at the bar. Just when I was about to lose hope, an agency pos

cheduled fo

eeks, I went to bed wit

put together, cheap but decent. It wasn't a designer,

of my impoverished life? I almost let the thought weigh me down enough to have me turning back and going home, bu

ly. "I'm here for an inter

ng in distaste. "Sit anywhere

t. Thanks for th

fed, tur

pboard in hand. She looked frazzled, eyes

said. "Co

tated.

er left without a word,

hen at my clothes.

h

t I was th

down at myself. Well, that was humb

thought there wou

you start?" sh

"Right now

. Let'

than my previous ones combine

I was invisible. But I kept my head down, focused on scrubbing

to me like a second skin. I grabbed my bu

amn familiar. I felt myself being

fr

range déjà vu sweeping o

him. It was the man from that night. The nameless ma

hi