The Cuckoo
Music floods out from the nightclub. It sounds like safety. The rushing wind down the street doesn’t. Not anymore. His words blur together until all she can hear is the gravel of his voice, hard and grating. His voice is pleading but it’s merely a formality. Everything seems to happen in slow motion. Like they’re underwater.
It’s cold but she doesn’t feel the icy wind blowing through her thin clothes. Her hands worry the hem of her shirt. Strands of hair blow across her face but she doesn’t move to push them out of her eyes.The ground she’s staring at seems to belong to a different world entirely. An ant crawls along the pavement. There’s a cigarette butt crushed into the asphalt.
His calloused hand is on her arm now. His grip is rough and his hands …show more content…
It’s a silly thought. Every atom of her wills someone to come stumbling out of the club, to let her snap out of her fear, to give her the opportunity to get away.
The street remains empty. Wind whines through the trees bracketed in their dirt circles in the pavement. A crushed crisp packet skitters across the street.
He steps closer. She can smell his cologne under the alcohol now. See the fibres of his jersey. He looms over her, blocking the wind. Goosebumps erupt on her skin. His hand comes up to tuck her hair behind her ear. His voice is coated in sugar. The world comes crashing back into focus. His words aren’t sweet.
An engine purrs and she looks up to see a car rounding the corner. A familiar blue Volkswagen. Her heart jumps in her chest. She can’t believe her luck. The car pulls up and she struggles not to run to it. Slowly, she pulls her arm out of his grip, gives him an insincere apology and a promise that she doesn’t intend to keep. He gives her a phone number that she doesn’t intend to use. He presses a dry kiss to her cheek. She endures it somehow and with the shutting of a door and the rev of an engine, she’s
Music floods out from the nightclub. It sounds like safety. The rushing wind down the street doesn’t. Not anymore. His words blur together until all she can hear is the gravel of his voice, hard and grating. His voice is pleading but it’s merely a formality. Everything seems to happen in slow motion. Like they’re underwater.
It’s cold but she doesn’t feel the icy wind blowing through her thin clothes. Her hands worry the hem of her shirt. Strands of hair blow across her face but she doesn’t move to push them out of her eyes.The ground she’s staring at seems to belong to a different world entirely. An ant crawls along the pavement. There’s a cigarette butt crushed into the asphalt.
His calloused hand is on her arm now. His grip is rough and his hands …show more content…
It’s a silly thought. Every atom of her wills someone to come stumbling out of the club, to let her snap out of her fear, to give her the opportunity to get away.
The street remains empty. Wind whines through the trees bracketed in their dirt circles in the pavement. A crushed crisp packet skitters across the street.
He steps closer. She can smell his cologne under the alcohol now. See the fibres of his jersey. He looms over her, blocking the wind. Goosebumps erupt on her skin. His hand comes up to tuck her hair behind her ear. His voice is coated in sugar. The world comes crashing back into focus. His words aren’t sweet.
An engine purrs and she looks up to see a car rounding the corner. A familiar blue Volkswagen. Her heart jumps in her chest. She can’t believe her luck. The car pulls up and she struggles not to run to it. Slowly, she pulls her arm out of his grip, gives him an insincere apology and a promise that she doesn’t intend to keep. He gives her a phone number that she doesn’t intend to use. He presses a dry kiss to her cheek. She endures it somehow and with the shutting of a door and the rev of an engine, she’s