After Livie abandoned me to my fate on the roof, I set about fixing her private torture chamber, which had a varied space of different torture so that I, apparently, could choose my own cause of death.
With the building landlord’s authorization, an old lady in her seventies, we had both set up a kind of gym on the roof of the building; And when I said “kind”, that was it, since we barely had a few dumbbells, a stationary bicycle one of the neighbors had donated to us and a treadmill that Livie's father was going to sell but, thanks to his daughter, now it decorated a specific space to make me sweat, literally, the fat drop.
According to the schedule Livie had set me, now I had to get up every day at six in the morning, yes, of course, and start with that yoke where I had to last fifteen minutes on the treadmill to stretch my apparently atrophied muscles, fifteen minutes on the bike and another fifteen minutes jumping rope, ha! don't make me laugh Olivia, and then, after resting for about ten minutes, I could have breakfast.
So, I barely had an hour to spare to get ready for school; As I worked in the afternoons in a record store, Livie had proposed me to walk when I came home from class and I, like the idiot in love, without knowing what I was getting into, had accepted, therefore, that Monday I had arrived ten minutes late for work, earning me the first scolding of the week from the boss, a guy who looked like he came out of a Tim Burton movie.
"Sanders.” he had called me as soon as he saw me enter the store "you're late, you understand that I will take every minute, right?"
“Yes, sir, but you see, this happened because...”
"I don't care why it happened, Sanders.” he had cut me off "those records won't fix by themselves you know? so do your job at once.”
"Yes, sir.” I answered, going to the pointed boxes "stupid attempt at a walking skeleton, I wish a herd of pitbulls would appear and attack you for your scarce bones.” I said softly.
“Are you talking to me?” He asked, appearing above one of the shelves where the discs were placed.
"Hell, Mr. Fitcher, you scared me.” I jumped back when I saw his face before me "I... I was just, hmm... fighting with the box.” I replied stammering and trying not to look so nervous, "but it doesn't want to open up.”
"Maybe it would open if you used one of these to break the seals.” explained my boss, handing me a cutter, "I think it would make your life easier, Mr. Sanders.”
If I stabbed him with the cutter, would he bleed? I wondered mentally.
I personally didn’t believe it.
My boss was a somewhat... peculiar person. He stared at me when he thought I was neglected, he called my other colleagues by name, but me? by my last name, always.
Mr. Fitcher was the kind of person who laughed at jokes after three hours and was always, always combing the only lock of hair he had, in the reflection the store glass gave him.
The latter is not a joke, once he had put down his comb and asked Samantha, another coworker, if she could lend him hers, earning a look of disgust from the redhead.
I began to arrange the records by style of music on the shelves, there were a few that Livie might like.
I remembered that I had not seen her since Saturday after our almost kiss, I knew that Livie had only given me some dumb excuses not to see me on Sunday, but I also knew there was nothing I could do, she needed her space to think about what almost had happened between us, and besides, I also had homework to do and of course get ahead of me to fix my room before mom came back in and this time she really threw whatever she had in hand and told me her house was not a refuge and she didn’t welcome homeless people, so when my dear mother had entered my room three hours later, she had been impressed and with that she gave me a look of love.
That Sunday afternoon, I had to come to work and because it was a weekend, there was a lot of movement in the store, thanks to that I went straight to bed.
I had seen her very little at school, she had told me not to wait for her after class and thus give me a chance to walk to work, which I was deeply grateful to because I didn’t want to meet the three musketeers of evil sent directly by the devil to mess with a specific virgin chubby.
At that point I made a mental note to ask her how the subject of her diary had gone with Hillary.
“Sanders! “Shouted Mr. Fitcher making me get out of the nebula that I was in and earning me a cut with the deadly weapon that I had in his hand.
"Shit.” I screeched watching a few drops coming out of the cut I made between my left thumb and index finger.
"Oh, sorry, did you cut yourself?” He asked stupidly.
Nooo, it's just ketchup from lunch.
I looked at him significantly as I showed him the blood.
"Well, there is antiseptic in the bathroom, I came to tell you that you will work on Saturday since Samuel is on rest leave.”
“What? I shrieked again "No, Mr. Fitcher, I can't, you see, it's my best friend's birthday and I already have everything planned for that day and...”
"Sanders.” my boss cut me off, "Do I look interested? Not at all. I had already asked Samantha and Nicholas” the owners of the names raised their heads with ashamed smiles “and they both said they couldn't.”
"But Mr. Fitcher please listen to me, I can't either, my...” I couldn't continue because my boss had taken my lips between his fingers, pressing them against each other.
Yuck, where had those fingers been?
“I already told you that I’m not interested, Sanders” Shut me the son of a bitch “if you had arrived at your hour as you should, perhaps you would’ve saved, but since that’s not the case, you are the chosen one. furthermore, I don't know what you’re complaining about, you’ll have a double pay day for working on your free day. You said you were saving for college, right?” I barely nodded “Well, there you go, take it as a help, bye.” he said turning to go back to his office.
Oh God.
I was a dead man; I already saw my name in the newspaper in a headline:
"He died of suffocation from having a dumbbell stuck in his throat"
Unless...
***
"No, Mark, I can't.” Nick said. "My grandmother is hospitalized and Mom said all her grandchildren had to go see her.” explained my coworker.
It's not that I disliked Nick, quite the opposite. Even with his look, tall, always dressed in black in the Gothic style, listening to rock and metal music and from what I saw on his neck, a big fan the tattoos, Nick was a quiet guy who always helped me, but right now I hated him to death.
“Do you really have a grandmother?” I asked incredulously, earning a hurt look from my partner; shit, he did "sorry, it just that don’t have any idea what my friend will do to me when she finds out I'm working on Saturday.” I explained trying to shuffle the situation.
"Well, just so you know.” Nick answered, "I'm my grandmother's favorite for being the oldest of her grandchildren and I'm really sorry not to help you with your crazy girlfriend, otherwise I’d.”
"She's not my girlfriend.” I answered quickly.
"Yeah, sure man.” was all Nick said.
“And Samantha?” I asked, changing the subject.
"Has a ballet performance she can't miss.” Nick said with a grimace on his mouth, "She invited us, don't you remember?"
"Now.” I replied dryly.
I had run out of bullets.
What did I do? I couldn't go to another country because my passport had expired.
Kill myself? No, it was not an option.
It was definitive.
I’d die at eighteen, fat, virgin, and blind at Livie’s hands.
“Your silence is really scaring me, you know?”But I still didn't get an answer."Come on, Livie, you haven't spoken to me in twenty minutes.” I kept insisting.Livie had arrived about forty minutes ago, half of which had been silent after I told her what had happened.She had only stayed lying on bed and since then she had only dedicated herself to looking at me, an action that made my hair stand on end so I had moved away from her until I ended up with my back leaning against the wall in front of the bed, waiting for an execution order to be issued against me."Well.” I continued saying when I didn't get a response "I'll go and make something for dinner.” I headed for the door."If you move.” Livie finally said "I swear I'll throw you a shoe, Richard Marcus Sanders.”"Come on, Livie, you know it's not my fault, I have no way out, do you think I'd rather work that day than spend it with you?&
It was Thursday afternoon and I was terribly bored.I had been at work for over two hours and I had only sold one record. An eight dollars record to a crazy Britney Spears’ fan which had paid with pennies. If the girl hadn’t said that she had saved for more than two months to be able to buy it, never, not in a million years, would I have accepted that absurdity, but the poor girl would surely have even cried when she broke the piglet.At that time, I was at the counter looking at Mr. Fitcher with a certain grimace of disgust. The guy was combing his hair once more, the only lock of hair that remained in the reflection that the store's glass gave, surely that’s why no one entered the place.Suddenly, my cell phone, which had cost almost three months of salary and which I was so proud, began to ring.“Mark!” Livie's scream sounded louder on the other end of the line."Livie.” I answered in a whisper so my boss woul
“When will you tell her how you feel about her?” Nick asked me as soon as I entered the store.“What are you talking about?” I said pretending ignorance."Come on, man.” Nick insisted with a little push, "don't be like that, you know I'm talking about Livie.”I only managed to frown.“Why does everyone think I feel more than friendship for her?” I asked annoyed.“Do you want a list?” Nick scoffed, "Well, I assure you that when it’s my friend’s birthday, the most I can do for her is to give her a record and that.” he paused, leaning over to whisper the rest, "it's because I have a fifteen percent discount on the merchandise.”"She already has all the records she wants.” I said nervously."That's right.” Nick agreed, "but that's because you've given them all away without having an important date involved.”"Of course not.”
Nick whistled as we entered my room."Nice.” he said, throwing himself in my double bed, messing it up in the process."Thank you.” I answered still from the door, because I didn't know what to do now.Besides Livie, no one else had been in my room before, well, except my parents of course, but the notion of now having a friend of the same gender was not yet digested by my brain."Okay, let’s do it.” Nick said, pulling me out of my thoughts, he got up from the bed with one of my pillows in hand and held it out to me, "here, this will be your girl's body.”"Okay...” I mumbled surprised seeing Nick grabbing the other pillow and placing himself next to me."Well, the first thing you have to know.” Nick began with a mischievous look, "is that you have to be confident, therefore you have to know how to hold her.” he explained, placing his hands in the middle of the pillow “This wou
Perfect memories, painful realities...I was ecstatic, and although my body was in the record store, my mind was flying very far remembering the night before.Once I gave Livie the tickets, she had stayed until one a.m. when we realized I had to work the next day, otherwise she’d have stayed the night like she used to do in some movie Fridays.Livie had been berating me all night for wasting my money on tickets, but it really wasn't like that. About two months ago, I had won the tickets for winning a radio contest by answering the stupidest, most meaningless question I had ever heard.What would happen if the ozone layer broke? I’d heard the announcer say and well, I couldn’t believe the answers I had heard, so, tired of hearing so many people repeat that we all would die on more than one occasion, I had rolled my eyes and called the station with the answer .Ozone couldn't fly the announcer had affirmed my answe
I was on the building’s roof, but this time I wasn’t on the floor sweating like a schizophrenic pig, this time I was creating the atmosphere worthy of royalty, or in this case, for Livie.I had placed a large sand-colored sheet in the part that was divided between the super gym and the laundry room. I had taken out the small table that was at home and that was not used because they always ate at the kitchen counter and placed a white tablecloth with two tall glasses and two sets of plates with their cutlery, a real luxury.I had arranged everything so we could see the small park in front of the building and since this was Burbank, in the distance you could see Warner Studios and its emblematic water tank with its logo.I’d also placed candles on all sides covered with glasses so the breeze would not blow them out.Yes, I had thought of everything, that was the dinner of a man in love.Before leaving work, I had received a message
It had been five minutes since the fireworks had ended, but I was still staring at the sky, waiting... What? That an alien came and took me to their planet?I wish…Although at some point I had to say or do something, right? I mean, Olivia was still holding her arms around my neck and with her chin on my shoulder, and, well, I was still holding her waist, although softer than before.“Will you ever say something?” She whispered in my ear with a hint of amusement."No.” I also replied with a whisper."Well, you've already talked...”I took a long breath and let it out slowly, looking down at Livie at the same time she raised her eyes to connect with mine."I just don't know what to say.” I finally said."Well... maybe you could say what you thought about it, right?” She asked nervously.Nervous? She shouldn't be nervous about anything, I mean, about what? I was the one who kissed
Spite.Monday afternoon and I was in the same doggy mood as Saturday night when Livie left me. That night I hadn't been able to get much sleep and when I got to work, I did it on autopilot.My characteristic good humor had acted by its absence, and the clients had made it clear. I had broken two covers when trying to put the sensor on them and had in turn locked the store system three times between Sunday and so far today.“Can you tell me what’s happening with you?” Nick kept insisting.“No.”"Then you leave me no choice but to guess.” He replied with a shrug."I'd rather you just leave me alone, Nick.”“Bro, you can tell that there is something bothering you, did your period come?” he asked jokingly, earning a murderous look from me "Okay, okay, it's not the period, then it will be your beloved torment, whose name begins with O and ends with livia...”“