Tangled Threads

Chapter 2. Ghosts.

"Wake up."

1105AM

1106AM

1107AM

The clock ticked by painfully slow.

1108AM

Chipped painted fingernails traced a coffee stain on the table absently.

1109AM

A cigarette burned; waves of smoke settled in the dim light of the kitchen.

1110AM

A rhythmic 1, 2 beating on glass rang out.

1111AM

"Wake up."

Deep rich velvety liquid splashed against a crystal vessel.

"Hair of the dog," Lilith stated, even as the voice in the back of her mind told her it was bullshit.

1112AM

"Wake up."

Lilith raised the glass in the air, and swished the liquid around, watching it lap at the edges, staining where it hit.

"Just the one" She decided.

1113AM

"Wake up."

She sipped, savoring the familiar yet forgotten burn of alcohol, ignoring the warning bells that were screaming from inside her. Too early, Too much.

1114AM

"Wake up Sweetie."

She reached for the bottle, filling the glass to the brim with shaking hands.

"Since it's raining." She said looking out the window to the depressive clouds and intrusive patter.

Her cautious sips turned to desperate gulps, crimson spilling out the sides of her mouth as she closed her eyes.

-

The bathroom was once a delicate display of light and airy design, subtle creams, and pretty birch wood. A clawed white marble bathtub sat in pride in front of large windows that offered a view of the vineyard, the lavender fields, and the large rose garden Lilith had spent years tending to. When the setting sun hit, an orange glow would wash the room in a calming vision of peaceful perfection.

Pulling her wild tresses up and out of her face Lilith tiredly looked at the peeling intricate flora wallpaper in the corners, showing a glimpse of the black mold she had suspected.

Lilith positioned herself on the edge of her tub, cold biting into her thighs, hand hovering over the tap as it dripped mockingly, she looked at the mildew that had formed around the base of her most expensive purchase and a feeling of sickness and decay made her feel even more unclean than she felt.

The grey clouds outside cast her once dreamy sanctuary into a dank, slowly degrading nightmare. The view was abysmal, overgrowth and vicious stabbing weeds now covered her once-manicured land. She stared at the reflection in the window, sunken bloodshot eyes that she hadn't seen in sixteen years stared back.

The tepid water splashed onto the wooden floor as Lilith lifted a heavy leg into the tub made for two. Watching her hands glide over the sides of the white marble she decided her body was a waste in such opulence, her toe plugged the gold fixture, stopping the intermittent leaking drips.

She had woken that morning from a less-than-restorative sleep, the cold sweat coating her body had her taking the much-needed time to wash herself, despite the arduous task it was. A headache pounded as she tapped at the sides of her temples, and the center of her forehead. Being back here was supposed to her of what she once was, who she was. Before she fell back into her patterns of drinking away her thoughts, her feelings.