TIL THE SUN COMES UP

3

I open the door to my best friend Camilla's car and get in. Camilla studies my face and notices something is off. Instead of pushing she pulls off and we ride in silence as the car is filled with my depressive energy. Camilla reaches over and squeezes my hand.

"Lovey, are you okay?" I can't respond without my voice revealing my emotional state.

Camilla tells me she is going to stop by dude Damien's house before we go back home. I am cool with it; at this moment, it doesn't matter where I am because this feeling will still be there.

What the hell? We end up in The Heights better known as "The Wild West. I glance over at Camila with my eyebrow raised.

"I promise I'll be right back." She tells me as she is getting out of the car. Wow, she just met this guy over Thanksgiving break, "You dickmatized already," I chuckle.

As the quiet set in a perpetual loop of my relationship with Mehki is all I see. Leaning back in the seat with my eyes closed tightly, hoping to create a barrier preventing the flow of my heartache. After great effort and against my will, the tears come hot and fast. Burying my face in my shirt, the flow eases the tension in my body. I begin to feel calm, and then someone is tapping on the car window.

Removing my face from my shirt, I look up and see this baby face with eyes as sad as my heart. The babyface belongs to a guy the color of Amber crystals. If he weren't so fine, I would think he was a stickup kid dressed in all black. Against my better judgment, I roll the window down.

" Are you okay, sweetheart?" sad eyes ask me.

"Yes," I respond

Flashing a shy smile "Who do you know out here? It doesn't look like you are from The Heights."

I think about it for a minute and realize I am sitting in Camilla's dad's classic Rolls Royce. She likes to sneak and drive it whenever he is out of town.

" I am out here with my friend, who is visiting her dude," I reply

"What's your name, sweetheart?" he asks with a smile that is actually lighting up the night.

"Love," I reply

"Love," he repeats my name, which sounds like a seductive moan when he says it.

"Is that your government name or your club name " he laughs

I just smile because I don't feel like explaining and helping him connect the dots about my name.

" Love, nice to meet you. My name is Temor. "

I smile to myself because his name means Fear. But he doesn't look like anyone who should be feared.

Our introduction is interrupted as Damien walks Camila to the car. "Hey, Love," Damien speaks to me but is looking at Temor; then he says, " I see you met Love."

"Trying to get to know her better too," Temor responds while focusing on me, my lips specifically.

Camila opens the driver's side door, kisses Damien on the lips, and then gets in the car. Damien shuts the door and tells us to be careful getting home.

Camila asks me, "So ...What do you think?"

I look at her and say with a straight face..."Not a damn thing, I am no longer falling for fine men only to be left, those days are over, please believe me."