Bleed Me Dry

Old Days and New Days

"Pack up the life that's left. Except that one blue dress. I always tried my best. Do you remember?" Old Days, Ingrid Michaelson.

Andie

The breeze is crisp in my hair. Every part of my body is numb from the cold. I run so fast that my body is not in control. Vincent is probably awake now, I hope he's not planning my death. Leaving him was the best thing for both of us.

The airport is not far from my house. I keep running faster than the speed of light. Eventually I end up at the front desk. I glaze over the flight list where I see a flight to Edison, New Jersey. I get a ticket with the load of cash I've been stashing up for the past five years. I write myself a plan while I'm waiting. I tell myself that I will purchase a credit card and will change my last name as soon as I touch down in Jersey. Then I will find the nearest bus station and hop on a bus to a smaller town so Vincent cannot track me from my flight.

I get on board my flight, sit comfortably in my seat and try to relax. It's difficult because all I can think about are the memories that Vince and I have together. How crushed he will be to wake up and not see me next to him like I have been since high school. Looking back at something, not matter how much you may hate it is never easy. Deep down my love for Vince will always be there. I know it's unlikely I will ever love someone again.

I toss and turn the whole flight there, unable to get Vince's face out of my mind. I haven't been on a plane in what feels like forever. I used to love planes, the way they smelled, the little peanuts, how for a brief moment reality didn't matter because literally you were above it all. Now I'm flying above the world, and when I touch down I won't be the same person. We land at 9:43 a.m, I don't have any baggage other than a carry on so I only take a moment to breathe in that Jersey air before I take a taxi to the courthouse.

When I'm done my name is Andie Potter, I didn't want to use Travis or Quinn because my families and Vincent's name were both to close to home. I went with Potter because it took me to my childhood in Arizona a place of happiness, a place before Vincent. It's a desperate attempt to find a little magic inside of me with my favorite book series.

I ask the taxi driver to take me to the bus station and if he has any advice on where I should go.

"I grew up in a town called Wall. It's not too big and it's the perfect distance from the beach and New York City," he tells me.

"It sounds like a lovely place. I'll go there, get a job, and start living again," I daydream out loud.

"My favorite place to eat as a kid was Wrigley's Diner. They only take cash so it will be a good job for you, you also might want to go to the hospital when you get there. That bruise on your head looks pretty bad."

I touch my forehead. I thought I had covered all of my marks but this man sees right through me.

"How did you know I needed to be payed in cash?" I ask him.

"Honey, you're not the only woman I've ever driven on the run from a real life demon," He says in a hushed, melancholy, voice.

I don't say anything else. I hop on a bus to Wall ready to start a new journey, ready to begin again. I tell myself one day I will be fine, I'll take life one day, one week, one year at a time. Eventually I won't feel afraid anymore, eventually I won't remember.

I find a small, cheap apartment for as little money as possible. I set my bag down in it and shut the door. The town of Wall is beautiful, so fresh and different from Tallahassee. I still have a lot of things to do to settle myself in Wall. The first thing I think I should do is go down to Wrigley's and apply for a job.

The exterior of the place reminds me of a little diner you would see in the movies, yellow walls with red lining, the little spinning chairs at the counter. When I walk in I see two women working in there in red uniforms. One of them is a radiant blond who commands the room with the way she walks. The other is much more meek, she has dusty brown hair with a tired look in her eyes. The way she moves tells me she doesn't talk much. Neither of them really acknowledge the fact that I've walked into the room. The place isn't overly busy but it's not dead either.

"Hi you must be Andie. I'm Millie, the person you talked to on the phone. I'm the manager here," says the brunette. She doesn't look overly thrilled to see me. So much for the warm welcome the taxi driver told me I would get.

"Yes, I'm Andie, do I have the job?" I ask as cheerfully as possible. Millie doesn't seem phased by my fake happiness.

"We don't turn people down for jobs. Most the time it's just Gia and I in here. Your first shift starts right now."

Millie hands me a hat, t-shirt, and an apron. Since Millie clearly doesn't want to be friends I walk up to Gia hoping to make at least one friend.

"Hey Gia, my names Andie I just wanted to introduce myself," I tell her.

"Hi," she responds, I guess Gia doesn't want to be friends either.

I take a deep breath and tell myself best friends aren't made in the first day. They'll be plenty of opportunities for me to make other friends. This isn't going to be like high school where everybody wanted to be my friend. It's probably a good thing this won't be like high school.