Desolated - book 3 •StrangeFrost•

Chipping at an alredy finished statue

•Loki's POV•
I got a job letter that week at a local coffee shop. It was easier than I had expected, since half the employees everywhere just straight up disappeared.
Me and Romanoff also traded spots when the other was sleeping. She surveyed the channel in the day, and I in the night.

'The channel' as Romanoff called it, was a private hailing channel that was directly connected to the avengers. And the way they called people was through this hologram-illusion device that could show the figures of the people calling.

So, in the day I worked from 6AM to 11AM, and spent the rest of the day sleeping, then at night I would man the hailing channel.
My coffee shop job gave me $10 per hour, going up to $350 per week.
We would use most of the money to help pay for just overall needs, but I tended to save some for myself.
At the beginning I just bought myself clothing, (mostly dark colored sweatshirts and jeans) but nearly 5 months into this routine I started buying cigarettes.

I realized they helped me keep my mind off everything, so I think about smoking instead of the constant pain I'm in.

Still, it doesn't completely erase it. It only dampens it a little bit.

I feel drained almost every day, like something is cleaning me of all my emotions and I can't stop them.
I've tried everything.
I started using my arm as a cutting board, slipping my knife through it just so I could feel something.
Anything.

It's gotten to the point where I like the feeling of pain.
Because it makes me feel something.
Instead of just being this lifeless being that does nothing but cut himself and cry.
I hated it.
I hated everything about it.

I was half asleep at this point. it was 2:24 AM when I heard my phone ring.
I was sitting in a chair, waiting for a call on the hailing channel but nobody had called for hours.
But I got a call on my phone.
Fun.

I groaned, picking up the phone and holding it to my ear.
"What do you want?" I grumbled.
"Hey Loki."
It was Thor's voice I heard.
"Hi," I, again, grumbled.
"Soo, Uhh, do you want to come over? I haven't seen you in awhile and-"
"Thor it's 2 In the morning I'm working why would I want to come over?"
Thor paused for a moment.
"But I havent seeen yoooou-"
"I'm free from 11 AM tomorrow to 10 at night, is that okay for you?"
"Yes."
"OKAY see you then."
I hung up and staired in front of me.
Rocket had appeared in the hologram.
The rodent and I had become good friends since I started working with the channel.
He lightly smiled, but in a rocket raccoon sort of way.

"Shut up and tell me what you called for."