Smoke and Despair

Chapter Two

*Lilah*

There are many things Lilah knew she was first in line for in life. Stubbing her toe in the most uncommon situations? Sure. Gets paper cuts daily, even with baking paper? Yep. Shopping bag snaps just as she walks up to her door? Hell yes. Remembering she didn’t lock the door just as she gets comfy in bed? Well of course.

The one thing however she was so far back in the line for, was happiness – and maybe a little common sense sometimes but that was so not the point here.

28 years in to life, or her life sentence as she thinks of it – she has basically given up hope. No family (that she knows of and surely if there’s any they’re probably locked up serial killers with her luck), no friends – not by her choice sadly, and not even an enemy or a frenemy if you will. Even the stray animals didn’t come whining at her door for a little bit of mercy, they probably felt she needed it more than they did.

Well, no use crying over spilt milk she figured. She had absolutely enough of the bullshit hand life dealt her. f**k rent, f**k her debts, fucccccck her damn job with that asshole manager she had. She basically carried their publishing house all by herself, and 7 years in she still hasn’t gotten a whisp of attention from that balding fat fucker who signs her paychecks (He has a full head of hair and is in pretty great shape, but describing him this way made her feel hella better). So today was the day. After her shower stopping mid shampoo rinse (after it had gotten into her eyes), her toast being burned (she would rather eat soap), her heel breaking as she stepped out her door, the fact that he had called her at 2AM demanding an update on some friend of a friends son’s book she had been editing (which was trash by the way) – she was ready to throw this job (and him) right out the window.

She strutted into office that day, and Lilah did not usually strut – she was usually just there. Went straight for his office, without knocking & ignoring her colleagues stares burning into the back, side and front of her face and dumped a s**t ton of paper work on his desk.

“So, I wish you all the best getting through this s**t. Nobody will be able to make sense of half of it – but give it your best shot you know? I QUIT.”

Immediately she turned to leave, and her boss – excuse me – EX boss leaped up and around his desk to block her, faster than she’d ever seen this i***t move.

“Whoah whoah whoah, Lilah – Is this some kind of joke? Its not April is it? Some delayed Aprils fool joke”

She just stared at him, with a look she was pretty sure might freeze a snow man but he didn’t even blink and just continued babbling.

“I’m sorry about the 2AM call, Sue was nagging me all day about her kids book & I sure as s**t didn’t read it you know? Is it about money – is that it? You want more money”

“No, I just quit and honestly I’ve wasted enough of my time here so can you just move so I can leave” Lilah made another move to leave but bossy Mc Clingy wouldn’t budge.

“It’s about your book isn’t it? Send it to me, we’ll start looking into it asap. We cannot lose your Lilah – nothing will function if you leave” He might have been drooling because of how fast he said that, but she honestly couldn’t care less and pushed him aside to leave.

“It might have been about the book before but now its about much more. Maybe you should appreciate your worker bees while they’re actually you know – working? I honestly couldn’t care less about what functions here and what doesn’t. Maybe now you’ll actually have to do some work yourself. Anyway, I’m out & please for the love of f**k don’t ever call me again. Peace”

She made a literal peace sign at the bug eyed man staring at her and left his office feeling lighter than she ever had. That office was usually where he shat her out, gave her some impossible task, made her deliver bad news to colleagues etc etc – but today she was done with it all.

As she left the office building she thought about what she would do next, she had a s**t ton of savings – you know due to the fact she had zero friends to do anything with. Maybe she would take a trip, but where to? She didn’t like planes. Hell she’d never been on one but she knew she wouldn’t like it. She could take a road trip – maybe? She didn’t have a car though. So many options she thought of, but first things first – she wanted something to eat.

While she ate to her hearts content, she decided the road trip would be a gift to herself. If life didn’t want to grant her a boyfriend who didn’t cheat, friends who didn’t betray (Yes the cheating boyfriend and betraying friends are linked) – she would force some happiness into her life. Maybe she just hadn’t found what she needed yet, and now she would go looking.

At this point a normal person might hire a vehicle, to go on said road trip but not your girl Lilah. This b***h, slightly unhinged and sugar high off the milkshake she was still polishing off was buying herself a whole new car.

“It’s just you and me bestie” She winked to her cute little convertible mini cooper.

As she walked around the car to the driver’s seat, a car drove by with a golden retriever hanging out the passenger window, clearly happy to be there with the bark he let out and she just rolled her eyes.

“What the f**k ever, I don’t need a drooling, shitting pet. This trip is going to be just what I need – I can feel it”

And how right she was, but definitely not the way she expected.