Gone and Reborn

CRASHING

It had been hard but things had started to look a little bit better at last. A year and a half had passed in a blur and things were working considerably good for Jo.

She´d kept regularly attending Eric´s office and they´d made some slow progress. She still had nightmares and she still freaked out from time to time, but she felt less crappy in general. It had also been quite a struggle to try and enjoy the small, good things in her life as she had thought at first that there weren´t any, yet she´d slowly started finding some worthy aspects of her current days and making the most out of them.

Yoga had been a lifesaver. It was literally one of the few things keeping her afloat. And it was doing wonders for her flexibility… and her s*x life.

Jo winced with worry when the thought of her actual s*x life crossed her mind. It was messy, it was embarrassing and it was reckless. Still, she didn´t regret it one bit and that scared her.

Nowadays, she indulged on the habit of banging a guy...or several, every time she went on a trip. She told herself that it was ok, that it was only for fun. But she knew she was crashing and yet she couldn´t get enough of it.

Ally on her side had been particularly broken lately too. Things had turned into a s**t show with her boyfriend Marvin and Jo could see she was hurting more than she dared to disclose.

She hadn´t come home last night and Jo was a little bit worried. She recognized the symptoms of self-destructiveness, and that was exactly what she believed was happening with her right now. She wanted to help her, but Ally just reached out from time to time, only to recoil immediately after and heighten her walls. On the other hand… she wasn´t even sure of how much help a person as damaged as her could really provide.

Frowning, she rolled around on her bed and grabbed her phone, looking for Ally´s contact.

-Hey, are you alive?- she wrote- Just worried about you… You did not come home last night.

A few minutes later she saw the response appear on her screen.

-Yeah, I just went out with some of my coworkers and crashed at their place. They live nearer from work, so it made sense to just stay there for the night- It read.

“She´s lying” Jo thought to herself “She didn´t even take a change of clothes with her”

-What about your clothes? Are you still wearing the same as yesterday?- She typed, hoping to make her break and confess, then maybe they could talk about it.

But that wouldn´t happen and Jo should have known better. Ally had always been stubborn as hell and once she got set on something, she would stick to it blindly even if that meant her death.

-Well, yeah, but they washed them and dried them for me, so it´s not like they´re dirty or anything- she´d texted back.

Jo scoffed and rolled her eyes with amusement. “Ok Ally, have it your way”. She decided to leave her be… for now.

-Ok… Awkward, but anyway, it´s your life hun. So, I´ll see you when I see you! I´m leaving this afternoon to Bali, remember? So I won´t be home when you come back from work. 

She sighed, thinking about her incoming trip. Bali…

Jo didn´t even care where that island was at all. She´d picked it up randomly after eavesdropping a conversation among some of her classmates at yoga class. They´d mentioned it was something like a meditation retreat and it had sounded like a good idea back then. Now, she just knew she needed her distraction anyway... even if it ended being pointless most times.

Her phoned chimed, bringing her back from her reverie.

-Oh yeah, true! Well you have a nice trip and see you in a couple weeks, have fun!  Love ya!- Ally had written, and it made her puff at her merry tone.

“Sure Ally, keep faking it, maybe you´ll make it” She reached for a cigarette and lit it, puffing out a smoke cloud into the air “Or maybe not and I´ll see you in my corner soon enough”

Two days later she was lying down on a beach lounge chair by a humongous infinity pool when her sun was blocked away by a large shadow.

Jo opened her eyes with irritation and found a tall, dark-skinned guy standing by her with what he might have thought was a sexy grin, when it clearly was just a pathetic smirk.

-No thanks- Jo spoke, eyeing him sideways, then turning away- whatever your flirting speech is, save it. Now get out of the way, I´m trying to get tanned.

He didn´t say a word and sat on the chair beside her. Jo could feel his sight fixated on her body and it made her skin crawl with rage.

-Are you familiar with the term “harassment”?- Jo said in exasperation, glowering at him- Cause that´s what you´re doing right now! Get lost, pretty boy or I´m calling security.

-You don´t remember me, do you?- the man asked a second later, with a little of an accent, making her head turn and do a double take- It´s me… Luca, we shared a couple nights in Argentina a few months ago.

Jo narrowed her eyes and stared at him for a whole second, inspecting his toned abs, his almond eyes and sharp Mediterranean features, before the memories hit her… Drunken, cloudy reminiscences of crazy s*x and awful hungover mornings.

Her tongue clicked in recognition and she finally offered him a wide smile.

-Oh yeah, Luca… the Italian dude.- she c****d her head playfully and spoke with a mellow tone- I remember you know.

-Great!- Luca grinned, leaning on the chair and extending his arms behind his head- So what have you been up to lately, gorgeous?

-Lately?- Jo asked in a sarcastic tone, pondering her answer- Well,  I´ve been getting bored to death by a random guy who seems to think that just because I f****d him once or twice he has the right to come and claim me as a damn virility trophy.

She smirked as he fought to say anything at all, stammering and failing to find his words.

-Wake up honey, you´re just one of the thousand pretty boys around here so why would I ever bother eating the same thing when there are so many other options on the menu?  

She stood up and glanced at him through her sunglasses, before redirecting her attention to a guy standing by the bar and smiling at him. The athletic man returning the gesture immediately and raising his glass towards her.

– Now if you excuse me… I´m on the hunt now and you´re scaring my prey away.