Helium

Chapter One

Skyler POV

25 November 2018

I parked in front of the shop with my blue 2017, Ford Fiesta, looking at myself in the review mirror, "You have a problem" I reminded myself. I have no shame at all... "I don't have a problem; I have an addiction..." I said again to myself... Yeah, like that sounds much better?

Grabbing my keys, I got out of my car, pushing the button on the remote, making sure I locked my car. Fortfall might be a small town, but crime doesn't sleep, and I seriously don't want to add that also to my short life’s achievements... 

Looking at my phone, checking the time... I still have 20 minutes before I have to pick up Abigail. Just enough time for me to grab my daily lethal dose of coffee, I need it, especially today… these mensural cramps are killing me today…. That reminds me… need to buy more tampons ugh…

Pulling my brown leather jacket close to my chest, trying to warm myself from the icy fall wind before I enter my favourite coffee shop, who am I kidding... It’s the only one in this small forgotten town, I smirked entering the coffee shop, making the bell on the door ring. I breathed in the delicious warm smell of coffee and baked goods and welcomed the heat of the shop on my already cold skin.

“Good morning Skyler” Tammy the barista cheerfully greeted “The usual?” she asked nodding towards the tallest coffee paper cups. “Morning Tammy” I greeted back “Yes, please. Am I that predictable?” I said laughing “You know what rather make that one take-out and one sit down. Extra strong please… this morning is already rough.” I sighed. “Coming up, do want anything else?” she asked referring towards the fresh muffins behind the glass counter. “Hmm, I’ll take a blueberry muffin also.”

I like this cute little rustic coffee shop and I’m almost here daily, yeah… I have an addiction towards coffee... but coffee doesn’t ask stupid questions, coffee makes me feel happy. I paid for my delicious treats, “There you go.” Tammy said while she handed me my mouth-watering muffin. I took my muffin and went to my usual table in the corner. The coffee shop was quiet this time of the morning. Giving that everyone went to church, as it is Sunday. There were only two guys in the coffee shop, sitting a few tables away from me. The one looked a bit uncomfortable in his suit and tie. But it is the other guy that caught my attention, he is wearing a black leather jacket and he has tattoos peeking out on his neck. What a strange combo, I thought to myself. The guy in the suit I definitely recognized as Garry Foster, the local real estate agent. He helped me buy my house more than a year ago… after… Daniel died…

 Yeah, now I have unpleasant thoughts rushing through me… great, just what I needed today…

1 Year and 5 Days Ago

20 November 2017

“This is all YOUR fault!” Daniel shouted, throwing a glass against the white hospital room wall, while the doctor pushed me out of the room, properly threating that I might obtain more bruises than I already have. “It is YOUR fault that I’m dying!” he continues shouting “Mr Russell, please you have to stay calm.” I hear the doctor urging Daniel. “Oh, f**k off t**t!! This is also your f*****g fault!” He shouted again, “You’re probably also f*****g my w***e of a wife!!” he continued shouting and swearing. “Nurse please bring me the sedation, stat!” the doctor called out the hospital room.

I moved down to the floor, clutching Abigail’s tiny body to my chest. Trying really hard not to cry. I know it is cancer that metastasised to his Amygdala… it is making him act this way… making him shout and hurt everyone around him… especially me…

Unfortunately, there is nothing they can do for him anymore, there is no chemo or medicine that can save him… he is dying… my husband and father of my beautiful baby are dying… and there is nothing I can do, except to sit here and wait… wait for him to die…

One of the nursing staff guided me into a waiting area, not long after I finally calmed Abigail down with some breastfeeding. Daniel’s mother and father arrived shortly after Abigail has fallen asleep. Daniel was becoming aggressive and uncontrollable, threatening to hurt everyone around him. The doctor had to sedate him for everyone’s safety.

Daniel’s mother already dislikes me… called me a gold-digger a few times. She was sitting in the corner near the door, waiting impatiently for the doctor to come and inform us with some news regarding Daniel’s current condition.  “Mrs Russell?” the doctor called, pulling me out of my train of thought. “Y-yes?” I said, not sure what the doctor is going to say. He gave me a sympathetic smile “I’m sorry… there is nothing more I can do for him. We have made him comfortable and sedated him for everyone’s protection…” he continued, taking a deep breath “It is only a matter of hours now…” “NO!!” Rochelle, Daniel’s mother screamed “No, please God, please don’t take my only son!” she cried while Andrew, Daniel’s father, tried to console his hysterical wife. I sat there starring at the doctor, not sure what to say, while Abigail slept peacefully in my arms. “Mrs Russell?” he asked, while I just stared at him “Skyler?” he asked again “Y-yeah,” I said, my voice almost unrecognisable “Your bleeding. Let me take care of your bruises, you might need stitches.” Stitches? Oh, I have almost forgotten about my lip, Daniel took a few swings at me, accused me of sleeping with his cousin and his doctor. Thankfully Abigail was not in my arms… not that it would stop him… he occasionally accused me of lying to him about who Abigail’s real father is, even after his mother forced me to do a paternity test, he still said I was lying and is just after his money.

The doctor helped me up and guided me into an examining room. I laid Abigail down on the small bed, while the doctor gathered some gauze and medical equipment.

***

6 stitches later… 3 for the inside of my lip and 3 for my eyebrow…

Its 4 pm, Daniel’s breathing and heart rate have slowed down drastically. We all gathered around his bed, waiting… His sisters Judith and Rebecca also arrived with their husbands.

4:18 pm the alarm on the machines went off…. He’s gone…

Flash-back ended

I took a deep breath trying to push back all the pain and heartache… Damn it, Skyler! Not today… I have cried enough this week! I closed my eyes just for a few seconds fighting back the unwanted tears when Tammy cleared her throat and placed my coffee on the table. I thanked her and took a long sip of it, letting the coffee work its magic. I took out my phone, scrolling through f******k, trying hard to distract me from my mind.

“Excuse me?” a deep voice said in front of me. I slowly looked up from my phone, blinking a few times. Staring back at me was the greenest eyes I have ever seen, and they belonged to a towering, handsome, tattooed leather jacket guy who was standing in front of my table, grinning at me. “Sorry to bother you, but my name is Michael. My real estate agent told me that you might be able to give me some advice?” I stared at him for a few moments while my brain processed his words. “H-hi, uhm, I’m Skyler.” I choked out. He rubbed the back of his head almost like he was nervous. “May I sit?” he asked pointing at the open chair in front of me, I nodded while I swallowed hard.

I don’t think I have ever seen a man more handsome than him… it looked like he has just fallen out of one of those male modelling magazines… All his features complemented him fully. He is masculine and quite tall, I would say almost 6”4, taking in consideration that I’m quite short, 5”3. He has a square jaw that pulled his face perfectly together, even with the light stubble on his jawline and perfectly sculptured cheeks bones, his eyes… they pulled you in, leaving you lost in a green forest… even his nose looks perfect… and his full kissable pink plump lips… s**t! Skyler! You are staring! I sternly reminded myself. I felt my cheeks burning a bit, but I can always blame the cold for the redness on my cheeks.  

Shaking my head slightly and I tried to push back all my scattered thoughts and searched for some confidence while taking another sip of my coffee. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Michael. So, what golden advice can I assist you with?” Way to go Skyler! Way to go… I screamed internally at myself, all while I gave myself a mental facepalm.

Michael chuckled. Oh my goodness!! The sound is so heavenly. My whole core tightened at his sweet laughter! “Well you see I own a chain of tattoo shop all over the country and I was considering opening one in Forfall, actually this area… and Garry over there…” he pointed with his head at the nervous real estate agent “well let’s just say he lacks a bit of important information… like do people actually get tattoos in this small town?” he rambled on, sounding even more nervous than how Garry looks. “Yeah, they do… well some of them, like me.”  

Michael started to chuckle again. “So, where do you get your tattoos from, Skyler?” my name rolled off his tongue, making me shiver. What is this man doing to me? I don’t know him one bit and I’m ready to throw myself at him, and that is just by him saying my name. And don’t forget that amazing smile…  “Well, not from this town. There is only one guy in Fortfall who claims to be a tattoo artist and he is a big-time creep and nowhere near good. I usually go to a place called Tattooine in Wakefield, it’s about an hour and a half’s drive away.” “Tattooine?” he emphasized while grinning towards me “I’m the owner.” “Seriously? Wow! Well, your shop is amazing!” I beamed. “Thank you. I have never seen you there, who did your last tattoo?” “Uh, Jade. She has done my last three tattoos.” “Oh, Jade yeah she’s my shop manager.” “She’s done an amazing job” Michael started to chuckle “Yeah, she is amazing. So, are you planning on getting more tattoos?” “I just want to get one more for now. But I haven’t gotten around to do it.” “Well I have an opening on 1st of December if you’re interested?” he asked, his green orbs not leaving my eyes.

Before I could answer him, my phone started buzzing with the Wonder Woman theme song and Rochelle Russell’s name flashing on it… Oh s**t! I’m late! I quickly rejected the call “Uh I’m sorry Michael, but I have to go.” I gushed, grabbing my handbag and takeout coffee. “It was really nice meeting you,” I said smiling at him “Yeah, it was nice to meet you too. Maybe you can give me your number so that we can schedule that tattoo appointment” he replied with a smirk “Sure” I giggled, grabbing a pen from my bag and scribbling my digits on a clean napkin from the table. “I look forward to hear from you,” I admitted, handing him the napkin.

I gave him a small wave and quickly walked out of the coffee shop heading towards my car when my phone started ringing again… she won’t stop until I answer. Closing the door of the car, I answered the phone “Hello?” “Where are you? You are late?” Rochelle almost shouted in my ear “Sorry, I’m almost there…” I tried to explain before she cut me off again “She has been crying all morning… I don’t know what you tell Abigail about us… but she doesn’t want to visit us…” she hisses “She is only two years old Rochelle; off course she is going to cry when she is away from me for long periods of ti…” “We are her grandparents… she is supposed to want to visit us without crying for you! It is not like you’re even that good of a mother…” feeling the tears stinging my eyes again I took a deep breath before cutting her ranting off “I’ll be there in a few minutes!” I snapped while cutting the call.

I leaned forward onto the steering wheel, feeling how my chest is tightening and tears now definitely streaming down my cheeks. I took a few deep breaths trying to console myself from having a panic attack… She is always trying to say such hurtful thing to me… and saying that I’m a ‘bad mom’ is something she always tends to do.  I quickly wiped my tears and started my car, taking another deep breath before driving away.

Driving into the Russell house driveway, which in my eyes looked more like a mansion. The house is situated on a hillside and screamed money. Andrew Russell is the elite pastor of the town and Rochelle Russell, his trophy wife. They both rule their church and family with an iron fist and a Bible in the other hand.

Now imagine their disappointment when they found out that their one and only son knocked me up, an 18-year-old tattooed girl, just starting to study accounting. Rochelle was furious… she forced me to take a paternity test, as she were certain I was just after Daniel’s money. Imagine her dissatisfaction when the test proved that Daniel is Abigail’s biological father. They then forced us to get married a few days later.

Once I parked my car, I headed towards the front door. The house was truly magnificent. Rounded white stone walls surrounded the front, white pillars held up a balcony above the front door. The front door on its own was a statement of religion and power. The double doors consisted of dark heavy wood and stained-glass windows. The patterns on the windows always reminded me of the windows of an old Catholic church.

Before I could knock on the door, it opened. Rochelle stood in front of me. Rochelle is a beautiful woman. She is tall and lean. Her light brown hair pulled up in a neat bun and her face isn’t overdone with make-up, only blush on her fair cheeks, lipstick and mascara. She is wearing a pale turquoise long sleeve floral frock with a white blazer and pastel turquoise pointed-toe pumps and her three-strand pearl necklace. She looked elegant as always, but she radiated coldness towards me. She still blames me for Daniel’s death.

“Finally.” She almost snarled. “Good morning to you too.” I greeted, trying my best to put my brave face on.  “Don’t pull that tone with me girl.” She warned me sternly. “Where is Aby?” I asked ignoring her threat. “Abigail is in the garden with her grandfather.” She said still giving me a cold stare. I pushed past her, heading towards the back garden.

Once outside small giggles filled my ears and made me smile. Aby was laughing at the Russell dogs running after the ball Andrew was throwing at them. Aby notices me and immediately ran towards me. “Mommy!” she shouts. “Hey, baby.” I pulled her into my arms and kissed her cheeks. Aby is such a bubbly little girl. She has hazel blue eyes and my black hair, only curly. “We going home mommy?” she asked in her sweet childlike manner. “Yes baby, were going home,” I said kissing her cheek again.