She sat there on the floor lost in thought as Damien Rice’s The Blower’s Daughter played and echoed through the nearly empty house. The only light in the room came from a single candle whose flame rose high and flickered every so often casting long shadows on the now barren walls. Recent events had sent her world spinning out of control and now here she sat alone and lost with just a radio on the floor, a T.V. on a milk crate and an overused loveseat. She needed something to ground her, something to show her she forges her own path. That’s why she called him. Moments ago her head was swimming and eyes brimming with tears. She refused to let a single one fall. She pushed aside the burning questions of what next and decided tomorrow she would deal with that. Today, right now, she was in control.
A soft rap came at the door and she rose from her knees at the center of the room and padded barefoot to open it. She did so only a crack at first. Peering through it, her soft green eyes landed on him and her heart skipped. He stood there quietly with obvious concern on his face and waited. He didn’t want to push her in any way. The call was her decision and he was there for her even though this was the last place he should have been.
She forced a smile up at him and simply said “hey” as she opened the door for him. As he stepped through into the shadows he looked her over. His breath caught. He never grew tired of her simple beauty. Now it was even more accentuated as she stood there backlit by the candlelight. A soft yellow camisole tank top rested against her breast and the only other thing she wore were faded pink lace boy cut panties. She was gorgeous he thought to himself. As she eyeballed him back the silence was broken by yet another Damien Rice song, “All the Animals Were Gone”. He recognized it instantly because not too long ago when he was in a dark place it was on a continual loop at his home. He made an effort to speak but before a sound could escape him her fingers were on his lips and she shushed him. Sliding her hand from his mouth down across his chest she took his hand in hers and led him to the love seat.