Chapter Two

*****
	The night was still and dark and he rolled over, caught up in
reflection of yet another dream of her, and slid his arm over, expecting her
to be asleep next to him.  The empty air was all he felt  and the rest of his
sleepiness jolted away as disappointment settled in his heart.  Another
dream...He wished they’d stop but it had been months and every night
either filled with her face or emptiness.  He half clung to those dreams,
seeing as it was all he had left of her.  Not a number, not an address.  Just
those damned dreams...Feeling suffocated, AJ glanced at the clock as he
sat up and managed to pull on a pair of pants.  2:42 am.  He was dreading
the morning’s hours where he would have to face his past.  The room was
smothering with warm air and he sighed.  What in the hell was he gonna
do as soon as the sun came up?  He didn’t know what made him think he
was ready to come back to Florida.  He stood up and opened the door,
immediately enjoying the cool breeze of the night.  The full moon glinted
off the lake’s surface, casting light unto the darkness of the motel’s
perimeters.  AJ slid his feet into the pair of Adidas slides next to the door
and walked slowly to towards the lake.  The small hill slanted downward
towards the water and that was where he planted himself, settling on the
moist earth.  The ripples caused by the breeze distorted the perfect
reflection of his surroundings as he was once again consumed by his
troubles.  His mother...Jesus, it had been a long time since he had seen
her.  Too long...His eyes clouded over as the memories of their argument
filled his mind.  
“She’s nothing but a goddamn drunk, Alex!  You are NOT leaving with her,
she’ll bring you dow-”
He opened his eyes quickly, not wanting to think about that right now. 
Tranquility.  That was what tonight was supposed to provide for him before
the journey that lay ahead.  Instead, it just sent him further back.  God, why
hadn’t he seen it coming?  She took him completely by surprise.  Not in a
million years would he have suspected her leaving him or better yet,
cheating on him.  It tore him up how he had given her all he had to offer
and she threw it back in his face.  And that was how his life had flipped
over; with just a few words, just a few minutes...AJ picked up a pebble and
tossed it out in the lake, watching the water slowly settle after several
seconds.  If only his life could just smoothe out like that.  Fuck, he didn’t
even know who he really was without her.  He spent the rest of the night
out by the lake, just watching the tiny ripples of water, his mind miles
away, with her...







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