Disasterology

Matt groaned and sat up, he had been partying all night at his house with all of the guys and a few other people he didn’t know. The downside was that he had to work today. With a yawn, he sat up and almost died when he saw that it was already noon. That means he was almost five hours late for work.

“Shit. Shit. Shit!” He pulled on his clothes and grabbed his keys and phone before heading out the door on a mad dash to the car dealership he worked at.

He looked at the time and groaned again. His boss, Jeff, was going to be pissed. This was his second time being late. Suddenly he thought of Josie and how she usually came over and woke him up in the morning. Matt’s knuckles were turning white from the way he was gripping the steering wheel.

“Fuck.” He mumbled when he saw the look on Jeff’s face as he pulled into the parking lot.

Right as Matt got out of the Mustang, Jeff spoke “Don’t bother clocking in, you’re fired.”

Matt glared, “It wasn’t my fault! I need this job!”

Jeff shook his head and laughed, “Not my problem. You can come pick up your final check next week.”

Jeff turned and walked inside the building leaving Matt with anger and sadness pulsing throughout his body. As he got back into his Mustang he made sure to punch the steering wheel a few times then burn out of the parking lot back onto the road to his house. His parents wouldn’t understand, they would say it was his fault and yell at him about how he had to pay his taxes, bills, and loans. It wasn’t his fault. It was Josie’s. Josie was the one who didn’t come wake him up like she promised she would when he first got the job. It was Josie’s fault that he was fired on Christmas Eve.

“God damn it.” He rolled his eyes when he saw Josie’s name and picture flash on the screen.

He clicked the button on his phone and spoke, “What?”

“Hey. I was just checking in on you to say hi.” She spoke in a cheery voice.

Matt laughed sarcastically, “Yeah? Well I just got fired so thanks a lot, Jos.”

“What? I’m so sorry, Matt.” She spoke with genuine sympathy.

Matt made a noise letting her continue to speak, “I should have come and woken you up this morning. I just didn’t think you needed me….”

“Yeah well my Christmas is fucking ruined so thanks.” He spat before hanging up the phone.

Josie sat in her bed in shock. It was only his second time being late. Why didn’t his alarm wake him up? What had he been doing last night for him to sleep through his alarm? That’s why she hated him going out and playing pool with his friends, because then he would stay out all night and sleep in way late. Then she would have to listen to him bitch about how tired he was and just listen to him be cranky all day.

“It’s all my fault.” She cried into her pillow.

For almost an hour she sat in the room and cried into her pillows, soaking all of them with her tears. Her stomach felt like it was twisting and tying its self in knots, something it had been doing a lot of lately. It was also something that kept her from eating a whole lot. She’d been told several times by her friends that she was unhealthy. Josie was 17 years old, 5 feet and 2 inches tall, and had now dropped down to 93lbs in less than two weeks. Even her grandparents were constantly on her about her weight and behavior. She would go out and drive around, get high on marijuana or spice, then try to drown her demons in alcohol and cigarettes before heading home at strange hours of the night.

“I can’t stay here.” She mumbled before jumping out of bed and pulling on her clothes.

In her mind she knew that there was nothing wrong with her home. She could hang out here all day and watch TV and eat as much as she wanted but she couldn’t. Josie would go out and pretend that she was a lone wolf, a rebel without a cause. She was an excellent actress and could even pull out some fake tears with the blink of an eye. Her whole life was drama, she was either creating it or somehow dragged in the middle of it.

“I’m going out.” She called to her grandpa, while grabbing her keys off the table.

He glanced up from his newspaper, “Don’t forget where you live.”

Josie laughed dryly, “okay” then headed out the door.

She pushed her keys into the ignition then started it with a roar. Her CD from the other night started up in the middle of the song and she quickly turned the dial down a bit before pulling out of her driveway and heading downtown. Maybe she’d find something to blow off some steam, or maybe she’d crash into the bridge and kill herself. They were both possibilities, but she’d never do the last one. Not in the Nissan. She loved that car more then she loved herself, plus the fact that the title was in her grandpa’s name, not hers. So technically he owned the car, and it was Christmas. Josie couldn’t bear to know that if she committed suicide right now, she’d ruin Christmas for her grandparents and all of her friends forever.

“Hello.” She spoke as she picked up her phone the moment it started to vibrate.

Matt’s voice quickly came across the speaker, “Hey, do you wanna come over and hang out for a while?”

Instantly a smile formed on her lips, “Sure.”

“Okay. I’ll unlock the door for you. Bye.”

Josie felt the butterflies in her stomach explode, “Bye.”

She didn’t even care that he didn’t say that he loved her. He wanted her to come over and hang out. Josie was super happy and nothing could ruin her mood. She’d make it all up to Matt. She’d do whatever it’d take to make him happy again……..as long as he didn’t piss her off.

Notes