14 days, 7 prompts

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Stepping inside her apartment, Monica breathed a sigh of relief. She wanted to get back to her life. Coming home would be the first day to start her life over, to figure out where she went from here and what she wanted to do. For the first time she noticed the blandness of her apartment. Nothing comforted her, made her want to stay there, and if she were to move tomorrow, she couldn’t think of one thing she’d have to take with her. The realization of the detachment of everything about her life struck like a thunderbolt, and made her sway on her feet. She moved over to the brown chair and sunk down onto it hard.

How much time had she wasted assuming she would die? She had no friends to pick her up from the hospital, or check up on her, no one to leave messages wishing her well on the answering machine. Her family had yet to be told of her latest operation.

Monica took in her surroundings again. The bare, dull white walls she had every intention of painting once she moved in, but never got around to. The old furniture she bought second hand, another upgrade that she let slip away. Everywhere her eyes roamed, she saw nothingness and it hurt. The loneliness seeped in and her chest ached from that knowledge.

Here she sat, given a third chance to embrace life and really live, which she told herself repeatedly she would strive to do, yet she didn’t. Instead, she continued to isolate herself from others. She let the fear of the unknown take hold, and rule her world. It was unacceptable. Enough was enough.

Monica pushed up out of the chair. It was time for a drastic change, and if she didn’t make it happen now, she’d never do it, and undoubtedly miss the best years of her life. With determination, driving her on, she moved across the small room to the adjoining yellow kitchen. She grabbed the phone off the counter and punched in the all too familiar number.

When the operator answered, she asked for Jake, her chest pounding so hard in her ears that the soft voice was almost inaudible.

“Hello.”

Her breath caught for a moment as nervousness settled into her stomach. She exhaled, closed her eyes, and forced herself to speak. “Hi, Jake it’s Monica.”

“Hey, did you forget something?”

“No. I was wondering…” The words were there, sitting on the tip of her tongue, but the fear seemed to bubble up out of nowhere and silence the question she wanted to ask.

“Monica?”

His voice was velvety smooth in her ear and roused a smile. What was the worst that could happen? Well, she knew the answer, but the time had come to prove that she wouldn’t let this opportunity slip through her fingers.

“I was wondering if you’d like to join me for dinner.”

WC - 489
Total WC - 2079
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