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It was quiet this early in the morning. There was no movement on the street. The rusty blue garbage can was full, with the covers resting on the garbage inside. The acrid odor of rotting meat and urine was unmistakable.
The sun crested the horizon, reflecting a glimmer of light on the liquid leaking from the large bin. She had her bearings. Her heart stilled as she pictured her bedroom. Her form dissolved, seeping into the shadows, welcomed by its dark embrace.
With her destination forefront in her mind, she blazed through the dark pathways, resisting the urge to allow her molecules to run free. One moment she was a dark wind of destruction. The next, she was falling to her tattered bedroom floor.
She pulled a piece of orange shag carpet from her mouth, spitting the dirt from her lips.
“Well, that landing needs work.”
She ran a hand down her arm before patting her body. Everything was where it should be, but something inside her was different. A power unleashed on her soul.
She stood up, grabbing the handle to her closet, jumping back when she accidentally ripped it from its hinges. The rickety wood slats bounced in several directions on the floor when she dropped them. Raine had told her she would be stronger. Now she wondered what her limits were. Should she test them? If so, how?
She picked up the pieces of broken wood, stacking them in the corner of the room. Her single bed was made, though the orange bedspread with pink flowers had an ink stain. While clean, her hand-me-down bedding didn’t match the blue pillow covers. Her side table held a single picture of her and Carmen laughing as Carmen took a selfie of them in the park. That had been a week before that fateful day. The day Dannika had learned her life could never be normal.
Raine believed a reaper had destroyed her life, but it was over long before the attack in the alley. Jason Lehane took care of that when he killed Carmen. When he denied it. When he taunted Dannika with Carmen’s death and no one believed her.
The alarm clock shrilled, pulling her from the painful memories. She blinked, realizing it was Monday morning. The days had passed, but no one at the shelter would know about her strange weekend. Maddock could go to hell. He wasn’t much better than Jason.
Dannika had picked up her life once before, had pushed through the pain and rebuilt. She would do it again.
Her bathroom was exactly as she left it. Pipes creaked when she turned on the water for the shower. The cold liquid steamed through her fingers, washing away her sins.
She flung her clothes in the laundry basket before looking at her reflection in the steamy mirror. Her facial features were the same, but her long, dark hair seemed shinier, wrapping over her shoulders like a velvet cloak. Her green eyes were vibrant to the brink of glowing and her skin was petal soft and perfect. The alluring quality made her look away in contempt.
Her uneasiness melted away the moment she stepped under the showerhead, the warm water washing away the horrific memories. She wouldn’t focus on which was worse. Only the future mattered. Sadly, it wouldn’t include Raine.
The realization brought tears to her eyes, and she was thankful the pelting drops washed them away. Tears and pain weren’t real if nobody could see them. A lie she told herself often.
The act of taking a shower and dressing in clean clothes brought a feeling of normalcy. She was putting coffee grounds in the filter, about to fill the pot with water when the smell made her nauseous. She replaced the pot without turning it on.
“It’s just stress.” She wanted to believe her lack of appetite was normal, but she’d always loved food, and until that weekend she’d never started the day without coffee.
She tied her hair into a ponytail and grabbed a red leather jacket to go with her green khakis. With dusty, black leather boots that look like something you’d wear at a construction site, there was nothing sexy about her outfit. The black T-shirt with the skull and crossbones finished the effect, yet she felt like she was wearing an evening dress.
Unable to shake the strange sensation in her chest, she focused on her task of getting ready. She started work in half an hour, and it took fifteen to walk to the shelter. If she left now, she could get there a few minutes early and talk to Margo. She had always grounded Dannika, made her feel welcome when the rest of the world had turned their back on her.
Though she had walked the path to work hundreds of times, it seemed different this time. Brighter. Louder. Horns honked as cars passed one another on the streets. Crosswalk signs beeped and flashed. The sounds had always blended into the background of urban society, but now it blazed through her brain like an orchestra.
She sighed in relief when she reached the shelter doors. The red and white sign was flipped closed, so she knocked on the glass.
Inside, Margo waved and smiled when she saw her, but her features fell as she approached the door. The latch clicked loudly when she unlocked it.
“Why so early today?” she snapped.
Dannika blinked. “You let me go early on Friday. I thought I would help you with the setup.”
Margo walked away, waving her hand. “I never needed help before. Food’s all ready. You can tidy the lounge.”
Dannika rubbed her chest. “I’ll just wash up.”
She dashed to the bathroom, fighting back the tears. Margo had never been adversarial in the past. Had something happened over the weekend? Had Dannika lost the one sanctuary she had left?
She washed her hands, scrubbing until the tips of her fingers were red before fastening her apron and returning to the main room. She lost herself in the routine of setting up, organizing the chairs and tidying the lounging area.
“Might as well open the doors,” Margo yelled. “People need to eat.”
Contempt dripped from her tone.
