It was that moment in his life. That moment that every single person on this God forsaken earth has; that moment when you feel everything slip from your grasping fingers. It’s when you exhale and just for an instant you have no idea if your lungs will pull the polluted air in. It’s when you stop and for the slightest moment you don’t feel anything but alone. It was crushing. The feeling didn’t leave and panic flooded his soul. He felt the icy sensation of a chill running down his spine. The skin on his arms tensed into cold, tense chicken leather. He felt naked in front of the world. He tried to breath in, to pull anything into his dry throat. Something to ease the dread and numbness he felt. Rob gripped the side of his desk and squeezed his eyes ‘til tears forced their way out. Her face shown on the inside of his eyelids, he didn’t love her; he didn’t love anything but himself. He was better than to believe in forever. There was no ever after, eternity, or whatever the hell they called it. It was a fairy tale to him, a grim tale that choked him. Air flooded his chest and he held the intoxicating elixir in for as long as he dared. A whimper escaped with the warm, dead air. His eyes once again opened to the computer screen that sat staring at him. It was the same image that had been engraved on his eyelids. Tia Espinosa. The news feed told of her suicide. Rob’s hand shook as he reached for his cell phone. There was one missed call from last night. Tia. He cleared the recent calls and sat his phone on his desk as he heard from behind him, “Want coffee?” His wife entered with a blue mug.
Clearing his throat he said, “Yep.” He closed the window on his computer as she handed him the hot cup. “Are the kids up yet?”
“I was just going to wake them. Do you want pancakes or waffles?”
“Waffles.” He got up and made his way to the bathroom for his morning shower. He needed to be at work in an hour. For a second he thought of who would replace Tia as temp. But then again it didn’t really matter. He sipped his coffee and breathed in the warm aroma.
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