Focus & Timing

The woman shuffled through the folds of the couch at the sudden notification of receiving a text message. She nearly dropped the phone when she finally found it reading over what he had sent, a painful pinching sensation forming in the pit of her stomach. It was sudden that for a moment she struggled to string together a sensical thought pattern, her concentration shattered from nerves as she tried to think of what could of upset him. She didn’t re-call anything in particular but then again she had missed something.

[Text Message]: I don’t want to fight with you right now.

[Text Message]: You’re much more than special to me, you know that.

Caught up in her own thought pattern she found herself a bit startled by the sudden pounding sounds that came from her door. It wasn’t their usual style of knocking by she chalked it up to them trying to something new. Putting down her mug she wiped her hands on the front of her pants before calling out to them, as she made her way over. “I’m coming! You don’t have to knock like a caveman, you know” She chuckled rolling her eyes playfully before she unlocked the door and pulled it open. However what she was faced with was far from what she had been expecting; there was no one there. She had definitely heard someone knocking, it was unmistakable.

Kahi was on the way back to her apartment when she came across a group of men in the middle of an argument. They took up a large section of the sidewalk yet she little reason why she couldn’t just squeeze herself behind them without any issues. It was late and she hadn’t made any dinner beforehand for her children because of her schedule, therefore she wanted to get home as soon as possible. However apparently the universe was out to get her that night because as soon as she began to pass by them, their verbal argument turned into a physical one. The nineteen year old tried to maneuver herself out of the way as quickly as she could but wasn’t quite fast enough, she nearly stumbled over as she received a heavy blow to her chest area. Coughing lightly she dipped her head in a semi bow, nodding a few times as she attempted to avoid worsening the situation. “I’m fine. I’m fine. I’ll be going now”

Well, there’s really not anything wrong with that. But there’s dreams and then reality. 

Kahi read over the message several times unsure of how to respond at first, a bit puzzled at the suddenness of the question. Tapping her fingers against the tiles of her counter she decided not to answer right away. The text lingering over her head as if it was the first time she had really thought about it. Humming quietly she hovered over her phone, scrunching her nose as she traced over the discolored markings along the upper area of her arm. He wasn’t good with her children at all. He was constantly drunk out of his mind or in a hung-over coma.He was violent, getting arrested at least twice a month. What did she see him? Absolutely nothing, however it was far too late to back out now.

The woman’s phone vibrated against the wood flooring, notifying her of a text message. The screen was partly cracked down the middle, however seemed to be working fine. Disregarding the cellphone she went around the living room with the broom and dust pan, clearing away the broken glass and shards of a vase. Next, she trudged into the washroom and removed her makeup for the night. Cringing silently she found herself tracing over the newfound the discolored mark under her eye with the tips of her fingers before they wandered to the scratch marks bellow her collar bone.

Kahi yawned giving herself one last look over in the mirror before returning to the living room, retrieving the phone and finally reading the message. Sinking to the floor, she debated what to text back scratching the back of her next.

[Text Message]: Are you talking about the guy that you saw me with earlier?

[Text Message]: He’s nobody important.

[Text Message]: Just a coworker that walked me home.