This is a story where each chapter is a different scenario unrelated to the next. These will be long chapters about Tremma, but hopefully they will fulfill their purpose of satisfying the audience. Enjoy, and please review, follow, and/or favorite.
Scenario: Where a lack of money brings two people together.
Summer in California was known as fun, not too hot, and the ideal destination to visit for remarkable memories. To Troy Burrows, it was his own Hell. He enjoyed the cold even more in the summer because the familiar chill reminded him of his fortunate life back in Minnesota before he left. The long-lasting heat left a bad taste in his mouth and a snarl on his pouty lips.
He left Minnesota four years before, fresh out of college and broke, but his dreams made up for the money he lacked. It was all about casinos, girls, and leaving when it was time to let go of the fun. He was never one to regret because regret led to making the mistake of attempting to fix what was meant to be. If the cops got on his case for cheating during a game at the casino, he left. If he was caught with another guy's girl, he left.
It was always about leaving, and that was what he was doing at that moment.
His red convertible zoomed down a vacant highway in the middle of a desert, the only comfort being the breeze forming as a result of moving down the road. If he stopped, he'd be taken over by regret and heat.
But his gas tank was empty.
So Troy Burrows stopped at the gas station and went inside the convenience store with the broken sign and dusty windows. Old fans spinning loudly were the only noise save for the old television sitting on the counter. A girl looking not even one or two years younger than him leaned against the counter, obnoxiously chewing gum and reading a book. He cleared his throat loud enough for her to look up over the book that seemed to capture all of her attention.
"Oh! I'm sorry," she exclaimed, "What do you need?"
"Pack of cigarettes and a beer. And maybe the gum you're chewing," he smirked and winked at her.
She blushed and quickly spit out her chewed up bubble gum, being sure to look graceful all the while. He was definitely handsome, and she couldn't afford to embarrass herself even more than she already had.
"Can I please see your I.D.? For the beer," she almost whispered.
"I.D.? Babe, don't I look old enough to you?"
"Look, you seem like you're old enough; heck, even I'm old enough! But I need to see your I.D. just in case you're a high schooler who managed to have puberty bless him to become a Greek God so early."
She slapped her hands over her mouth at what she had just said, and Troy grinned so hard that it was hard for even him to not blush.
"Babe, you're gorgeous, too. Don't be embarrassed."
"I'm not embarrassed! Can I just see your I.D.?" she cried.
"Of course. Anything for you."
Showing his card, he took the beer, cigarettes, and a pack of what he assumed was her favorite brand of gum and went to his fueled car. Instead of heading to Arizona, he turned back to the city, looking for a motel to spend the night so he could visit her the next day.
The morning was cool since the sun hadn't risen yet. It wasn't too early, though. The girl would definitely be there at the store at this hour. Burrows took his keys, left $50 on the reception desk without anyone there, and left. There was a natural breeze that swept his brown hair backwards, and he parked at the store's entrance.
"Babe," he said breathlessly as he walked in. Upon seeing an old man at the counter wide saucer eyes at being called such a name, he groaned.
"Emma! There a movie star here for you!" the man yelled. The girl from the previous day walked out, her hair tied in a ponytail and doe eyes complimented with a quick dash of makeup.
"Come with me, Babe," Troy said to her. "Travel with me."
"You don't know me! What're you talking about?" Emma asked.
"You're beautiful, and I want you to come with me. Please, come with me."
Much to his surprise, she agreed.
"How long will we be gone?" she asked.
"Who knows," Troy asked.
"Good."
Half an hour later, Emma placed a suitcase in the backseat of his red convertible and hopped in the front seat.
"You live in the store?" he asked her, holding her hand.
"I have no family, the manager had a room in the back, and I have nothing here for me. I only work there so I can make up for living there."
"Did your family die?" he asked without any sensitivity in his tone. Emma didn't care.
"I don't know. I got lost and ended up here. That's my story."
She turned to him, brushing his hair. He told her about his adventures as a nomad with big aspirations. She giggled at some of his exaggerations, and the couple spent the rest of the day heading to Arizona on the money that Troy had stolen from the casino.
Night time hit the two, and Emma was fast asleep. Did Burrows regret bringing her? No.
Maybe stopping wouldn't lead to regret.
The car led them to a beaten down motel on the edge of Arizona. Troy woke Emma up and took them inside along with her suitcase. He didn't bring suitcases. Didn't need them. The night passed by slowly, a bed keeping the two bodies cuddled together in a warm embrace. There was nothing obscene. It was just their feelings holding them together.
Two years passed, and the money used to give them a hotel room that night grew to be enough to take care of them along with three kids. They lived in a trailer that was less than what they wanted, but as long as they were together, there were no regrets.
He would spend each day at a different casino while she spent the day working at a gas station. The kids were left to the neighbor who was luckily able to teach them for free. Some nights, Burrows would come home with no money and a beer with a piece of gum in his mouth. Other days, he would reward the family with his newly stolen money. Everything was blissful in their family.
Until there was a knock at the door one day.
Burrows finished his beer and chucked it in the trash before opening the door. He fixed his collared shirt and hair, and he told the kids to stay quiet.
"Can I help you, Officer?" he asked.
"Troy Burrows?"
"Yes?"
"You are under arrest for illegal gambling. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in court."
Emma ran to the door, crying for the men to stop dragging him, but they wouldn't listen to her. Not after she begged them to leave him, not after he attempted to pull himself away, not after the children chased him.
He regretted staying in the trailer that night.
Unfortunately, the charges pressed against him involved him staying in prison for ten years. He wasn't one to be messed with, but he wouldn't attempt to escape prison. He earned a title there, though. Tough luck Troy. No one could beat him at a card game, hence the name.
When the family visited, it was tough for Emma. She cried, cursed, even explained how she was better off with someone, anyone else. Nevertheless, he never stopped listening to her crying for hours on end because he knew that she loved him more than anyone. He loved her, too. Like this, ten long years passed until it was only Emma visiting him. Two of the children had left for college, the third moving to a different city to pursue her acting career.
They wanted nothing to do with their parents.
Emma had to explain that to Troy one day. She sat down and sighed, picking up the black phone.
"Babe," he said, coughing for a minute before it went down to mild wheezing, "how are you?"
"I'm okay. I have something to tell you."
"Yeah?" he coughed three times more, feeling himself burning up and not because of the heat.
"Emily left for California. Said she wants to be an actress."
"Say it again?"
"Emily's gone. The kids left us, Troy."
"I have only two weeks left! Why did they have to leave before I came out?"
Emma sighed, "They don't want people to know that we're their parents, Love. I don't blame them. I'm a no good mother who's spent ten years waiting for her husband to leave jail so someone else can help pay the bills. College isn't free; I wouldn't know since I couldn't go."
Troy hung up the phone. He placed his head in his hands, rubbing the discomfort out of his worn out features before mouthing to her that he loved her and left.
She stood at the edge of a small bridge that overlooked the pond. She loved this bridge. It was the place where he asked her to marry him, where she told him they were having each of their babies, and where she would come whenever the beer in his hand turned into three. Today was the day that he was coming home.
Ten years without him had taken its toll on her. She missed him. His scent, his touch, his warmth, his comfort, him. She missed everything about him and hated herself for loving a man when she could do better. She never told him how she felt about finding someone else unless she was upset at him at the jail. And she instantly hated herself when she looked up from her crying and saw that he had a smile on his face telling her that he was sorry that he couldn't do enough to take care of her.
Her flip phone started to ring, causing her to jump at the loud intrusion upon her thought session. The cheapest phone she could find was a flip phone, but it worked wonders.
"Troy? Love?" she asked giddily.
"Mrs. Burrows?" someone else asked.
"Yes?" There was a pause.
"Your husband passed away this morning due to a serious staph infection. It seems he had this for over two months."
How ironic was this? The day she had been looking forward to for ten years was the same day that she was regretting waiting for ten years. Of any day, he chose to pass away that day. She didn't know what to say and hung up.
She had no one for her now. No family to take care of her when she was old and the cold nipped at her skin or the heat caused her to faint.
She had no family that she could rely on, and the feeling of loneliness hit her with a familiar wave of shock.
It was just like before the day that Troy had visited her at the gas station, and she regretted that he had stopped by.
This chapter saddens me, but not every one will end in a death. I just have had this prompt for a few weeks and decided to begin with this. Please do not hesitate to follow the story because this one ended sadly. I guarantee happy endings in the future.