I am Joe's description: :D
I am Joe's humility.
I am Joe's lack of a better word.
I stood silently, watching the steel buildings crumbling like sheets of tinfoil, clutching Marla's hand, the blood dripping down my neck and soiling my shirt.
I am Joe's lack of concern.
"We'd better get out of here" I heard my brain mutter, my mouth however, was not in any state to say something so complex and it came out like "e 'ee 'e ou 'o 'ee" I could only speak in vowels.
"What?" Marla asked, her eyes not leaving the buildings, her face staying completely blank.
Jill's lack of interest.
I pulled her hand, her fingers pulling against me, holding me back, I felt the muscles in her wrists flex, I was stronger than her.
I am Joe's lethargy.
I let her pull me back. "No, watch, this is beautiful" her eyes were full of marvel. And in that moment I realized how absolutely perfect we were for each other. The only two people that could stand, facing a falling city, holding hands, and thinking it was the most beautiful thing they'd ever witnessed. How utterly fucked up both of us were.
I am Joe's lack of surprise.
My brain wanted me to tell her that this building was going to blow in 5 minutes and 38 seconds, the solid steel shattering like a baseball hitting a glass window. The bullet proof windows bowing in on themselves until they cracked in half. The corn yellow carpet was going to be in flames…now in 5 minutes and 20 seconds. 19..18…17…I didn't say anything.
I am Joe's lack of fear.
I felt the air stir around me and then Marla's lips were on mine, I was kissing an ashtray, but in that fucked up way enjoyed it. My hand in the small of her back, her arm curled around my neck, her cigarette cradled in her hand, I felt the heat on my shoulder.
She pulled away. She took a drag. 4 min. 15 seconds. Another drag, 14…13…12…
I am Joe's churning stomach.
She handed me the cigarette, I inhaled the smoke like a gulp of fresh air. 3 min. 45 seconds. The smoke escaped out of the gaping hole in my mouth, floating up the ceiling, curling before disappearing into the vents. 20…19…18…
I am Joe's blackened lungs.
Marla's head fell against my shoulder, I felt her cheek puff out and then return to normal size, I inhaled a cloud of smoke a second later. She tossed the still burning cigarette at the carpet, the sparkling embers trying to catch hold to the grains of fabric. 2 min 23 seconds. I stared at the burning rubble, the city in smoke. That should be the name of a band. 16…15….14.
Her hand snaked around my waist, and I draped my arm over her shoulder. The couple that never had a chance, never had a start, would die the moment a spark lit. The embers in the cigarette caught and a small fire started yards away. 1 min 15 seconds. She didn't move to stomp it out. I didn't even give it a second thought.
I am Joe's tranquil façade.
Marla's eyelids fluttered closed and she pulled me closer. 33 seconds.
I am Joe's contracting lungs.
20 seconds. A beat, a breath. 16…15…14…
"I love you, Tyler."
10…9…8…
"I 'ove ou oo" fuck vowels. 5…4…3…
We are Joe and Jill's breaking hearts.
2…1.