This is my first submission, so please let me know if you enjoy the story and where it's going. I greatly appreciate any comments or suggestions you may have. Thanks and enjoy!
Chapter 1
The flight, although long, was not entirely uncomfortable. They were playing some romantic comedy, but I paid no attention to it. Thankfully, the plane wasn't fully booked and I had an entire row to myself. I sat there with my eyes closed, listening to the pilot make his announcement that we were about to land. Standing up, I made my way to the rear bathroom before we started to make our descent. As I walked down the aisle, I watched all the people, sitting in their seats, some alone, some with loved ones, completely oblivious to the ghost of a man I had become.
Opposite of the bathroom door, was a beverage cart unattended, and I helped myself to a couple bottles of vodka. I closed the door behind me and peered into the mirror, staring at myself. It's amazing what time can do to people. My dark brown eyes looked back at me. The bags under them were evidence that I hadn't slept in quite some time. I looked like a wreck. I splashed water on my face in a futile attempt to wake myself up. The whole reason I'd left my hometown in Florida was to make a drastic change in my life, but as I reached down into my pocket and felt the little bag of brown powder, I realized that old habits die hard. I'd fixed before the flight so instead I grabbed the two small airplane bottles of vodka and finished them off in two gulps. My throat burned as the clear liquid slid down it. Faintly in the background I could hear the pilot saying something over the intercom again so I exited the bathroom and made my way back to my seat.
Walking out of the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport , I savored the cool and organic air of the pacific northwest. So accustomed was I to the heat and humidity of the Sunshine state, that when a breeze softly blew around me, it drew out goosebumps on my arms.
I reached into my pocket and fished out a pack of cigarettes, removing one and lighting it. I pulled the smoke deep into my lungs and then exhaled, watching my breath coalesce with the smoke. Looking around, I took in the scenery that surrounded me and would now be my home. Just as my mind was beginning to drift off, I heard the sound of an engine revving and then tires squealing, as an electric blue Subaru Impreza WRX skidded to a halt in front of me. A smile played across my face.
As the driver's side door opened, I watched as Ben Riley stood up and stretched out his arms and legs. He had been one of my best friends growing up and had moved away from Florida only five years ago. When I had told him on the phone a couple of months earlier that I was moving out his way, he responded, without any change in his voice, "You're staying with me. No argument." Now that I was here, my spirits finally began to lift.
"Get over here you son of a bitch!" he said, with an enormous smile on his face. We embraced each other in that hard and sloppy brotherly style.
"It's damn good to see you finally," I told him, "It's been way too long." As I walked around the back of the car to throw my bags in the trunk, he replied,
"You got that right. Let's get going though 'cause we have a three hour drive back to my place. We can talk on the way."