...Five years ago...
Mindy bites her lip as she arches her back in pain as she lays in bed. Her mother looks at her with a worried look on her face.
"The doctor said it might hurt a little..."
"Yeah..."
Mindy cries out and her mother crosses her arms. "It'll be over in a hour, if it isn't, then we'll call an ambulance."
Mindy narrows her eyes. "I can't...!"
"I'm sure you're exaggerating."
Mindy screams as her level of agony mounts. Her mother tsks. "You need to suck it up. It can't be that bad. I gave birth to you, and I didn't scream so much."
Mindy glares daggers at her mother. "FUCK YOU! FUCK THESE PILLS! I WOULD HAPPILY GIVE BIRTH INSTEAD OF THIS! GIVE ME THE DAMN PHONE!"
...Three years ago...
With all the strength she can muster, Mindy drags her suitcase up the top step of the staircase. She stops to catch her breath and stretches her arms above her head.
"Made it."
She looks around for a moment before once more grabbing her suitcase and dragging it down the hallway. Once she reaches her new apartment, she pulls the key from her pocket and unlocks the door. With a huff, Mindy drags the suitcase inside.
Mindy smiles as she looks around her new home. She absently rubs her stomach and sighs. "This can't be real. Maybe I'm dead. I have to be."
After a few moments, Mindy pulls her shirt up and looks at her smooth skin. "Maybe I died in my sleep. There's no way I'm cured." Mindy pinches her arm and winces. "Not sleeping."
"I killed someone. I actually killed her...it feels like a blur but it happened. I'm definitely going to the bad place for this."
Mindy huffs. "That son of a bitch made me. Who does that?!"
Mindy sits down on the living room couch. "I have to keep going. I can't let mom have died for nothing."
...
Mindy walks down the aisle of the grocery store near her apartment. She stops by the cereal and looks around.
"I can eat now. Where to start?"
Mindy sets a box into her cart and leans against the rail thoughtfully. "I wonder what I can eat now... Can I eat everything? Crap! I'll need a job soon."
Mindy sighs in defeat. "At least I can eat."
Forcing a smile, Mindy pushes the cart once more. "That's right, stay positive. You can eat. You can EAT. No more pain. No more hospitals. No more surgeries."
Mindy hums as she pushes the cart down another aisle. She puts a few things in her cart. "It's nice. No more constant hunger. No more almost starving to death."
Mindy walks to the register and puts her groceries on the conveyer belt. The cashier scans the items and reads the total. Mindy freezes before double checking her wallet.
"Can you take off the cookies?"
The cashier sighs before removing them from the total. Mindy purses her lips. "And the shrimp."
The cashier rolls her eyes before removing them from the total. Mindy gets anxious. "Um..."
A familiar voice speaks up behind her. "I'll cover the difference."
Mindy turns to face David. "What are you doing here?"
"Stocking up on a few things."
Mindy smiles. "Thanks. You're a life saver."
"No problem."
"I'll pay you back as soon as I can, promise."
"That's okay. You don't have to. Times are tough for everyone."
Mindy smiles shyly. "Can I have your number? I mean...would you like to hang out sometime? That is...if you'd like to...you seem like a nice guy and all..."
...
David smiles as he carefully guides a blindfolded Mindy up the stairs. Mindy bites her lip in anticipation as her worried mind conjures up every possibility as to what could await her. David stops her once they reach the top step and takes a deep breath.
"Ready?"
Mindy nods and David removes her blindfold. After a moment for her eyes to adjust, Mindy whistles at the elaborate set up. A small table for two with blue Christmas lights decorating plastic trees atop the roof of her apartment complex.
"It's beautiful. Thank you."
David smiles with an embarrassed look on his face. "It took longer than I thought to untangle the lights. Is pizza okay?"
"That's fine."
David runs a hand through his hair. "I didn't have time to get flowers. Is that okay?"
Mindy smirks. "Don't be nervous. If anything I should be the nervous one."
David chuckles. "Yeah. I mean I only met you twice. You could be a serial killer for all I know."
Mindy laughs. "You never know."
David smiles and takes Mindy's hand then guides her to the table.
"I doubt I'm that stupid."
David lets go of Mindy's hand to pull her chair out for her. She takes her seat and David pushes her chair in before he steps around the table to sit in his seat. He opens the pizza box and frowns in realization.
"The plates blew away."
"You used paper plates?"
"You try setting all this up, moving a table up three flights of stairs, and directing the pizza guy to the roof without alerting your date. Plates don't seem important all things considered."
Mindy smiles. "Sorry. I'll just hold it."
Mindy takes a slice from the box and takes a bite, David follows suit shortly after.
After she swallows, Mindy asks. "So...what kind of stuff do you like?
"Video games. I used to kick ass on FPS, but lately I haven't had time. You?"
"I like comics. Also horror movies, if you can name it, I've seen it"
David raises an eyebrow. "Hostel?"
Mindy smirks. "Which one?"
David swears under his breath. "What about...the after dark horrorfest?"
"I collect them. Each and every eight films."
"Which country has the most...?"
"Brutal? France. Terrifying? Japan."
David leans back and crosses his arms. "You're good."