Northern_Lights_2016

38 the sixth gouge. Although this wasn’t his final gouge, I had been sure that it was his end. Marcus stares at the pretty blond in front of him. The turquoise dress she wore at graduation was wrinkled and stained with dirt, her makeup dripping down her delicate chin. “Marcus, please I-” “No!” he shouts while pulling at his dark hair. “Don’t make excuses. I saw you with him!” “It wasn’t like that, I promise!” she shouts out over a sob. “I would never do something like that. Not after your mom — ” “Don’t you dare bring her into this conversation. Not when it’s about you cheating on me!” he shouts taking a step closer. The girl scampers back a step, making Marcus stop moving. “Ever since she was taken away, you’ve acted differently. You haven’t been spending time with me, you’ve hardly even looked at me let alone anything more!” she shouts while stomping forward. She grips his nice dress shirt, crumpling it with her fist, watery blue eyes staring straight up. “I needed someone to listen to me, to care for me. I — I didn’t mean to. I didn’t mean to,” she sobs as she sets her head against his chest. Marcus stands there just staring at the girl he thought was his future, the only light in the dark room. “I can’t do this. I’m sorry Molly,” he whispers while cupping the back of her head. She sobs harder into his shirt, and he allows his tears to fall on her golden head. After a minute, he steps away before turning to walk down the street. Taking a deep breath, he allows the pain to surround him. “Mark — ” Molly calls after him. He stops, but doesn’t look back at her. Her heels clack as she comes from behind him. “You dropped this,” she whispers between sobs. Molly opens his tight fist, dropping a metal object in it. He looks down to see the paint peeled car. His hand rubs against the rusting back area of the toy. “Thanks,” he says before walking off. “I miss her,” Marcus mumbles to himself. “Why is my life so shitty?” the man shouts at the top of his lungs. The only thing that responds back to him is the wind, and the honks coming from below. The man glances down at the busy street below. Death gleems in his eyes as he leans a little more forward. “I have nowhere to go,” Marcus says on a sigh, so low, it made it hard for even me to hear. Marcus quickly inhales, but on the exhale, he leans away. “Marcus, I need to talk to you.” The manager of the store calls out from the back. Marcus sends her a nod, before looking back to the customer. After finishing with him, Marcus leaves his station and heads to the backroom. After a quick knock, the manager calls him in. “Marcus, I am going to get straight to the point.” She fiddles with a pen as she leans back in her chair. Her eyes assess his disgruntled appearance. “You have came in for your shift hungover multiple times. I try to be a nice person, and I’ve attempted to ignore this. You do your job well, and you are good at what you do.” “Thank you,” Marcus says with a quick nod. He relaxes slightly. “But, there is one thing I will not tolerate.” A bag of green lands on her desk. “I found this in your locker.” Marcus stares down at the incriminating bag. Staying quiet, he thinks of his options. He can’t deny that it’s his, the evidence is against him. “You can’t go through my personal belongings!” Marcus tries to keep his voice even with an accusing tone, but it wobbles at the end. She shakes her head while smiling sadly at him. “You’re a wonderful employee, but I can’t accept this kind of a behavior. You’re fired. Please collect the rest — ” I blink as I am wrenched out of the memory. I look around for Marcus, but there’s no one on the ledge with me. My eyes trail over to where a freckle of blue lies next to a rusted toy car.