Unexpected Message

Callum

“I’m thirst, damn I’m thirsty,” is the thought I wake up with. My mouth is so dry I wonder if I’ve ever had a drink before in my life. I push the blankets back and swing my legs out of the bed. As they hit the cold wood floor it occurs to me that I don’t remember going to bed. What is the last thing I remember?

Drinking?

No, driving, I was going home. Well I must have got here. Damn these black outs are getting worse, I should have those damn doctors take a look at my medication again.

I push to my feet as I run my fingers through my hair, “Damn I need a trim,” I think as my fingers get tangled in it. I stumble across the room but stop about halfway and look around. The room is dark but not so dark I can’t see. Where the hell am I? I can see the bed is about a queen size, the covers are plain, probably white or cream by the looks. Dark curtains on the window, but only one half is pulled allowing the moonlight entry. I can see there is a building across the way with only a few lit windows. “Must be late,” I think but more than that. I don’t know that view. How the hell long was I out of it?

I let my eyes scan the room I’m in, and it feels familiar in an odd sort of way. That door there for example, it leads to the hall and the first on the left is the bathroom, but part of me is sure I’ve never seen it before.

The thirst is back again pushing me forward toward that second door and the taps that I know are beyond it. I have no need to turn the lights on, my feet know the way to go. At the basin I turn the tap on and cup my hands under the flow before leaning down to slurp the water from them, then move them to capture more.

The water is cool and sweet and I can’t remember when it last tasted so good. After a few handfuls to drink I splash the next couple over my face and scrub my hands over it. Standing back up I roll my head on my neck getting the kinks out of it.

When I open my eyes again I see one of those old fashioned bathroom cabinets in front of me. The kind that is a really a small cupboard only deep enough to hold your toiletries and medication, and a mirror fitted into the door. This one is old, you can see the edges of the mirror backing are kind of wrinkled, discoloured and coming away leaving black spots, almost like black rust. Yeah it looks like the kind of place I would rent. Reaching out I pop my index finger through the small handle and open it to look inside and see a bunch of pill bottles. Yeah, that looks like me. I must live here, guess I’m fully functional in my blackouts if I managed to find myself a new apartment and move in while my brain was checked out.

Damn I’m good.

I close the cupboard again and a photo catches my attention. It’s tucked into the edge of the wood around the patchy mirror. I reach out a hand letting my index and middle fingers rest on the image.

It’s a girl, she’s pretty. Dark skin and black curly hair with chocolate brown eyes, yeah just my type. I love when my skin is such a contrast to the girl I’m doing. White on dark, hell yes! You can mark it up and it hardly shows.

Well that clinches it, this is my place, and I’ve found myself a new girl. Grinning now I turn and leave the bathroom and head out to the small kitchen to get myself a beer. Opening the fridge I find it almost empty, a couple of takeout containers that are half full, but no beer. That’s not good. I glance around and spot a small note pad and pull it toward me. I see there is some sort of doodle in the bottom corner but I take no notice of it as I grab the pen beside it and scribble a note to remind myself.

A yawn almost unhinges my jaw and I decide its about time to head back to bed. My eyes are half closed by the time I make it to the bed and fall across it not bothering to get under the covers. A lazy smile forms on my face as I think of the pretty girl in the photo.

“I’ll dream of you tonight baby,” I mutter before I let sleep claim me again.

~#~

Out in the kitchen on note pad with a forget-me-not pictured in the bottom corner is two words written in red.

“Get beer!”