Disease

Oliver’s eyes were glued to the back of SJ’s pants, where her thong was pulled up tightly, just barely showing as she bent over to pick up her dropped purse. She turned around, making sure that Oliver had seen her and smiled stupidly, making her way to the bathroom.

He reached over for his keys just as the bathroom door had closed and quickly got down from the stool at the tall table. He grabbed his cup of coffee and dropped it in the trash can on his way out of the shop.

Surely, he didn’t feel it was right waiting until SJ had gotten up to use the bathroom to leave the coffee shop; but it was definitely not as wrong as drinking coffee with her while the girl he betrayed for SJ was at home, probably coughing up a lung.

His hands gripped the steering wheel as he turned his car on and thought about that tattoos that raced over SJ’s fake tanned skin. He remembered all the crazy things she did, more so, how she did them. By the time he’d actually put his car in reverse, he felt so disgusted with himself, he didn’t even want to think about going home at that moment.

His stomach was extremely uneasy and he had a hard time pushing away thoughts of a naked SJ out of his mind. He arrived outside a local music shop and made his way in as fast as he could. The snow had started to fall yet again, and he was already cold enough from sitting in his car on the way to the music store; being too paranoid SJ would catch him leaving to turn the heater on.

Once he was inside, his thoughts resumed back to SJ; the way she laughed, the way she smiled, the way she talked, the way she kissed, the way she touched, the way she fucked. Oliver quickly stopped thinking about it. He’d gone way too far with it this time. His thoughts were quickly consumed by those of Afton. The girl he loved, the girl he was losing. The girl he’d just lied to only moments before. Tears stung at the back of his eyes as he thought about the rate at how quickly Afton was falling away from him.

He hated seeing her with dark rings encircling her eyes. Her bony frame had begun to protrude from her skin, and it almost made him sick to hold onto her. Not so much a physical sickness; just an emotional sickness. He missed the glow in her cheeks, and the dullness that had taken over her gorgeous blue eyes made him cringe. When she spoke, it was as if her works were being dragged along sandpaper. If she wasn’t coughing, she wasn’t even speaking.

She never walked around in her little Drop Dead underwear anymore, jumping on Oliver and kissing him until he finally gave in and followed her to the bedroom; where she surprised him by just wanting to watch a movie. Afton had managed to lose so much life in the last few weeks; it literally made Oliver sick to his stomach. For two years, it’s always been Afton picking Oli up off the ground and babying him, making sure he knew she loved him, and now he didn’t even know if she was aware he was alive anymore.

Oliver stopped at the end of a CD aisle and grabbed a CD that caught his eye. Without even reading the back of it, or checking the price, he took it up to the counter, a slight grin coming to his face as he pulled some money out of his wallet.



Afton threw back yet another shot down her throat, the vodka searing the insides of her throat, burning all the way down into her stomach. It made the soreness of her throat even more apparent as the tears trickled down her face.

She gave Oliver’s phone yet another glare and dared to pick it up again. But, she knew she didn’t have the guts to actually ring SJ. Most likely, it would end up like it did two years ago. Afton would get to hear about what a piece of shit she was, and how unattractive Oli found her.

“Yeh’re obviously not doin’ it fer Oliver. ‘Cause ‘m the one ‘es been fuckin’.”

The words from merely two years previous stabbed at her like a jagged knife, pulling her skin apart, and letting her emotions pour from herself. She remembered everything at that moment, she remembered how she forgave Oliver for cheating on her, for betraying her, for hurting her so bad, and she now started to think how she could have been so fucking stupid to forgive him in the first place.

Another sob caught in her throat, and she downed it with another gulp of Vodka, too bothered to actually pour it into a shot glass this time. She was just pulling the bottle away from her lips when Oliver walked through the door, a plastic bag gripped tightly in his left hand. He looked at Afton and sighed loudly, scared by her current state.

“Af, what’re yeh doin’?” He asked, walking over to the table slowly and taking the glass bottle away from her. He replaced the lid and put it back in the cabinet, high enough to where she could no longer reach it.

“I tried callin’ yeh.” She replied quietly.

Oliver reached towards his pockets, searching for his phone, but was only met with a couple pieces of lint and the change from the coffee shop and the music store. He looked up at Afton questioningly.

“’Ere,” She said, picking up his phone and roughly tossing it towards him, “Yeh’ve got a text.”

He set down the bag from the music store and clicked a couple of buttons on his phone, and his eyes remained glued to the screen as he realized not only the familiar number the text was from, but the vulgarity of the words.

Quickly, anger took him over. He was angry with SJ for thinking it was okay she could text him. He was angry with Afton for looking through his phone. But, for the most part, he was angry with himself for being so disappointing. So, he proceeded to do what most people do; he took his anger out on someone who didn’t deserve it.

“Why’re yeh goin’ through meh shit?” he yelled.

Afton quickly lost her cockiness and leaned against the table, almost cowering in Oliver’s presence, “Well, I thought yeh might’ve been lookin’ fer it. Er maybe it was Matt. All I did was open a damn text Olleh. I wasn’t goin’ through it.” She said quietly, then her anger returned, and she was immediately upset with Oliver for making such a twat out of her, “Why the fuck are yeh talkin’ teh that skeeze anyways?! Are yeh upset yeh ain’t gettin’ any again?”

“I wasn’t! Afton, babe-”

“Piss off Olleh!” She said, doing her best to stand on her own feet, using the back of her chair as support, “I ‘ate yeh!’ She started to cry, “’M sorry ‘m not who yeh want alrigh’?”

“That’s not it, Af.”

“Then what!” She cried, turning around, tears completely visible now, “What is it Olleh?”

“I swear nothing’ ‘appened. It was only coffeh.”

“What? Yeh couldn’t take meh out teh coffeh? Yeh ‘ad teh ask that filthy slut? ‘M I too embarrassing fer yeh teh be around?” She was hysterical now, throwing herself at Oliver drunkenly, spitting in his face with every word she spoke. Afton reached down and pulled the collar of Oliver’s shirt she was wearing down, revealing a good amount of her boobs, “Do meh tits look better ‘angin’ out? Huh? Do yeh like ‘em now? Are they alrigh’ fer yeh Olleh?”

“Afton!” Oliver yelled slightly as she started to walk off, clad in only Oliver’s t shirt and (ironically enough) a pair of Drop Dead underwear, her long hair in a mess across her back. And just for a moment, everything stopped. Everything was okay. They weren’t fighting and Afton looked like she used to.

“Leave meh alone Olleh!” She yelled back, “I fuckin’ ‘ate yeh!”

“Don’t say that!” He cried, the words stinging him harshly.

Oliver heard her stop at their bedroom door. She rested her hand on the knob and said just quiet enough for him to hear, “Don’ worry, yeh won’t ‘ave teh wait too much longer teh be with SJ. I’ll be gone before yeh know it.”

The words smacked Oliver across the face, leaving a burning sensation. His whole body grew limp as he dropped to the floor, tears escaping from his eyes.

Is that what Afton really thinks about meh? He thought, That I just want ‘er dead?

Oliver slunk back, leaning against the cabinets, now finally realizing how stupid of an idea it was to have gone to the coffee shop. It just wasn’t right and he knew that. He’d never felt so horrible in his entire life. He looked down at the phone, still gripped tightly in his hand and clicked it back on, reading the text from SJ.

Number: 0114-751-6920 (Unknown)

Text: U left b4 we could go back 2 my place. I kno u want me Oli. 4get Afton. She’s sick neway

He chucked the phone against the kitchen floor, watching as the back popped off and the battery lay on the linoleum. He ran his hands through his hair and closed his eyes slightly. The heater in the flat kicked on, rustling the plastic bag he had forgotten was rested on the kitchen table.



Afton was sitting in the center of her’s and Oli’s king size bed, with her lap top open. A blank word document was open and she was trying her best to turn her tears into something worthwhile.

She just didn’t understand why Oliver felt it was okay to go and talk to SJ. Did he not understand how horrid that made her feel? He cheated on her with SJ for fuck’s sake, and she’s supposed to be okay with them talking?

Afton’s hands rested against the keys once more and began typing. She was on the fifth line of her poem when a loud crinkling sound startled her.

Her heart began beating quickly as she removed her hands from the keys. She checked the speaker volume on her lap top, realizing that wasn’t it. Her eyes darted towards the window, the bathroom, and finally underneath the bedroom door where Oliver’s long, skinny fingers were shoving a plastic bag under the door, trying his hardest not to get his hand stuck.

She gingerly walked over to the door and picked up the bag, being careful not to come into contact with Oliver’s hands until she was positive nothing between him and SJ had occurred. She started to pull the plastic away from the bag, seeing a track list with the song, “Breathe Again” listed on the back of it.

Immediately, she fell in love with Oliver all over again, mentally hitting herself for being so completely daft. That’s exactly what he wanted.

“If yeh let meh in, I’ll explain.”

“What if I don’t let yeh in?”

“I’ll let mehself in.”