All you have to do is shout it out.

It was Tuesday. She had the day off. What did one do on their day off? She contemplated just lounging around and doing absolutely nothing. But that wasn’t her. Not her normal self. She was striding down streets, smoking cigarettes that had accompanied her sometime in the mix of things. The tip of her index finger sparked; lighting and letting the stick that hung lazily out her mouth erupt in smoke. She hadn’t slept sine her nightmare had ended, and spent the rest of the night rolling and waking from short dreams that did nothing for her. Her head was knelt down to conceal the bruises underneath her eyes.

It was then that someone bumped into her shoulder. Her head jolted up, the cigarette falling from her lips. The pair of eyes she met; were a pair she hadn’t seen in five long years. The eyes were green blue; like the ocean, accompanied by black hair. Roxanne stared at her, her mouth agape for several moments. She finally tore her eyes away and continued on walking.

“Wait! Don’t I know you?” she called after.

Roxanne had another cigarette attached to her lips within those brief seconds. “I don’t know…you tell me.” her left hand was raised as if she would be shooting an invisible gun and ignited the cigarette. She turned back and sauntered off, the smoke blowing from behind her lips trailing behind her.

Her walking continued until she stood outside her old school. Hands in the folds of her pockets, she stared up at it. The school she hadn’t walked in what felt like forever. The tacky and ugly uniforms they were forced to wear. The lack of testosterone they had to suffer through. Her eyebrows knitted with a shake of her head. The cigarette danced on her lips and she took a drag off it.

“Roxanne?”

Her head swiveled around to find her father staring at her. “Yeah?”

“What are you doing down here?”

She stubbed her cigarette underneath her foot, and looked up at him. “I came for a walk. Is there anything wrong with that?” she had moved to the outskirts of Maine, away from where she had grown up.

“No, it’s just…you haven’t answered my calls for a while.”

“Been busy. Owning a club is hard.”

“So hard that you can’t even call your old man?”

“Yeah dad. I mean…I’ve just been a little dazed lately.”

“Roxanne are you okay, I mean after…”

“I’m fine.” She cut him off before he could stuff out the words they both knew he was going to say. After the accident? After you had to kill possibly the first and only guy who would be remotely attracted to you? After he lied to you? “Really dad. You don’t have to worry about me.” He nodded, his head dipping low and her heart welling instantly. “I’m an adult now dad. I need space.”

“I know baby…it’s just, I don’t know your old man doesn’t want to let go of his daughter.” He smiled softly. “Fiona’s moved in, so I guess I still have someone to talk to.”

“That’s good.” Fiona. The woman she had walked in on her father groping. “I’m glad you’re happy dad.”

“Yeah, in fact I’m on my way to meet her for dinner. You can join us if you want.”

Roxanne shook her head. “No dad, I don’t want to intrude. It’s your romantic evening not mine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” a short nod. “Go on.”

He brushed his lips over her forehead and walked off. Roxanne swiveled to look at the building once again, another cigarette wand finding its way to her lips; already lit. She kept nodding slowly, as if an invisible beat kept playing in her head. With one final nod, she turned and strode off in the direction of a particular old warehouse.