Flashes of Emotion

It was my first assignment, it should have been simple but it wasn’t. Something deep down inside me wouldn’t allow him to go without help. He was so drunk I worried for his safety, he wanted to drive away but I didn’t blame him the camera flashes were so blinding in the dark night.

For his safety as well as others’ safety I wasn’t going to let him drive. The groups of cameramen were already having a frenzy and I had stopped my own camera from making the light. My camera hung from my neck and I marched over towards him taking his keys away.

He towered over me and his eyes glowered down into my core. His hands were quick to grab the keys back but he lacked the depth perception to get them in time.

“Give me my keys bitch!”
“No, come on you need a taxi or someone to pick you up,” I reply trying to remain calm.
“Fuck you, I can drive,” he snaps angrily trying to take the keys from my hands again.

I dodged his attempts. I didn’t know where to send him if I put him in a taxi.

“You can’t drive just sit down and calm the fuck down.”
“I’m gonna calls the cops on yewww.”

He took out his cell phone and I snatched that from his hands as well. His response was to let out a growl and then lunge at me. Of course I dodged him but he fell onto the ground.

I hurried to press recent calls on his phone and dialed the one labeled as Brian. The man flung several obscenities towards me most of which were rather hurtful and some got really personal even if he didn’t know me.

“You ugly fuckin’ bitch, I hope you rot in hell! Fuckin cunt go get your fat ass on a treadmill!”

The phone rang twice before the person picked up.

“Matt? Dude where are you?!” the man’s voice questions in a worried state.
“Mr. Sanders is trying to drive home while drunk I took his keys, I suggest you come here and pick his ass up before he gets arrested.”
“Shit uh can you please make sure he stays there I’ll be there in five minutes.”
“Yeah whatever that’s fine,” I answer.

The paparazzi were having a fucking frenzy; none of them would have done what I had done. Of course my luck with the drunkard had run out and he went after me again just after I told Brian where to pick up his friend.

My back was pressed up against the brick wall of the building and the man’s hands pinned my shoulders roughly against the rough surface. The emotion in his eyes seemed to teeter on the edge of sadness and anger. It was an emotion I had seen in the eyes of someone who no longer cared.
“Just let me drive please,” he says somewhat desperately and suddenly I knew what he wanted to do, what he hoped what would happen. It shook me into the core of my soul and I wanted to cry for him but I could not allow such emotion to be shown.

“No, sit down, Brian is coming to get you,” I respond somewhat shakily as I shoved him away.
“Who the fuck do you think you are?!”

I looked at all those around me, the three photographers snapping away at the scene. They wouldn’t let up and I grew angry, how can they be so heartless?

“What’s the matter? Have too much to drink Matt?” one eggs on.
“Things with the wife not going too well?”

They kept going and I saw him get red with anger ready to hit one of them and honestly they deserved to be hit.

“Have some fucking integrity and back the fuck off,” I snap at the middle aged men as I stepped in between them and Matt.

“We got a living to make kid, deal with it,” the other replies shooting me a dirty look.
“So do I but I have enough of a conscious not to egg people on,” I sneer as stood in their way as they tried to get in the man’s face.

“Fuck Matt, come on let’s get you out of here,” a voice says behind me. I turned to see who I assumed was Brian.
“Get my keys from that stupid cunt faced bitch ‘ver there.”
“Dude Matt don’t call her that.”

“I don’t fuckin’ care, fuck her she’s one of them, besides she’s ugly as fuck,” he sneers.
“Take the fucking keys and phone, I’m not here to play babysitter to some asshole who can’t hold his liquor,” I snarl shoving the items to Brian and then turned to leave before I punched the asshole.

I was pissed off and hated how much of a jerk that man was being considering I was trying to help him. Then I stopped mid step turning around with my camera in my left hand with my right hand on the lens to focus.

“Smile pretty douche bag,” I say simply and the drunk looked up with a distinct angry scowl. With the simple press of the button the shutter clicked and the flash went off taking the picture of the rock star M. Shadows from Avenged Sevenfold.

I went home to the shitty apartment I could hardly afford in the even crappier run down Isuzu Trooper. Life in California was not turning out to be the life I thought it’d be. My savings were dried up and I was much too proud to admit defeat to my parents. I had to make this job work but I don’t even know if I could deal with this sort of incident every time I went out on an assignment.

My camera had taken only a handful of images tonight, and looking back at them I felt compelled to delete them for every picture showed the hopelessness in his eyes. It was too haunting and personal. Only one seemed to work and it was the last photo.

He just looked drunk and angry in it but still it didn’t feel right.

What was I going to do? I needed to pay my rent, I was already late…..