Vice

Another rainy day in Seattle. Nothing new here, it always rained in Seattle. I had been living here for two months now, working in the Seattle Crime Lab as the medical examiner.  I loved my job, the only people I had to really work with were already dead, so they couldn't talk back. I worked with the police too of course, but I only had to see them when I came up with new evidence. So, I was ok with that little bit of human interaction. I didn't like people, and they didn't like me. Today was my birthday, unfortunately. I decided that I would take the day off from work and celebrate by myself. 

As a gift to myself, I slept in until 10am. I finally rolled out of bed and slunk into my bathroom of my apartment. I took a shower and brushed my teeth and my hair. I then walked into the dining room, where sweet salvation waited for me on the table. I threw a few cubes of ice into a bourbon glass and then poured some of my most expensive bourbon. I sat down at my dining room table then grabbed my phone and dialed Eric's number. Eric was one of the officers that I worked with and he was off today, too. I had been seeing him off and on for the past month.

"Hello beautiful." He said when he answered the phone.

"Oh spare me." I said dully. 

"Alright fine, what's up?"

"Well, I thought maybe we could hang out later. It's my birthday, and I thought I might as well celebrate somehow."

"Right, so you want me to come over and fuck you and then you get to throw me out afterwards. Nothing ever changes with you, Victoria."

"Fine then don't come over. I really could care less, Eric."

"Yeah, right. I know you don't care, and that's your problem."

"You, know what? I didn't call you so we could argue, so just forget about it. Bye." I said, hanging up the phone. Fuck em, who needs a man? I have alcohol, besides, I could always find another man if I wanted to. This city had begun to bore me, and I felt like I needed to find someplace else soon. I just didn't know where I would go yet. I decided to grab my laptop and begin searching for M.E. jobs in the U.S. and that would help me to find another place to go before too long.

"Let's see here." I mumbled to myself as I searched for jobs. "Hmm...California? Nope. Alabama? Nope. Ugh. Kansas? No. Maine? Possibly." I added Maine to my favorites and kept searching. "South Carolina? Maybe. Massachusetts? Maybe. Virginia? Possibly." I had four places added to my favorites list and decided that I would look at them later. I poured another drink before getting up and going into my walk in closet so I could decide what I would wear out tonight. I wanted to go shopping then maybe catch a movie and grab dinner and come back home and drink more. I picked out a black dress and black knee high boots and threw on my grey sweater.

I then done my hair and make up and left my apartment. I lived in downtown Seattle, so I didn't drive. I hailed for a taxi and got in. "Mall please." I said simply while I looked down at my phone to look at a pair of boots I was ordering offline. I shopped all the time and I drank all the time. I smoked cigarettes and drank coffee and I had sex with different men in the various places I lived. I had many vices, but that's who I was and it made me happy in some ways. 

"We're here, lady." The taxi driver said and I handed him the money for the ride and got out.

I walked into the large mall that was the size of a small city. I went to a few different stores and I bought five new pairs of boots and heels. I then bought some new Puma's and a pair of Nike. I then went to the leather store and bought two new leather jackets and a pair of leather pants. After that, I went to the cosmetics store and bought a whole new slew of makeup. A girl could never have too much makeup. Finally, I went to the jewelry store and bought some new belly-button rings, a new tongue ring, and a few pairs of ear rings. I had so many bags now that the mall had one of their staff help me carry my stuff. My last stop on the way out of the mall was the bookstore. I needed some new reading material since it was just me, my books were my escape. I got some new romance novels and different books on the most haunted places in the states. I loved to go to haunted places in my free time. I led a very lonely life, but I preferred it that way. Nobody to hurt me or try to dictate my life. When I was done, I loaded down the taxi with all of my bags. "Starbucks next please." I said. The driver took me to Starbucks where I got a Salted Caramel Mocha. Then I had him take me back to my apartment so I could put away all of my new stuff before I went out to dinner. I entered the apartment and set my bags down. I then walked into the dining room and poured another drink to help me get through the rest of the day. After throwing that back, I went back downstairs and back into the taxi. "Metropolitan Grill." I said and the driver drove off.

 We pulled up and I handed the man his money and got out. I went inside and was given a sear almost immediately since the owner knew who I was. I sat there by myself and ordered the New York Peppercorn Steak with a baked potato and a whiskey sour. I ate in silence as people stared at me like it was just insane to see a woman in this place by herself. They acted as if they felt sorry for me. When I was finished, I paid the bill of $120 and left a $20 dollar tip and left. I walked down the street to the bakery and bought myself a gigantic chocolate cupcake with caramel icing and a small candle. I then hailed a taxi and went back to my apartment. I went into the kitchen and set the cupcake down  and put the candle in it and lit the candle.

"Happy birthday to me." I mumbled and blew out the candle. I ate part of the cupcake and put the rest in the fridge. I then sat down at the dining room table and poured more bourbon and looked at my options again. 

"Hmm...the possibilities. What to do, what to do.....Virginia sounds promising. Roanoke, Virginia it is." I clicked on the application for M.E. in Roanoke and filled it out. I then looked for a place to live. I decided this time, I would rent a house instead of an apartment. I was accumulating too much for a small apartment. I decided on a small cottage like house in the country.

I filled out an application to rent the home and then I poured one more drink before I headed to bed. I hoped that I would hear something soon, so I could get the hell away from this godforsaken place. I quickly downed the drink and then grabbed a glass of water and headed to bed. I fell asleep the moment my head hit the pillow....