Ritzi watched as Hope threw her life away chasing a stronger
high every day. She started with her
mother’s oxy’s. By the time she entered
college oxy wouldn’t cut it. She found a
bartender that introduced her to ecstasy.
Soon she discovered cocaine.
There were days she had to both rolled and snorted just to get through
the day.
It was during this phase that she met Zach. He came into the tavern she worked at one
evening and until now, was a constant figure in your life. His smooth talk, dark olive skin, and
mysterious manner captured her attention immediately. Things took off quickly. Too quickly, she should have known. Beautiful men had always been her weakness.
Ritzi, in her infinite wisdom, was not impressed. It seems she had always known who was good to
have around. Like Keith.
Keith had been an intelligent, driven man who wanted to give
her the world. Hope couldn’t accept the
fact that she deserved a man who loved her unconditionally and asked only for
her love in return.
Shaking herself from her memories, she glanced around her
hotel room. This room had become a
makeshift home. Her favorite shoes lay
beside the particleboard dresser.
Ritzi’s toys were neatly lined up in the light streaming through the
windows. Her black bath towel was thrown
haphazardly over the bathroom door.
As homey as the little 14 by 14 room was becoming, she had
to get out.
The lace shirt she had found after Zach bailed was still on
the chair where she left it, and some of his hygiene products were still next
to the sink. All brought back the biting
pain she had felt when she woke to find him gone. The thought of karma coming back to bite him
in the ass was the only thing that got her through the day at times.
She still remembered his smell: old spice, rosemary, mint,
and something backwoodsy—she could never put her finger on that one. It still lingered on the sheets they had
shared, with a hint of the vanilla perfume and body wash that had become her
staples.
