Too Broke For Afterlife

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"You have a very bad influence on me, dude."?? Parker points the whiskey glass at me.

"How is that? I'm a great influence. Beautiful, intelligent, well-mannered..." I chuckle at my own joke. A few weeks ago I would have been dead serious about that but these days my confidence is nowhere to be found.

I look at the glass in my hands and try to shake off the thoughts. Depressing talk is not why we are here.

After the fight with Judy I had decided to take Parker out and find the nearest bar so I could get drunk.??

I must say, my understanding of what a bar looks like seems to be a little different from Peruvian standards but I decided to swallow my entitlement with the help of vodka.

"I had sworn myself to never drink alcohol again."

He empties his glass.??

"But I kind of missed it."

"Another round? I have some cash left." I look through the coins in my wallet.

"Where did you even get that from?" He looks over curiously.

"The cash register at the gas station. The worst place to hide money."

"We'll get in trouble for stealing it."

I raise my eyebrows. "Since when do you care?"

"You're right, f*ck them," he responds with a grin.

I signal the bartender to refill our glasses and he does so gladly. Of course not without smiling at me. I smile back.

Damn, I really needed this, after the awful beer and drama with Judy. Just me and my new friend getting drunk together.??

I look around the bar, my eyes stop at a tall, tanned woman. She is looking over to us, biting her lip.

I nudge Parker.

"That girl is staring at you."

"Oh?"

He turns around to her and instead of throwing subtle glances, he waves.

The girl smiles and walks over.

"Wow, you're lucky," is all I can whisper before she is already standing next to him.

"Hola, guapo." She gives Parker her best toothpaste smile, showing off the cute dimples.??

"Hola, sorry, I don't speak Spanish but I saw you looking over. Would you like something to drink?"

He pats the bar stool next to him and the woman sits down elegantly.??

"I'm Alessandra, what's your name?"

"Parker."

"Parker? That sounds hot."

I watch as they start flirting, soon she has her arm around his waist.

Surprisingly, she isn't acknowledging me at all. When you flirt with a guy at a bar who came with another woman, wouldn't you ask who she is? Girlfriend? Mom? Sister???

But I'm nonexistent.

At least to her, the bartender keeps looking over to me.

Why do I always have to attract the wrong kind of people? Where is my Alessandra?

I notice how my bladder has reached its limit and decide to find the toilet but as soon as I get up, I lose control over my legs.

Suddenly, I feel dizzy and have to hold onto the bar.

Luckily, Parker notices and grabs my arm.

"That drunk already? You only had two vodka."

I try to solidify my wobbly legs.

"No it's the Valium. You're not supposed to mix it with alcohol."??

Parker looks at me puzzled. "Then why did you do that?"

"I wasn't thinking. Let's go back, okay?" My voice has gone quiet out of embarrassment.

I try to stand up and let go of the bar but immediately regret it. My legs give in and I'm now completely lying in Parker's arms.??

This evening just turned into a nightmare.

"Go back? We walked her for half an hour! I can't carry you."

"She could sleep at my place. I live right on the other side of the road." Alessandra smiles sweetly.

But I shake my head. "No, I don't want to cause too much trouble. I can walk."

Parker grunts.

"You can't. Our only other option is that I go get Walter and he picks you up with the car. Would be the perfect opportunity for you to tell him about the money you stole."

I pout. "You're mean. I don't know her. What if she kills me?"

"You're being ridiculous. Alessandra is a sweetheart. Right?"

The girl nods.??

Of course she nods. What else is she supposed to do? Say no, I'm a serial killer?

I can already see the headline.??

'American woman found dead in Peruvian jungle.' Isn't racism a nice thing?

I look at Parker pleadingly. But he doesn't give in.

"Ugh, fine. But I hate you."

He pats my back. "There, there. You'll get over it."

Is that guy making fun of me? I huff.

But before I can say anything else, Alessandra has already put her arm around my waist.

"Come on, let's get you to bed."

Lord, please let me survive this.

<<<

Alessandra's apartment is tiny and smells of lavender.

The scent is welcoming and only now I notice how tired I really am.??

I'm ready to sleep for 12 hours straight.

When was the last time I have had a decent sleep? The mattress in the gas station is less than comfortable, the place is full of spiders and Parker is quite fond of snoring.

And before Peru the whole break-up thing happened. My hallucination of Jasper and...

I try to push the memory out of my head as I fall down onto the couch I will be sleeping on tonight.

It's just a couch but damn, it's comfortable.??

So incredibly comfortable, I could just...

I know I fell asleep once I'm shaken awake by a rustling sound.

Opening my eyes, I try to spot the disruption and my heart almost stops when I see the shadow of a person, going through my handbag.

Oh my god.

Is this real or am I dreaming?

I try to speak or get up but my body is way too heavy. I can't move. F*ck, that's my fault.??

After a minute or so, the shadow disappears again and before I can stop myself, my eyes fall shut.