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A Story by Luis Alonso Zelaya

 
     Houston never ever got this cold. It was twelve thirty-three in the morning and Marcus found himself exactly where he hoped he wouldn't, at the bottom of the bottle drinking his problems away. This night wasn't special. They never were. It was cold enough to turn on the heater. Marcus hated the heater. Every time he turned it on his allergies got the best of him. He hated how it smelled and he hated when it got too hot. When he and Zoe were together the heater was one of the things they could never agree on. No matter how cold it got, Marcus never turned on the heat. When he and Zoe spent the night together he always lost the argument. It didn't have to be freezing outside, she wanted the heat on. That was one of the things he didn't miss about her. However, on this night, the coldest night of winter, he wanted her to rub it in his face, and see her expression when he turned on the heater. Marcus felt a little hungry, he thought about driving to the burger place at the corner of Westheimer and Walnut Bend for a chicken sandwich and a cup of chili, but he wanted to lose a few pounds and eating this late wouldn't help any. He poured himself a drink and went out to the balcony to smoke a cigarette. The trees were quiet. It was windy and wet. He stood by the rail; smoking and drinking asking himself were his life was going. If he was satisfied with how everything turned out. He knew that losing Zoe was a mistake. He regretted losing her friendship. He started remembering how happy she'd always made him. And now she was gone. He stood there for a few seconds, took a sip from his drink and decided to think about something other than Zoe. She was the reason of many sleepless nights, and tonight, he just wanted to drink and forget he was hungry.

     A car pulled up at three minutes past one. There was a loud sound and some commotion outside, he didn't pay much attention to it. The yelling got a little louder and he could hear an alarm sound clearly. Marcus was still hungry. He thought he would have forgotten after a few drinks, but he didn't. He had the night planned out, that's the reason he programmed the wake-up call on his cell phone while he was at work. He knew the routine; he would pass out, wake up the next day, go to work, then the liquor store, and start over where he'd left off the night before. He was used to this. He didn't like it, but he didn't hate it either. He poured another drink and finally broke down and started making a sandwich. The refrigerator was practically empty. There were a few beers, mustard, ketchup, three slices of American cheese. The expiration date on the mayo said it expired in May of the previous year, it was mid January. He didn't care. He grabbed the bread and the cheese and a dirty plate from the sink. Whilst at eating the sandwich, the apartment started to smell different. It wasn't unusual since the couple downstairs was always cooking at late hours of the night. The couple had moved in a few months earlier. In a show of good faith they had invited Marcus over for dinner a few times, but he always declined. He didn't mind them; he just wasn't into people, especially couples, especially happy couples. All of his neighbors knew each other; they talked and gave each others mail if the mailman didn't put it in the right box, that kind of thing. Marcus wasn't interested in any of that. They would come over, knock on his door and ask for sugar and milk and all sorts of things. After the first time he started ignoring them or telling them he was out of whatever it was they needed. Marcus greeted whoever greeted him, which was all the communication he thought was necessary.

     He heard a loud bang on his door; he didn't feel like dealing with his neighbors and ignored it. He finished the sandwich, poured another drink and sat on the couch. He thought about Zoe and what she'd be doing this late in the evening. If they were still together, she'd tell him not to drink so much and kiss him on the forehead. Zoe knew how to keep his drinking in check. She knew how to keep his emotions in check. Marcus was falling apart without her. Maybe he should've told her he loved her sooner rather than waiting for the last minute. There ware a lot of thing he should've done sooner. He knew this. He put a record on, lay on the couch and closed his eyes. Thinking about her would do him no good.

     He sat around for a while longer when he noticed the smell got a lot stronger. he checked the thermostat and saw the temperature in the room rose to eighty-seven degrees. The smell was unbearable. The apartment looked foggy and his eyes started burning. He felt he was about to pass out and walked out to the balcony. All of his neighbors were standing outside in their robes and sandals. He could see the lights flashing from the fire trucks against the windows from all the other apartments. The firemen were running left and right. He sat on a chair and lit up a cigarette. Marcus remained calmed although it was obvious something had happened. One of his neighbors called out to him. He asked him what went on. The neighbor explained about a fire at the couple's apartment, that firemen had contained the fire and everyone was alright. Marcus wondered why no one had tried to inform him of the fire. He put out his cigarette and went back inside. He opened all the windows from his apartment finished his drink and went to sleep.

Reviews

[Holly Golightly]

I loved this story very much. I found this story had depth and a lot of emotion. It really made me think.

Thank you for sharing it! :)

[Jacquelene Vanessa More..]

okay i can relate to this and you portray the life of an alcoholic perfectly. exact. i don't think you should change anything. the viscious cycle of addiction. i took the heater as lost love the warmth he had. he didn't have to fill his life with food and alcohol to feel full . he had zoe for that. i could go on for days but i'm going to make myself shut up it's late here. good job :) your very talented.