Sandra was counting cracks in the sidewalk as she shuffled morosely along the street. The orange sodium light spilling from the streetlamp glanced off the cheap watch on her wrist, and she realized that it was two in the morning.
It was two in the morning and Sandra was completely alone in the back alleys of her city.
Maybe Sandra should have gone back to the hellhole that was her apartment, but something kept her moving forward, something pushed her on.
The wind blew coldly around her and even through Sandra, it seemed, so thin was the material of her jacket. It sent icy fingers down the nape of her neck, and she hurriedly pulled the collar up to her ears. The night air smelled faintly unpleasant, reminding her of the dumpsters she was walking by, and of the more distasteful things lurking behind them.
She shivered. She was scared.
But she kept on walking, knowing that she was bound to find her. Sooner or later.
It was later. It was around four in the morning when she spotted the black bomber jacket in a corner alley.
She walked over to Lucy, rubbing her hands together for heat. “Fucker.” she whispered, the most cordial greeting she could think of at four in the morning.
She looked at Lucy from behind a cloud of cigarette smoke. “Nice to see you too.” She smiled, slowly, though she couldn’t see it in the shadows. “What are you doing up at this hour?”
Sandra looked away, as if ashamed to admit that she had been looking for her. “I – couldn’t sleep.” She shrugged, as if her relentless insomnia was nothing more than a bug bite. The streetlamps in this part of the city were fading, most of them broken and busted. The orange-yellow light pooled on her cheekbones, lips and chin, making her look starkly beautiful in the faulty light.
“You couldn’t sleep.” Lucy repeated, flicking open the pack of Silk Cut and pulling out a cork filtered cylinder. She nodded earnestly, her eyes on the cigarette.
“So, you went looking for me?” Lucy casually tossed the cigarette to her, and Sandra caught it awkwardly, with both hands.
“What makes you think that?” she proudly lifted her chin, as if to say “I need no one”. Not even you. Lucy laughed, and the dragon tendrils of blue smoke curled around her rosy cheeked face. “Well. You found me.”
Sandra sniffed, and glanced at the cigarette she now held in her cold hands. “You know I don’t smoke.” Her reply was swift and biting, almost childish. “Liar.” Lucy sniffed again. “Well, it’s bad for me. You’re tempting me again.”
Lucy smiled, and pulled out a silver lighter. One cavalier thumb flick and it lit up the entire alley with ice-blue flame.
“I know. Tempting you seems to be my calling in life.”
Sandra pushed the lighter away as she put the cigarette between her lips. She drew closer to Lucy, and closer and closer. Closer.
Until Sandra closed her eyes as Lucy lit her cigarette for her.
Sandra opened her eyes, and removed the cigarette from her mouth, exhaling a cloud of smoke. Sandra took several quick drags, sucking the smoke deep into her chest as Lucy watched from the shadows.
“I’m enjoying it.” She tossed the half-finished cigarette into a dumpster and fixed Lucy with a cool black gaze. She breathed the poison into her lungs, savouring the little heat that the cigarette could offer her.
Lucy looked up, dropped the lighter back into the pocket of her bomber jacket. “You look cold.” She blinked. “Do I?” She slipped her arms out of the bomber jacket, her misery suddenly forgotten. “Yes. You’re freezing, goddamnit.”
Sandra sniffed. Now that she mentioned it. “I can’t feel my hands.”
“Oh god. You shouldn’t even be here.” Lucy took off her jacket, and wrapped it around her friend.
“Thanks.” she murmured slowly. The sleeves, which were too long for her, draped over her hands, infusing her with warmth. She could smell the coat, a mixture of strong cigarette smoke, a whiff of cinnamon breath mints, sweat, sunshine and a bit of her.
Sandra sighed, glanced at her watch again. “I’d better be heading back—” she started to take the bomber jacket off. “It’s getting late.”
Lucy straightened up, a swift movement. “No, I’ll walk you back. You wouldn’t get to your apartment in one piece without me.” She grinned.
Sandra was grateful for the company. “Thanks.”
“Fancy another?” Lucy asked, taking back her bomber jacket, and offering Sandra a cigarette. Sandra nodded, and accepted the unlit cylinder from the pack of Silk Cuts. Placing the filter between her lips, she watched as Lucy lit her up in a swift movement. Smoke flooded her mouth, and Sandra took a delicate puff, trying her best not to cough. Lucy smirked, and lit up her own, taking a deep drag, as the end glowed red. Within moments, Lucy’s ball of smoke was sucked deep into her chest, and she blew a perfect cone upwards to the night sky, keeping her friend captivated by the sight.
“Let’s go.” Lucy insisted, as smoke wafted all around them. They walked in silence, smoking their cigarettes with differing levels of comfort; Lucy taking luxurious drags whilst Sandra fought the urge to cough at the smoke, as nicotine surged through her cold body.
When they reached the cheerless block of windows that was her apartment building, the sun was just beginning to rise. They stood in its glow for a moment, breathless, wondering what to say. The world was still asleep as she slipped out of the coat and handed it back to her.
“Will I see you again?” Sandra asked, watching her slender arm slip into the sleeve. Lucy shrugged, smiled. “Sure. Somewhere around. Just follow the trail of cigarette butts.” And as if to prove her point, she finished the cigarette she had been smoking and scuffed it out on the pavement.