Something's Got A Hold On Me
an original story, by valerie anne

the sun broke through the heavy threatening clouds, casting light on her delicate face. she inhaled deeply, as if it was the last breath she was ever going to take. a strong wind blew, carrying her neighbour's cigar smoke towards her. the thickness of the smoke caught her off guard; she coughed, semi-choking on yellow-tinged phlegm. she spat it out into her napkin.

a tall glass of lemonade appeared before her. along with it was Charming. 'drink? lemonade.'
'thanks Charming.' she sips the lemonade slowly. the lemonade is more sweet than sour.
'it's better for your throat,' he says, knowing her statement before she says a word. 'and you know you should see a doctor about that cough. it sounds a lot worse than yesterday.'
'that's because i didn't get enough rest. and i know just the person to blame.' she grins. Charming leans in, and plants a light one on her lips.
'i shall proudly take the brunt of whatever it is you wish to say. you are my - ' he is cut off; his cell phone rings. he looks at the number, and back at the girl he slept with the night before. he smiles politely. 'it's business. sorry. be right back.' he walks cooly back into the house, out of her hearing range.
there were plenty of reasons why she found Charming oddly attractive. Charming, though his name preceeded him, wasn't good looking like the other men she met, neither was he slick which she found a good thing. he bumbled about, if you could say it so. he didn't walk tall, but he didn't walk short either. he laughed quietly, and joked loudly. he presented himself with a cool confidence; perhaps ruffled underneath it all, and yet it seemed like little could bother him. his indifference to her looks pleased her. she found him oddly attractive.
Charming returned, taking his seat next to her. he left and returned quickly, with barely enough time for the seat to cool.
'is everything alright?' she asked. he takes her hand in his, playful.
'it's nothing.' he mumbles. 'just some work stuff.' Charming looks at his wrist watch for a moment.

she knows, he is going back to his other lover, his wife. she says nothing. they'd been seeing each other for a month now, and sleeping with each other on the occasion. 'Charming is out of town,' she'll tell her unknowing girlfriends, knowing otherwise. it was the way it was, and she wasn't one to complain; she had nothing on him, and she had nothing to offer him other than her time. love on the other hand, took time. she wasn't going anywhere soon, so she figured she'll let this play out. he was Charming.

she looked back into the sky, this time the sun hidden away behind the cold cumulus clouds. 'do you think it's going to rain?'
'yes.' he reaches for the blanket next to him, opens it and places it over her lap. 'so you best stay bundled up now.' he leans back into his seat, and looks at his watch again.
'you have to go?'
'yes. something's come up, a business meeting, last minute. i'm sorry. i'll see you next week then?' he was such a terrible liar, which made her even more attracted to him. like an open book, she could read him and tell if he was lying to her. it was the perfect relationship in her eyes.
'next week.'
'next week.' Charming gets up to leave. he stops at the patio door, and turns to face his mistress. 'why do you stay with me?'
without hesitation, she replies. 'at the end of the day, you've got me smiling. and it's the best gift whether you mean to give it or not.'

- end -

once again, i realise that there is something wrong with us. we are forgiving, and full of hatred. we are loving, and carry our burdens. we are filled with thoughts, good and bad. the only thing that should matter is how to we act upon these thoughts.

something is wrong with us. maybe we need rewiring.

valerie anne
in my 20s and wonderful.
dressed to dress you.

QUOTE VAL

. i would do you, but i can't. it's just the wrong season right now.

KEEPING COUNT

I've been in canada for days.

THE BOOK IN MY BAG

. in need of a recommendation



. tattoo
. rolex
. prada bag
. hermes birkin/kelly
. hermes scarf
. prada penguin coin purse
. suped up VW jetta mk3 '97
. 911 Turbo
. WRX
. smoked e-codes/fogs
. porsche deep dish rims
. my driver's license
. a shaven head for my 18th


. be a somebody
. make {gravi.tee}
. snowboard
. own my first car
. travel: NYC, all over europe, japan, mexico, chile, argentina, spain, greece, laos, vietnam, bali, dubai, amsterdam
. publish a book entitled "you better quote val, or else" - recommended by derek goh
. fashion school
. travel: roadtrip canada
. travel: roadtrip USA
. move out
. own a house
. ride the dragon in tokyo
. go fish/camping for a weekend
. open a cafe/boutique
. horse-riding
. speak korean/japanese/spanish/french
. skydive over mauritius waters
. white-water raft above level 3
. bungee jump from a suspension bridge
. break the world record for the longest time on a loop-the-loop roller coaster ride
. save an endangered species
. AND prove to my mum that i'll be married before 35.


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 2.5 License.