Bare-hearted 

          The things that are bad always taste the sweetest.

I didn’t know what I was doing, my fingertips reached out into the empty void in front of me I called life. Desperate to touch anything, or anyone willing to let me.

She was crazy, but she was beautiful.

“Here again?” her lips tug up into the most teasing smile as she leans against the brick wall homed to people who had no direction in their lives.

“Yeah,” I breathe out, it was cold, to the point where I felt my body numb a little more each time the wind picked up. But there she was, gowned in virtually nothing. I only wondered how cold her skin would really feel against my own.

“Those will kill you…” I whisper, as she caresses the stick between her fingers. The thing that would kill her a little each time she placed it against her deadly lips.

“Everything seems to kill you these days…” the fog from disappears into the chilled night sky. The day was so uninviting to us both. Forcing us back into the lonely caves we called home. But here I was, and she was. Out and about on this cold uninviting night. Me staring at her, and her staring at—nothing.  

“You’re right.” I respond, in no way wanting to argue with what she seemed to like. She wasn’t stupid nor oblivious. She knew what was bad for her and what wasn’t.

“You shouldn’t be here.” her piercing eyes find my own and my breath suddenly gets snatched away right from my lungs.

It’s no use.

“Well Tiffany.” I smile at her, bringing my jacket closer to my body as the wind picked up again, “What if I told you that I don’t care.”

“You don’t care? I could ruin your life you know.” She pauses.

“I could be the death of you.”

I shrug, snatching the death wish from her fingers and placing them into my own. She watches me amused and I could feel my heart pound against my tired chest. I place the stick between my lips and inhale.

“So be it.” I sigh out, the smoke vanishing almost immediately, “Seems like everything kills you these days, right?” I hear her let out a chuckle as she grabs my hand and places the cigarette in .

“You’re crazy you know that?” she says to me, her low voice was always pleasing to my ears. I couldn’t help but become addicted.

“I guess you rubbed off on me.” Tiffany was deadly beautiful with a crazy head on her shoulders. She was never right or left, white nor black. She was something all on her own. The loud muffled music from inside became more audible as a bulky man opened the thick metal door beside us “Tiff, you’re back on in five.” He disappears behind it, leaving us basking in silence and the music is muffled once again.

She stares at me, the cigarette nearly gone as she throws it onto the dirty concrete floor and extinguishes it with the flatness of her heel.

“Look kid, I’m not looking to hurt you. I can’t give you what you want okay?” a small smile breaks out onto the plumpness of her lips. It should have been hard to hear but it was anything but bitter to my ears.

“I like a challenge.” It was out of my control now and definitely out of character. But the teasing smirk on my face and the determined beat of my heart that urged me on to break the walls surrounding this crazy girl had just won me over. Rendered me to mental defeat.

My heart had come out victorious.

“And I’m not a kid okay? I’m older than you are.” I retorted and the laugh that left her lips was melodious.

“But you look like one.” She had a point. “I have to go back now Taeyeon.” My heart sunk a little thinking that maybe this time it was it. Maybe this time was indeed the last time.

She places her hand on the metal knob before she looks back at me and smiles, “I’ll be done in an hour.”

She opens the door and her red hair sways with the cold wind. 

One last look.

 “Wait for me.”

 And she’s gone.

The bad things always tasted the sweetest.