There is nothing more beautiful than watching an innocent angel fall apart at my sinful actions. I'm going to ruin her.
"Augustine."
And she comes, looking down at me as she does so.
She glows, lighting up the goddamn room. Her feet barely touch t...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
My body aches when my skates hit the ice off my last turn. The empty rink echoes with the noise of the blades cutting through. I can't feel my feet when I get into my final position, posing in the center of the arena. My arms are up, fingers poised and elegant. My left leg is thrown dramatically behind my right. I can feel my heartbeat in my ears.
And then I relax.
I wait for that applause. The applause I so badly wish I could hear again.
But I haven't stepped professionally on the ice for competition since I got myself into this mess.
It's been a year.
I've had to throw away everything I'm good at to support a family I shouldn't even be supporting.
My father decided to stop playing his role as if it was a job he could finally resign from. My brother, Emilio, is twenty-two and can't seem to keep himself out of illegal street business. And that doesn't help our home situation. We live near some sketchy people, and I guess that is probably how Emilio got into it in the first place.
Last year, after my father started gambling our money away, I had to pick up a few extra shifts at the restaurant I work at. A few extra shifts then turned into almost a full-time job. And since I'm still a senior in high school, I only have certain hours to work my other job at a barbershop. It's not far from where we live, though, but it's located in the rough part of the city.
But hell, everything is rough around here.
This city swarms with crime, and you'd rather be caught dead than walk around in the dark.
Before my paychecks were the only thing on my mind, I would figure skate. And I was damn good at it. It was a way to calm my thoughts, get my anger out, and express myself. I won many titles with my ability, but none of them represent who I am now. I lost that part of me. That carefree and charming side that people loved.
But drowning in self-pity got me nowhere. I realized that pretty quickly. I make the best of the shit I experience, because it could always be worse.
"Hey honey, we'll be closing the doors pretty soon for hockey practice. Sorry to kick you off the ice," the lady who I saw at the front desk calls out from behind the glass.
"Okay, I'll be out of here in a second. Thanks for letting me use the time," I smile at her, skating my way off the rink.
"No problem," she retreats to her desk.
I hurry to get my skates off, not wanting to interrupt a schedule. I have to get home, anyway. This was my first night off in a long time, and I was finally able to get my dad to let me use the car.
I have my license, but I'm still saving for my own car.
Unfortunately, it's not that easy when most of my money goes to the bills and my family's "extracurriculars".
