As she finished vomiting up all that remained in her stomach onto her expensive rugs, she decided then and there that it was high time to invest in some plastic wrap, so she could vomit-proof her apartment.
/And I definitely need another damn case of double mint chocolate chip Oreo cookie dough ice cream before I get started on that project/
With that goal in mind, she covered the mess with some bath towels and grabbed her keys from the counter.
Taking a deep breath, she pulled on her favorite sweatshirt and stepped out her apartment door for the first time in weeks, pushing all thoughts of Jake to the back of her mind for the time being.
Walking down the streets was akin to waking up from a long dream; her senses were inundated with raucous noise and pungent smells and faces of different people who seemed to stare at her wherever she went.
It was too much, too fast, too soon.
So, instead of making her long trek all the way to the Whole Foods organic foods market that she usually frequented, she quickly ducked into the nearest grocery store.
She looked like the Queen of the Dead after all the crying and vomiting and drama and nothing like her usual polished self, which typically consisted of light makeup, stylish outfit, and every hair in its exact place.
There was also no way she was risking the chance of bumping into one of her socialite 'friends,' especially when she looked like the crack-addicted bum that lived under the bridge near the subway.
So, normal people grocery store was where she ended up.
Usually, she was all for being healthy and eating organic foods with no chemical additives or pesticide usage, but truth be told, organic ice cream tasted like crap. Ok, it wasn't QUITE like crap, more like bland icky mush.
Besides, she was in no mood to carry heavy objects over long distances and suffer any more time outside in full view of the rest of the world.
She grabbed a shopping basket cart from their place near the entrance and proceeded straight to the freezer section.
As she walked past the tempting bakery section, her stomach grumbled loudly in response. Sighing loudly, she grabbed a box of chocolate-covered, rainbow-sprinkled, extra frosting Krispy Kreme donuts from the table and placed it in her basket.
"You," she whispered, pointing to her stomach, "You better behave. I am already breaking my diet like no tomorrow for you so don't make it impossible for me to regain my figure after I pop you out."
Elle looked up just in time to see an elderly couple giving her a strange look for talking to herself like a crazy person.
"What? What the hell are you looking at?!"
They immediately looked away again and shuffled away as quickly as they can, which meant they were covering an inch about every three minutes.
Elle sighed again; she really needed to start controlling her temper or her next innocent target might just be strong enough to fight back. And fighting was the last thing that she wanted to do right now.
All she wanted was her ice cream, her mouth-watering double mint chocolate chip Oreo cookie dough ice cream to be exact.
/Brrrrrr…it's cold up in here/
Elle walked down the freezer section, squinting her eyes at all the frozen items, trying to locate her beloved ice cream.
She was so intent in her search that she didn't even notice that she was heading onto a collision course with the only other person in the aisle…until she walked right into his chest and bounced back as if she ran headlong into a rubber wall.
The momentum of the bounce directed her right into the frozen chicken nuggets display; luckily, strong hands grabbed her before she made an even bigger klutz out of herself.
"Whoa, watch yourself."
Elle finally caught her balance and shrugged herself out of the stranger's arms.
"No, YOU watch where you're going."
She was too embarrassed to look in the direction of the stranger so she pretended to look busy, dusting herself off as if the stranger's touch was dirty.
"Seriously, all you meatheads are the same. Just because you like to pop steroids like candy and pump steel until you're triple the normal size for a human doesn't mean you can take up all the room in the aisle."
"Uh…sorry, I guess."
She looked up...and up…and up before she finally reached his face; he was THAT much taller than her.
What surprised her was the genuine sincerity emanating from his boyish face. Strangely, he wasn't being sarcastic; he really did look repentant.
He also didn't look like the typical bodybuilder even though she definitely felt the hard muscles under his sweatshirt when he held her…suddenly her cheeks turned bright red.
/Fan-f*cking-tastic. I thought pregnant women don't get horny, being so bloated and vomity, but I guess I was wrong. Elle, get a hold of yourself!/
"Well…don't do it again."
With that remark, she proceeded to walk away with as much grace and poise she could muster in her pink Eeyore sweatshirt and unwashed hair. Only it didn't quite work out as well as she had planned.
Suddenly she felt dizzy, her vision blurred as the world slid away from her. The last thing she saw as she descended into darkness was the worried face of the stranger as he rushed towards her…