Little Boy Blue

98

The eyes of the world were on her now.

Samantha hated mockery, she hated attention, she hated judgement. But she was getting all three in spades now. She’d pulled the curtains to, turned off her mobile, but still the intercom buzzed, buzzed, buzzed. She knew bugger all about electrics, so in the end she’d ripped it off the wall, hurling it at the door with a stream of invective. Shortly after, the handful of journalists who’d harried and jostled her on her way home had gained entry to the block. She could hardly call the police and her useless landlord wasn’t answering his calls, so they were still at the door, calling, hammering, joking. To them this was all in a day’s work.

She had stuck it for a while, ignoring their pleas for an interview, sitting in silence in the living room. But in the end it had got to her and she’d retreated to the back of the house. Cranking up the stereo, she’d treated them to a bit of Dark Metal. They would love it of course – it would add ‘colour’ to their articles – but she didn’t care. She just wanted to block out the world for a while.

The police had stolen most of her possessions, her clothes, even her babies. But they had missed a couple. A pair of dolls she’d picked up at a flea market and had called Duke and Duchess on account of their finery. They now resided in the corner of a bedside drawer, temporarily exiled there due to lack of space in the room. Samantha pulled them from their hiding place and laid them on the floor in front of her. They were all she had for company now, yet even they seemed to be looking at her oddly today, their dead, black eyes giving back nothing but suspicion and disappointment. She had seen that look a lot when she had been a kid.

God, how she craved a drink, but there was no way she could head out to get one. She had gambled and lost, revelling in the attention the police gave her as she led them a merry, pointless dance, only to be tossed aside once they realized she was lying through her teeth. All she’d wanted was a moment in the spotlight, but what a bitter harvest she’d reaped.

She wanted company but there was none to be had. She wanted sanctuary from the world, but even that seemed to have been taken away from her now. This dingy, rotting flat had been her haven for so long. But that was all over. Now it was just a home without a heart.