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     There was a cool evening breeze that rolled outside a luxurious arched window. The leaves were starting to change color and lively chatter could be heard down below. A group of young girls were capering to the local movie theater. Lex stretched out on a leather couch and was sipping some Marquese De Casa Concha red wine. He didn't bother pouring it out into the glass, between sips he would hold the cold bottle to his left cheek to relieve him from his pain. There was a nice big TV in front him, a 58-inch OLED to be exact but it was not the thing captivating his attention. There were 2 objects on the glass table that whisked all the emotion out of him: A cell phone with numerous calls to Aura, all unanswered and the lavender scented note signed by his ex-girlfriend Kerosene. Lex continued to stare at the 2 objects, intensely but unconsciously squeezing the wine bottle to the point where his palms were turning red. The sea of guilt was matched with a sky of delight inside of his torso. The ruby red phone reflected a Himalayan salt crystal behind him.  "She's gone..."
                          
     He leaned forward and smelled the familiar scent of the note once more, "but this one...she's back." Lex tried to smile but he could still hear Aura's voice in his head and the disturbing thing she left him with. "Maybe she's right, or maybe she's wrong. It's true that  Kerosene left me once but Aura is not psychic and from what I can tell, she's had feelings for me from the beginning and thought it best not to mention it. She's probably just speaking out of jealousy."
                          
     Just then, the phone started to vibrate on the table playing a Rod Stewart ring tone. Lex's eyes widened and his face lit up. 'Is it her? Wait...No...No it's not. How'd he get this number? Whatever, I'll just let it ring and let it go straight to the message machine. It's the least I can do for someone who used to be my 'friend.' Lex clutched the wine bottle and pressed it against his cheek once again and sat back with his other arm resting on the top of the couch.
                          
     "Hey Lex! How are you doing man? It's Aince! Congratulations on all your recent success! You really made your dream come true! I realize I scorched bridges between us and I'm sorry my faith didn't hold out. My mortgage payments didn't change in amount but they were getting harder and harder to pay and it was difficult to save money when I was footing the bill for 2 people. I managed to get back on track, but it cost me dearly...Adelaide said she wanted some space...That was kind of recent...I'm still not sure what caused it...Anyway I was hoping we could catch up and maybe I could buy you a drink...I guess we both got what we wanted...You know she never said why she wanted space and I gave her everything she could ever want and it still wasn't enough. Anyways, I thought I could use some of your famous advice. I was working so hard that I sacrificed pretty much all of my social life so I could really use a friend right now since I seem to be short on those these days. I was thinking we could meet at~"
                          
     "And...CLICK! And delete! Is this guy nuts?! You want to buy me a drink after letting me suffer out in the streets homeless for how long? I could have died, I could've got hooked on drugs, I could've gotten mugged, I could have been raped, I could've got some nasty virus from staying out in the cold rain with nothing to keep me warm and the guy wants to buy me a drink?! I'll never get that time back. While he enjoyed cozy nights with his girlfriend gazing into the fireplace, I slept on concrete with the only thing left for company being a stray cat. All I could do was pray that my sleep was filled with pleasant dreams, dreams that could take me as far away from reality as possible...Hell, even nightmares were an escape for me during those times. At least when I woke up, they were over. Unless the bars are selling miracle amnesia beer, Aince can keep walking on that 'scorched bridge which, as long as I'm breathing, will lead to nowhere." He checked his watch, looked at the note once more and smiled. "I've got something better now."
                          
Sssssssh. A static noise interrupted Lex's thoughts. "My my my Lex you really do talk a lot. That was quite the monologue...maybe you should write like that in your next book."