His Broken Angel

The deafening din of the music did nothing to disturb a beautiful girl dressed entirely in black. She walked like a Victoria’s Secret model with blonde wig and lips painted a deep maroon. Her elegant, confident stride carried her toward the bar which already crowded with patrons at one of Portland’s nightclubs. She ordered a cocktail with a bored expression, then sat waiting, oblivious to the many pairs of eyes watching her. “Got a new target?” a brunette bartender asked, as he handed the girl her drink. The girl merely gave a crooked smile, with no intention of answering. She casually sipped a bit of the drink. Her left fingers tapped the bar counter in a steady rhythm, as if counting something. Just as her tapping reached the tenth count, the noisy chatter of several girls grew closer. She smiled crookedly again, looking satisfied with her prediction, which had never been wrong up to this point. “Oh, look at this clueless girl. She really has no shame.” Melanie, the blonde girl

A 25-year-old young man was looking out at the row of high-rise buildings through the glass walls of his apartment on Northwest Park Avenue. The autumn chill didn’t make him shiver at all, even though he was currently wearing only a thin gray T-shirt. His gaze shifted to the polished wooden floor beneath him, reminding him of the struggle it took to rent this luxury apartment in the Pearl District. Working part-time at a restaurant after school, working as an oil refinery operator for three years after graduating high school, and most recently as an operations staff member at a software company for two years.He did all of that not because he couldn’t afford to go to college, but because he wanted to get far away from his father, who currently lives in Brooklyn, New York. Living like two strangers under one roof was absolutely not a good idea for him, no matter how much wealth his father possessed. Yet an hour ago, a call from the man he had long hated threw him into turmoil. The m

A week had passed since his encounter with Rose, yet Arsen still couldn’t forget her. Almost every night, he would visit his favorite bar or the places he’d once gone to with Rose, but he never managed to find her. Leo still hadn’t given him any news, and that made him anxious. It was as if she were a ghost who came and went as she pleased. He had once prayed silently, hoping to be reunited with Rose wherever she might be. But his prayer went unanswered.Perhaps he had committed many sins, so God was reluctant to grant his wish. Everyone who knew Arsen was shocked and puzzled by his disheveled and desperate appearance. After all, he had always looked neat and attractive before. “So, you’re here after all. I’ve been looking for you at our usual spots for ages, but here you are holed up in your apartment in such a pitiful state,” Leo said upon finding Arsen staring blankly at the flat-screen TV in front of him, which was still on.“Did you find her?” Arsen asked, ignoring Leo’s previo

After seven hours of working at a restaurant that was always packed with customers, Claire was finally able to go home. She had no choice but to walk to her apartment, since public transportation had stopped running at this hour.Josh couldn’t give her a ride home tonight, and hailing a taxi—which had passed by several times—wasn’t a good idea, given her dire financial situation. Next time, she would bring her bike, just as Josh had suggested. Her feet kept moving along Southwest Highway, passing a church and a museum, then turning right into an area filled with tall trees. From here, her feet hesitated to move forward, and she finally stopped in front of another church. She frowned as she looked around. There were only tall trees and a building next to the church that looked very deserted and frightening to her. She began to waver about where to go, because this was the first time she had walked from her workplace to her apartment. Several times she kept glancing to the right and