Yes

"sure, where do you want to hang out to ?" I ask.

"You'll see !" She says getting out of the shower and taking a towel.

I follow her and we put back on our clothes to walk further in the corridors. To my surprise, we end up in what looks like a small mall. From the outside, the building didn't look that big, but I'm starting to realize that I should stop trying to make sense to any of this. The place has no apparent company names, grosseries, perfumes and soaps, barber, ... Some places look like it were open in the forties and some are modern, the rest has different vibes from time periods between them. I can see a lot of peoples of different ages and looks, but still no kids.

"Where are the children ?" I finally ask.

"What children ?" She tells me like she doesn't know what I was talking about.

"Don't tell me no one here as children."

"This is not a place for children. It's barely a place for adults."

I'm about to ask what she's talking about when she open a doors to a room with some furniture smashed and walls destroyed. On the floor, there are axes, sledge hammers, and baseball bats.

"What is this ?"

"A place to forget our troubles."

She takes a hammer and smash it into a wall.

"Wow wow wow !!" I yell "We can't do that !"

"Of course we can, it's made especially for that !" She explains. "Just grab something and release your anger. Don't hesitate to yell what bother you."

I still hesitate and she yells "You won't scare me anymore, asshole !" Before smashing a wardrobe. "I'm not anyone possession !" She then sends another hit to the furniture, making it explode in little pieces.

As it looked cathartic, I take a base ball bat and smash the family pictures on the night table.

"I want to live my life !" I yell.

Another hit on the night table itself.

"I'm sick of chasing shadows !!"

With each hit, each yelling, I feel lighter. My fears and worries scatters like broken pieces while I put my rage into the swings. Everything flies away, smashed again and again to leave space to something new. Time itself slips away out of my perception. Everything is chaos, nothing make sense because it doesn't need to. But still, my body reach its limit and I have to stop. I let go the bat and fall on my butt, exhausted. For the first time in a while, I cry.

The young woman comes to me and hugs me before giving me a kiss.

"I'm Chloe. Nice to meet you." She says.

Somehow, that name fill a part of the void left by the destruction.

"I'm Kyle. Nice to meet you too." I tell her.

We just exchanged our names, but it seems more important, like a big step was made in a direction. An unknown direction, but yet a warm one, and I want to go there.

Chloe looks down and blush a little, like the first time we met. She's so pretty.

"Kyle, would you go on a date with me ?" She asks, while looking back in my eyes.

I burst out laughing, which makes her pouting.

"I'm sorry," I quickly say. "I wasn't expecting it, since we spent all day together and even had sex in the shower."

"I'm sorry, I've been here for a while, I forgot some rules..." She tells me with a pinch of anger.

I'm still wondering why she asked me out, all of a sudden, but it's flattering. And I admit, I like her.