fwriction

I love today’s story of the day. Well, I love all of them, but this one I’ve been holding on to for a while; today, with its hints of possibility, seemed like the right day. 

Taken from the brilliant Five Chapters, Jami Attenberg’s “Crutch” is one you’re sure to read again and again. Enjoy, and check out more from Attenberg here and here.

The man upstairs is jerking off again. I can hear the porn through the ceiling. No one watches that stuff just for fun. Little kids, maybe, sneaking a peek at their daddy’s collection. But eventually it all ends in the same way.

I can’t do anything about it. I can’t knock on his door and ask him to turn it down. I’m in a cast, on a couch, surrounded by pill bottles. Crutches to the bedroom, crutches to the bathroom, crutches to the couch. Six weeks, maybe longer if I don’t heal right, maybe less, if I behave myself.

I am behaving myself.