Big Dolla

Murray woke up at four this morning. Every time he would drift off to sleep, she was there.
Watching. Smiling. He couldn't get her out of his head.
He had a feeling that he was going to hurt her.

Murray sat on his tattered armchair and sighed as he finished his third cup of coffee.
He looked down at the street to see a chicken running across Katz avenue.
Murray rubbed his furrowed brow in a mix of confusion and curiosity. He patted Rumples roughly on the head and grabbed a gray sweatshirt as he walked out of the door.
After locking the door and checking it twice, Murray bounded down twelve flights of stairs and stepped outside onto the corroding sidewalk.
The chicken was gone.
Murray crossed Katz avenue in search of the bird. He walked down a dirty service road and stopped suddenly at a strange sight.
There were three chickens standing on a pile of wood next to a large abandoned building.
The birds were staring at Murray, bobbing their necks back and forth.
Murray walked slowly towards the largest of the three.
He swiped at the bird in a futile attempt to capture it.
The chicken flapped its wings vigorously in response, sending the other two birds flying. The large bird flew at Murray and its sharp talons met the left side of his face.
He cursed and held his hand to his cheek, which was bleeding.
He shuffled down Mercy Road toward the Big Dolla.
He pulled open the heavy glass door and stepped onto the store's dirty linoleum tile.
Murray nervously glanced around the store. He walked over to the aisle that held generic bandages and various low grade beauty supplies. He grabbed the only unopened box of bandages he could find and carried it over to the register. He stood in line behind a large man who was wearing a sweatband and a crooked smile.
Murray dropped the box at the register. The cashier opened and closed her mouth.
Murray stared at the smeared red lipstick on her plump lips.
He forced a smile and hoped she wasn't asking any questions.
Her eyes were a pale gray color and her hair was blonde.
Without taking his eyes off the girl's round face, Murray reached into his back pocket and pulled out a five dollar bill that he had found in the hallway of Wilshire Tower a few days earlier.
He placed the bill in the her hand, as she gestured to his cheek with her other.
He shook his head and pointed to his ears. This is why he didn't like to go out.
Murray assumed that she didn't understand because she kept opening and closing her mouth.
He let his eyes fall off her face and onto other parts of her body. He noticed a pack of cigarettes in the front pocket of her tight jeans and an idea came to him.
He smiled at the young girl and walked out of the store with the box of bandages.
He would go around back and wait for her to come out for a smoke.
He would be quiet. Noone would hear.