Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Endure ❯ Chapter 1

[ A - All Readers ]

Endure
Prologue
Pain is something everyone in his or her life will endure. And of course no one in the world likes pain. However there are two different kinds, Physical and emotional. Some say physical is hard to deal with. I disagree. Oh yes, physical pain is almost unbearable if it is too much such as cutting off your arm. However you will forget that pain and continue on with your life. But emotional pain never seems to leave you, and although physical inflictions may leave scars, emotional pain will forever scar your heart and leave you bitter.
Forceful things can change the way you look on life as well. The talk of what you really are can make some feel uncomfortable and for some it can be talking about what is inside their heart. Religion and relationships can be two things that will either build a person up to the point where they will never be broke or take their knees out from under them and leave them broken. This humble author finds it hard to believe in both anymore. Yes I do have friends that I believe I can rely on but then there are always those ones that you really need and their not there.
The pain of hate is hard to bear. I'm not talking about the physical pain; I'm speaking of the pain that you feel inside your chest almost physically because of your emotions. That is what I feel. Like something has been torn from the nimble grasp of my fingers, almost as though a limb has been cut from my body. Like my Heart has been ripped from my body and salt poured over it in a feeble attempt to soak up all the emotion and pain. The throb of pain is so horrible you wish to just push it away and curl into a ball.
I find it hard to believe that I as a humble author am not very young by any standards and have found myself in a more broken state then anyone around me. Perhaps the death of my father was the pushing state and losing someone I had become so close to in such a short amount of time. The lies that were said in those two years continue to burrow themselves into what remains of my heart. And yet I stay kind hearted and attempt to help the humans I can.
Am I a fool for doing this?
Elicia Garon stepped into her brand new apartment; the white walls seem to reflect nothing upon her personality. She was cold, Tired of being alive and living the fake life she had to wake up and live everyday, The job she worked to support her fake life seemed fake to. As a child she had wished for the abilities and the wisdom she now possessed and now that she had worked so hard to pull herself forward she just wanted to go back to the ignorant days of your youth.
She placed the brown paper bags of food that she had recently picked up at the market. She wanted someone to fully understand her, not pretend to. She didn't want to have the conversations that others wanted she wanted the conversations that supported what she felt inside, with out contradiction. As selfish as it was she wanted to be the one consoled instead of the one doing the consoling. Her sigh fell on no ears and once again she felt alone.
Her grey and white coloured cat lay on the old comfortable futon her Mother had bought for her when she once lived with her old roommate Theresa. Not a care in the world fell on her head. The cat named Shin obi had proved to her that she was well fit for her name. This nimble animal use to climb her curtains, it seemed to Elicia that She use to do it simply to annoy the woman that owned her. Elicia slightly chuckled when she noticed the cat was in a very uncomfortable looking position. Her hind legs were slung over her head and ears flattened against the plush cushions of the black cushion. Yes Shin obi was all Elicia had right now. The cat could annoy her to high hell but then Shin always knew when Elicia was tired, or upset. Lately the cat had been spending more and more time on her lap. Shin obi knew that Elicia was going through a hard time right now. How could she not?
Her grandparents owned a farm and Elicia had a lot of experience with animals, they most often then not could sense that humans were down. She remembered the farm that owned the cows down the road from her grandparents. The old farmers loved to have her over but most of the time Elicia just went to talk with the cows. The gentle animals were always able to tell she was in a bad mood and would sit and listen to her stories as they slowly chewed their cud, Shin obi was no exception to the ranks of amazing animals.
Evening came very soon for Elicia. Elicia was the kind of person who loved the nights when she could sit out on her balcony and gaze at the stars. She was also the kind of person that if she had a lot on her mind she would lay out on a patch of grass and watch the clouds like she use to do when she was younger. Her grandmother use to say she had her head up in the clouds too much and she needed to come back to earth. Elicia missed those days when she could just relax and the puzzle that was her life was complete with all the pieces in place.
Now it seemed that that puzzle had been taken by fate. She laughed quietly to herself as she stepped out of the tub in her tiny bathroom. To think of Fait as a small child wrapping it's hands around those puzzle pieces that represented her life and lose them seemed almost comical, but then again it depressed her at the same time. It reminded her of the niece she had yet to see this month, cursing under her breath she realized those pieces would never be found again. They were eternally lost in the oblivion that others believe to be Heaven. The one person she could rely on for a good smile was forever running from Vancouver to Toronto for his graphic designing.
Taylor was always able fix to every situation but he was not around anymore. Well he was, but she could never seem to get a hold of him but none the less she was very happy for him. Taylor had made his life dream of a very in demand graphics designer. She sometimes felt a little more lonely now that Taylor wasn’t around as much as he use to be.
She walked out into the living room with her bathrobe on and hairbrush in hand. Shin obi still slept on the couch although she had moved around quite a bit during the course of the day. Elicia smiled at the cat and sat on the other side of the Futon. Upon noticing her master however Shin got up and sat her self directly in the middle of Elicia's lap. The small woman watched the cat go back to sleep in her lap and began to brush out her waist length hair. Time seemed to be going much slower these days; she mused over her recent thoughts.
Elicia finished brushing her hair and put the brush down the cherry wood coffee table in front of her. She then proceeded to lift up Shin obi and pull her into her arms. Her laptop computer was sitting beside her television. She turned on the screen and sat down, while holding Shin with one arm she typed in the site of one of her favorite online radio stations with her right hand. Soon Japanese music floated out of the speakers and she sighed out the stress of the day and put Shin obi down on the chair. It was time to eat something. Life didn't seem to have any twists and turns for her lately, or maybe fate was just waiting for the opportune moment in which to snatch more puzzle pieces away from that which was her life.
The noise of voice outside of her apartment brought her out of her thoughts. The voices continued for a few more minutes then a laugh, then a knock at her door. Who was coming to see her at 9pm? She set the knife she was using to spread the butter on her toast on the counter of her small kitchen and walked over to the white door. Two of her best friends stood on the other side with wide smiles on their faces. Tyler and Kristina she should have known.
Kistina smiled widely when Elicia appeared behind the door.
"Oh good you are home!" she exclaimed. "We've had a hard time getting a hold of you, I left a message on your phone" Elicia smiled back.
"Yeah I've been working a lot to work up enough to cover next months rent since I pretty much shelled out all I have to pay first and last months rent."
Tyler pulled out a basket full of fruits and other assorted things from behind him. Elicia smiled one last time before taking it and moving out of the way to let the couple in. She was waiting for it, the smart-ass remark that Tyler always made when he was around her.
"Well seems like you did a really good job in picking this place, shorty" not as bad as she expected but it still warranted a slap from Kristina. Tyler chuckled a bit and they walked further into the tiny apartment. Elicia told them to seat themselves comfortably and she brought out tea. Tyler declined but Kristina was happy to accept. She then got a glass of orange juice for the picky man.
"So how are the wedding arrangements going?" Kristina sighed and put her mug back down on the coffee table.
"Were having a very hard time, Tyler's mother doesn't like the church we picked out." Tyler swung his arm to lay behind Kristina on the couch.
"She doesn't like the whole marriage part" Tyler muttered and took a sip of his juice.
Elicia offered a comforting smile as she added the sugar to her own cup of tea. Tyler's parents were always like that. Or rather his mother, for some reason unknown to Elicia and Kristina, Tyler's mother hated Kristina from the moment she saw her, despite the fact that Kristina had a heart of gold. The woman had just decided one day that everything had gone wrong in her family the day Kristina had come into their life. Elicia use to laugh at the fact that his father was all right with the relationship but the moment his wife was around he was straight backed and sour faced once again.
But her friends had made it through thick and thin, and she doubted, even if they managed to get into a lovers spat it didn't mean anything and it wasn't going to ruin their relationship. The relationship that everyone around them had worked so hard to preserve.
Elicia slipped her glasses on her nose before picking up her teacup and taking a sip. Kristina had been talking to Tyler quietly while Elicia was once again lost in thought then she looked back over to the tiny person in the big comfy chair next to her.
"So have you heard from Taylor lately?" Elicia cocked her head to the side and replied.
"Well I got an email from him about a week ago saying he had got a new show to do, I can't remember what it was called but it was a new one brought over from Japan but he hasn't called me. Perhaps he had to start right away. We really don’t talk to much anymore remember we had that big falling out a while ago and although we kind of made up it will never be the same."
"Oh," Kristina said thoughtfully. Elicia was glad she had these people to rely on when she was in a big fix or she had some problems to work out.
Tyler had stood beside her for years. In high school they had first met when she was in grade nine and he was in grade ten. At first he had followed her around like a lost puppy dog, but then eventually after having a huge fight with someone she had considered to be one of her best friends and being betrayed by everyone she thought was dear to her, Tyler proved he was always going to be there for her. Tyler hadn't changed much since High School, he was still long and lanky and had the same short hair cut that made his brown honey hair look groomed with his small oval, rectangular glasses over his sharp almond eyes.
Then came Kristina, she always smiled about everything and seemed to lighten Elicia's day just by walking into the same room. Kristina always had something to say about a bad situation and she always tried to resolve issues between people that were fighting. She was also a very good judge of character. Tina as her friends called her hadn't changed much either since high school accepts the considerable weight she had lost. Now Kristina had achieved the model look Tyler's mother wanted her to have, yet it still wasn't enough. Elicia loved the way that Kristina's chestnut brown hair naturally waved around her face with her blue eyes striking from her fair skin.
These were one of the few people Elicia knew she could trust and they had proved it to her several times. She was so thankful for everything these two had done with her along side with Taylor. She knew the people sitting beside her would forever be sitting with her trying to tear those puzzle pieces from the grasp of the child that was fait.
Radiant beams streaked through the indrawn window of Elicia's small white room to bounce off the bright colour and into every corner of the space. The rays soon found their way to her face, she squinted and tried to turn over and ignore the interruption to her quiet cozy sleep but the persistent rays seemed to fallow where ever she went. Finally she sighed and stretched her arms, taking a deep breath. She slipped her legs from underneath the covers and covered her bare feet with her jewel blew coloured slippers that her Grandmother Garon had given her for Christmas. Time for food and get the all the errands of the day out of the way so she could relax. She stepped out of her bedroom into the small hallway down to her tiny kitchen.Shinobi was already there, standing over her food dish waiting for her morning feeding. Elicia smiled at the grey cat and walked over the cabinet underneath the sink to get her impatient cat her caned food for the day. The cat eagerly dug into the tuna meal and left Elicia to make her toast.She munched on her piece of peanut butter toast as she looked on the fridge to find the piece of paper she had scribbled her errands for the day."lets see" she mumbled to herself "phone bill, groceries, laundry" she thought to herself"anything else" after a few more minutes of debating with herself she couldn't find anything else she had to do so she put the list on the counter and finished off her toast then left the small room to get dressed and her cat hot on her heels.She hated the supermarket on Friday, it was between the last working day of the week and the day where everyone got to relax there for everyone was wound tighter then an eight day clock as her grandmother use to say. Mothers with whiny children confused looking men. Elicia would laugh as she walked through the isles and watched as people bickered and some looked so calm. The difference came out in people especially when they were pushed to their limits when it came to food. Elicia observed for a bit longer before grabbing the few things she needed and continued to the cashier. She paid the woman behind the counter who looked very tired she offered a comforting smile and continued on with her plastic bag of food.She continued home after stopping at the small comic shop for her favorite magazine, yes even reading seemed to completely dull down. Yet somehow she managed to continue every day without letting anyone know she missed the way things use to be when she was little. She smiled to herself as she walked slowly and thought about how she use to wish time would go faster so she could live her life the way she wanted it.'Just another hand in your pocket' she mused.Since childhood, life had been hard for Elicia, she was on her own since the young age of 18 and always striving and breaking down with what seemed like that shrinking puzzle that was her life. Several attempts at suicide, the loss of a few friends and a lot of harsh words on their part had her on her knees at the mercy of everyone around her. Perhaps she still had a lot to do on herself and on the way she lived her life under others, she still cringed visibly when someone was angry or raised their voice around her, by nature she was a very timid person with a temper that was diminishing. She remembered the day she still had a temper and a flaring one that that, she would fly off the handle at nothing. She hated this feeling it made her feel like she was in a whole far too deep for any hope to escape.Elicia looked up when the dryer to the downstairs Laundromats dinged. She looked over her book and tried to burn the last word she read into her memory before setting down her novel. The last bit of her clothes was now clean and she could go back upstairs and get something to eat then take a relaxing bath. The sound of heavy footsteps accompanied with the slight jingle of keys floated to Elicia's ears and she chose to fold the last of her clothes and brush it off as one of the occupants of the building. However when the footsteps stopped in the open door of the white tiled Laundromats, it caused her to look up.The first thing that met her tired eyes was a black button up shirt that looked slightly familiar. Tight faded jeans and heavy yet comfortable looking boots. Fair skin, Bright blue eyes, hair blond with an amazing, unique colour hard to match no matter how many times you tried to duplicate it.Taylor"uh..." she was at a loss for words. The one man that could do that then have her laughing and talking more then she ever did moments later was standing there, in front of her."you're grandmother said you were living here now, I came to see you E"In what seemed like a flash of moments Elicia was setting a cup of mint tea in front of Taylor Wetton who was comfortably seated on her old beat up futon. Taylor had always loved Mint tea and when she once lived with Theresa her best friend he always came over to visit. Even though they never saw each other anymore she always had her cupboard stocked with it. "Why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to be in Vancouver?" Taylor took a sip of his tea and replaced it on her warn coffee table. She knew Taylor had achieved his dream of being a successful graphics designer and had done a damn good job. Even in High school Taylor had landed jobs from teachers and others around the area that gave him quite the reputation. Elicia was working in a factory as a Japanese translator...and probably always would be. Taylor was the one who had achieved their life long dream of leaving."I took the two weeks off to fly back here to see my family" He said. He picked up his mug to take another soothing sip of the warm liquid."Tay Christmas starts in a few weeks aren’t you going to spend it with your family?" her concern filled Elicia’s voice and her eyebrows drew together to show she was upset."I am afraid I'm working all the way through the holidays I can't" Elicia gave a sour face."Yes I'm working right up until Christmas Eve. But what are you doing here? Woodstock is about two hours that way" She pointed in the direction of the 401 Highway."My Mother wasn't home, so I rented a car and came to see you. We don’t' talk much anymore and I worry about you""yes we both have lives now" she replied "Things aren’t like they use to be unfortunately we have to make money to support our lives.""Yes, I suppose it isn't" He finished off his tea and settled back into the old comfortable futon. Elicia tucked her feet underneath her and looked at the clock, almost nine thirty."You’re going to have to leave now if you plan to make it back to your mothers by eleven" she spoke softly."I was just going to check in at the holiday inn down near the 401" he said softly."Oh don't bother" she said quickly holding up her hand. "I’ll just pull out the futon" she got up from her white plush chair and walked over to the linen closet."are you sure I won't be a bother?" he asked quietly."Nope" came the muffled reply and she pulled out a pile of blankets."I’m sure we could find something on TV. we can sit up and watch it if you want"he shrugged and took the blankets from her, but not before flashing her a brilliant Taylor smile that he had gone through so much pain to achieve."Okay Hun” he straightened himself and placed the blankets on the couch so he could help her pull the heavy coffee table aside.Hun, he had called her that ever since they had decided to really start becoming friends about a year after Tyler had introduced them. She loved being called her nicknames, E, Hun. Eka. There were others that came to mind, suddenly she snapped out of her thoughts and looked at Taylor who was now waving his hand in front of her face."Sorry I was just thinking, I didn’t mean to blank out there." He gave a mock sighed and gave her a mock Glare, she Mock Glared back, then stuck her tongue out at him“Thinking? You?" She gave him a swat in the arm before they began to pull the cushions from the faded blue couch."where do you work now?" he asked, the question was out of nowhere."oh uh..A small Japanese corporation, my employers were impressed by my knowledge of the culture when I went in for my interview, I do nothing but push papers and translate for some higher ups but it pays well so I don't mind""what about your dreams?" that question hit her like a ton of bricks."I finally grew out of my childish dreams and realize that they were a bit unrealistic" he glared at her."I made it didn't I?""I don't have enough time to prepare a demo tape" she said quietly but she knew what his reply would be."You have to make time""I don’t really live near somewhere that supports that kind of stuff Tay. It’s not easy you know that""Hun., you have lots of...""Can we just drop the subject please" she cut him off, feeling the prick of tears at the back of her eyes. When she first met Scott a flicker of hope was ignited in her heart but that small flame was put out when she returned home to Woodstock, the place she never wanted to be, Woodstock Reminded her way to much of her Father. Way too many painful memories and it was a dull small town with no future for her, she would be working the same job for the rest of her life and never make it anywhere.The bed pulled out and all made up, Elicia pulled out some potato chips and two cans of coke and with Shinobi comfortably snuggled in Taylor’s lap, they settled to watch some TV. "You know I’m really proud of you" she said with joy in her voice. Taylor was the one person who could get her to genuinely smile."I knew you'd make it, didn't I tell you?" He glanced at her and stroked the bundle of fur in his lap as the commercials finished and the show started up again.With in 45 minutes, the entertainment done Elicia was pulling the sleeping cat from Taylor and stood."What time did you want me to get you up? Early right?" he readjusted his long legs."no, I was wondering if you wanted to do something tomorrow if you didn't have to work, just the two of us" Elicia squinted her eyes and looked to the side, A sign to Taylor that she was thinking."well, Toronto isn’t small and there plenty to do but I'm sure we could find something" she responded."I'll keep Shinobi with me so she doesn't wake you up chasing your feet under the covers""okay goodnight Hun""goodnight Tay"She waited until he had settled himself under the covers and into the bed comfortably and deafly flicked the light switch to coat Taylor in the dark then turned and carried her still sleeping cat into her room.
Elicia blinked her eyes and waited for the fuzz to go away. Slowly her wall started to form....Had that mark always been there? She sighed and sit up to push the honey coloured strands of messed up hair out of her eyes. Her cat who was lying on her legs lifted her head and looked at Elicia as if to tell her to go back to sleep. Shinobi was lazy in the morning except when it was time for her feeding. As if remembering or hearing the woman's thoughts Shin, jumped off the bed and over to the door waiting for Elicia to hurry out of bed and feed her. Still feeling tired but knowing she couldn't sleep anymore Elicia slid out of bed and slipped on the jewel blue slippers just as every morning.Her heart sunk the same routine every morning even if she didn't have to work, it was the exact same thing, but today would be different! It had been ages since she had some one on one time with Taylor and she really wanted to do something different today with him, but what? There were lots to do in Toronto! Maybe Dinner and a movie? She shrugged to herself and wrapped her terry cloth robe around herself. 'Coffee for now' she thought. 'Something to stimulate the senses.'She rounded the corner to her hallway to walk into the living room where she found Taylor sprawled out on her futon. She giggled to herself, looked like he still didn't get much sleep in the line of work. His short hair was tousled and his clothes looked rumpled. A picture of pure exhaustion, she thought to let him sleep as late as he wanted as long as he got up before noon. Shinobi fallowed her into the kitchen and headed straight for her cat dish. Elicia took out the dry cat food and filled it up for her before filling the kettle with water from the tap and plugging the base into the wall to heat it. She gave out a slight yawn behind her hand as she pulled down a cup for the cupboard.Taylor stumbled into the kitchen after Elicia and finished preparing her coffee, rubbing his eyes and yawned."Morning" Elicia mumbled sleepily around her coffee mug. Taylor yawned and stifled out something that sounded like a 'morning' but she was unable to tell, He then gave her a lopsided grin and stumbled some more, looking down. Shin swallowed the last bit of food she was gobbling and looked up at the man that had almost stepped on her."Would you like something to eat or drink?" Elicia smiled “I have more mint tea and I can make toast or bagels”"Tea would be nice" He said running his fingers through his unique hair, and walked back over to the side of the bed to fumble in his gym bag, he soon produced his tooth brush. Elicia blinked a few times to get the morning blahs out of her eyes, and quickly got the kettle to put water in it."How is life in Vancouver?" She asked picking up her coffee cup to take a sip. The question sounded more like regret then a question.Taylor cocked his head catching on to her tone; she was looking into her Coffee almost completely avoiding eye contact."Well I really don’t get out much unfortunately; I spend a lot of time sitting in front of my ridiculously expensive computer. But living in the mountains is so beautiful E; you should come to see me some time.”She nodded "have you got a lot of work?”"I think it's a bit too early, I have to show I have talent with other programs then Photoshop and get my name out there” She nodded and looked at him over her mug."Are you positive you don't want anything to eat?” He shook his head. "I think I should be fine" his voice was raspy and still laced with sleep."I'll be fine" he assured her, seeing the look on her face as she glared at him. "We'll go out and get something else to eat. Bagels at Timmy’s or just full out go for breakfast”She smiled and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Maybe they could find something to do today. Elicia ran over the options they had again. She sighed and put down her mug. Shin was by now finished her meal and was no where to be found, probably curled up in the cooling sheets of Taylor’s messed up bed. Taylor was now removing a tea bag from the box of Mint tea and unplugged the kettle to pour the left over hot water into the sink.Elicia sighed, feeling a bit better now that she had her morning coffee. It was time to get ready for a new day, she almost grumbled. Taylor was removing the tea bag from his mug. She yawned one more time and put her mug in the sink to be washed. “Will you need the shower?” he took a sip of his cooling tea and nodded. “Yeah I’m all stinky” he sleepily murmured, she laughed. “Alright finish your tea and I’ll take a quick shower then you can have it”He nodded once again; she was beginning to think it was the only thing he could do in the morning!She gave him a small smile and went to the closet to get some towels. A shower would clear the rest of the sleep from her head.Soon Taylor could hear the water running and gave one last yawn before putting his empty mug in the sink. He placed himself at the end of the bed only to find a fluffy grey coloured cat under the blanket where he was going to sit. Shinobi blinked sleepily at him when he lifted the covers to see what it was. Feeling bad for waking the cat up he rubbed her ear to sooth her, she purred and went back to sleep.The bathroom door opened and he watched as a towel clad Elicia, which appeared to be a white and blue streak ran to her room. He laughed to himself and walked into the bathroom to take his shower, He found two towels on the sink for his use. Always so thoughtful, when they were younger, she would always do things for people around her. No matter how many times Taylor had told her she didn’t have to, she Insisted on doing all the dishes and helping clean whenever she could. He shook his head and began to run the water. The hot water eased his aching muscles and his running mind.Elicia flicked her CD player on and dropped the white towel from around her body. The soothing voice of Vic Mignogna flowed to her ears. She pulled out the clothes she wanted to wear and quickly slipped them on while trying to keep the blue towel wrapped securely around her wet hair. She opened the bedroom door after dressing and flipped her head over to rub the towel through her hair to get the left over moisture from the strands. Taylor stood in front of the bathroom door watching her in a wet towel. He flushed before stammering out an apology. “I forgot my spare clothes in the living room.”Elicia laughed at him and leaned her hip against the doorway to watch him scamper back to the bathroom. Time seemed to go much faster when Taylor was around. Only about two years ago he had gained his favorite job and his life dream. Since then he had moved to Vancouver and Elicia didn’t get to see him. With her work it was hard to get time off. A new deal was being struck up and they needed her to entertain the company heads and translate for them. Perhaps when her Vacation time came around he would go visit him....if only things worked that way.She let out one last yawn while making her way to the living room. Saturday Cartoons was what she needed. The remote control for the television was quickly in her hand and she flipped to a station for cartoons. Yes at 23 she still watched cartoons; it was one of her favorite part of the week. The TV blabbed on in the background as she gently removed her Cat from the warm covers and began to fold the blankets and put them back in the closet. Taylor came out from the bathroom, fully clothed and ready for the day only to find Elicia sprawled out on her couch, cat on her tummy and eyes on the TV.“Yu-gi-oh eh?”He let his eye flicker over the screen while lifting his legs to seat himself and place her legs on his lap. She glared at him. “Do you have a problem with Pegasus? That’s the only reason I watch this show, you know”She shook his head. “This is a horrible dub, they butchered the animation by taking out so much of the episodes and the story line.”“I like the Egyptian influence.”He just smiled at her. “So what’s on the agenda for today?”He asked, she took a big breath and seemed to be thinking about the possibilities. “Well...”She started“We have lots of options”she paused again to make sure she was right. “We could go see a movie or we could go bowling, unfortunately both would probably require you to stay another night”she lifted her eye brows and waited for his reaction.Taylor took a deep breath himself and ran his thumb over the skin that showed on her ankle absent mindedly. “I don’t have a problem staying another night as long as you don’t mind me here”She shook her head. “A movie sounds a little more interesting the bowling”He turned to look at her. “Alright then”she said picking up the phone. “I’ll find out what’s playing tonight then”They decided on the new kung-fu, action flick and go to a small café down town. The movie was full of action and comedy but little story as always. Elicia didn’t mind though, she was just happy to be spending time with Taylor alone.When their friendship had begun, every time they visited or got to see each other there was always someone else present. Meaning if there was a serious conversation between them there were always three, four, and five or sometimes as many as 20 other personalities adding their opinion as well.For once it seemed fait had given up on its childish, snobbery gnawing on her life puzzle pieces and took a long awaited nap.The day had been full of fun and Elicia was tired, so tired that when she unlocked the door to her apartment her eyes began to droop and she had to lean on Taylor to get her balance.The giant yawn that claimed her mouth made Taylor laugh and finish turning the key to open the door. She was really tired! He scooped her up and managed to shut the door with his foot. Elicia snuggled close to him and sighed as she let the waves of sleep over come her. Taylor was still laughing to himself as he removed his own shoes and hers. He was going to put her to bed then pull the couch out for himself. They both deserved a good sleep and he was going to make sure she at least got one.He carefully angled her to slip through the doorway so she didn’t hit anything and laid her on the comfortable bed. He removed her socks and began to pull the covers over her when her hand stopped him and he looked up at her. “Don’t leave please; tomorrow you go home and I won’t see you for other two or three years.”He hesitated and her hand moved down to his to give it a gentle squeeze. “Please, I’m going to miss you so much, I just want to be close to you tonight so I don’t forget you’re out there.” He could almost see the tears gathering in your eyes and he could hear them in your voice. She missed the days they spent not just three years ago. How things seem to change.
He swallowed down his own tears and removed his own socks then climbed into the plush bed. He once more made sure she was comfortable, he could hear her breathing begin to slow down and she relaxed against him. Taylor was surprised to find that the loss of the people around her and her having to move away was really hurting her. He noticed when he first laid eyes on her that she had lost a significant amount of weight and there wasn’t any light to her eyes. With a heavy heart he gave her midriff one more light squeeze before letting sleep claim him as well.

Elicia awoke with a start. She felt Taylor beside her. He was laying on his back and she could hear his rhythmic breathing. When she woke up she felt some pressure on her upper arm, almost as though someone was shaking her arm to get her up. The pressure was gone but she still couldn’t shake the cold feeling that flew down her back in icy chills, despite the fact that Taylor was making the bed very warm. She blinked a few times so the fog would melt from her eyes and looked around the room. No one was there.
‘odd’ she thought to herself ‘I have never felt something like that before’
She took a quick look at her clock and found it only four fifteen am. Deciding it would be pointless to get up now since she had only gotten three and a half hours sleep. Taylor chose that moment to turn on his left side and let his hand brush her hip. Letting out one final yawn she returned to her comfortable position on the bed and snuggled herself closer to Taylor. Within minutes she had let the abyss that was sleep take her again.