Shaking the bad memories from my head, I try to concentrate on what Elena is saying. I wave at Jess and Scott as I pass t
he living room on the way to my bedroom.
Pushing into my room, I toe my boots off and shut the door, bouncing on my bed and closing my eyes.
“I’m sure you’ll find out soon enough,” I say, not really thinking about what is coming out of my mouth.
“Wait... You know don’t you?”
“Erm...” I bite my lip, my eyes going wide even though she can’t see me. “I... I...”
“Oh, honey, its fine. I won’t try and get it out of you.” I breathe a sigh of relief and lean back, glad that she won’t try because I’m hopeless at keeping secrets. “Unless...” She giggles.
My own chuckle mixes with hers, I love talking to Elena. She never tries to make me talk about anything, always keeping it about what is going on in normal life or the news. Once, she even talked about the weather for an hour.
Her voice sounds like home and instantly calms me, it makes me feel like... well... me.
“Well, I’m sure you’ve got things that you need to be doing,” she says with sadness in her voice.
I swallow past the lump in my throat and whisper, “Yeah, I’ll see you soon?”
“Of course you will, honey. We’ll go shopping!”
“Yay,” I say with fake enthusiasm.
She laughs knowing how much I despise shopping. The people, the noise, all the stress, it’s already making me feel icky. “Love you, honey.”
My eyes start to mist over and I croak out, “You too.” Then end the call.
It’s a word that I’ve never said to anyone before, it’s something that’s so foreign, I’m not sure it will even come out of my mouth.
I’ve never been told that I was loved, not until I moved in with Elena anyway. Over time, I got used to it but I still can’t say it back, I just hope that she knows I feel the same.
One day, I’ll be able to say it back to her.
Maybe not today or tomorrow, but someday it will leave my mouth.
“Birdie?” God, I haven’t been called that since he left. Just thinking about him now brings a smile to my face. He always had a way of making me feel all fuzzy inside.
Warmth spreads through me, sending tingles all the way to the tips of my fingers. I can picture his brown eyes perfectly in my head, how they’re surrounded with a ring of lighter color.
There’s always a hardness to them but I see the way they change when he looks at me. The coldness that’s always there warms and mixes in with a little sympathy.
“Birdie?” It’s closer now, so close that I shiver, it’s almost as if he’s right next to me. “I know you can hear me.” He chuckles as butterflies swarm in my stomach, taking flight so fast that it knocks me sideways and my eyes spring open.
“Corey?” I gasp when I see him stood over me, his lips turning into a grin, showing me that dimple that I’m sure all the girls go crazy over.
“Hey,” he says, sitting down next to me.
I look around and all I can see are trees with the sun setting above them in the distance. Turning my head, I notice his truck, only it’s not how I remember his truck, this one almost reminds me of-
“I’ve been waiting for you to open your eyes.”
“You have?” I whisper, looking down at the blanket that’s set on the grass. Using my elbows, I push up and sit in front of him. “How long have I been asleep?”
He looks down at his wrist and frowns at the time on his watch. “Hmmm... a little over two hours.”
“Two hours?” I ask, panicked, jumping up off the floor and spinning around as the sky gets dark really fast. “Why didn’t you wake me?”