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Authors: Rebekah Dodson
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preferred camouflage or sports jerseys. The oak casket was closed. The mine hadn't let much to bury, but far too much to mourn.
Elijah stood next to me, gripping the seat in front of him so hard his knuckles were white. Tears splashed to the faded red cushions, and his body shook with the effort of his control.
It was the first time I'd ever seen him cry so hard. And I prayed it would be the last.
I slipped my arm around his waist and leaned my head into his shoulder. The black veil that covered my face was no match for the tears I shed. I'd always believed Matt was in a better place, but my heart broke for Elijah.
Even then, I longed to heal it.
I spent the night with him after the funeral, because he didn't want to be alone and his mother was grieving in her own way. In real life, we had curled up on his futon, trying to watch comedic movies to forget our sorrow, though it took us years to really heal.
But this was a dream, a nightmare from the recesses of my brain. As we looked into each other's eyes, he would lean in to kiss me, and the room would fade away. His kiss would be painful, like many of the men I had dated, and I would push away, my lip wet with the blood of a bite. Much to my horror, I realized we floated on a couch in a sea of lava that carried us to our doom. My skin burned, and he threw his head back and laughed at my agony.
I woke with the smell of singed flesh still in my nose and the touch of his kiss on my lips. Shuddering, sleep was impossible to find again that night.
I lay away until the sun crept over the mountains, the purple and blue hues matching the bags under my eyes. The mirror told me what toll the dreams had taken on me – from black circles under my eyes to abnormally paler skin. My eyes were dull; my hair was flat, and refused to cooperate. I pulled a navy blue beret over my short locks, and forced a smile onto my face.
Chapter Fifteen
When I got to the office, I was running a bit late. An extra shot of espresso and some additional make up had done wonders, but made me a few minutes late. Marion informed as soon as the door shut behind me that Elijah had called in sick, and that he'd said he would email assignment updates later in the day.
I was okay with that, because I wasn't sure how I felt about seeing Elijah that day.
At noon that day, I received a blow that escalated the situation. An e-mail from Alicia that told me, in not so many words, that I was no longer welcome to be part of the wedding, but she gave no explanation.
Well, it was clear to me that Elijah had come clean with her and told her what had happened. I was a little surprised to find the wedding was still going on, but Elijah was the king of charm, and in the end, I could see him apologizing to her and making it all okay.
In fact, if I knew anything about Alicia, I would say that she had probably just forgiven him with conditions, and one of them being that he wouldn't talk to me at work.
It explained his behavior, but my wound was still there.
I let the email go unanswered, for now. I was a little relieved. I wanted Elijah to be happy, not have to deal with my jealousy at this point. Besides, I had no right to feel this way... I delved into work that day, again spending as much time as I could in my office.
I closed the email, so tired of dealing with this. If Elijah wanted to end an 8-year friendship, then so be it. There would be...
Oh, who was I kidding. There would never be anyone else but him. I sunk in my desk chair, with my head in my hands. I hadn't a tear to shed, but my heart hurt and I'd give anything to heal it.
A pop-up dinged on my screen alerted me to a new email. Exasperated, and praying it wasn't from Alicia again, I opened it. Rochelle, your frequent flyer miles are waiting for you. What's keeping you! Said the subject line.
Absently, I clicked on it.
I had been so careful with my savings and loans. It had taken me nearly 3 years to pay off the business loans I had taken out to get
Elijah stood next to me, gripping the seat in front of him so hard his knuckles were white. Tears splashed to the faded red cushions, and his body shook with the effort of his control.
It was the first time I'd ever seen him cry so hard. And I prayed it would be the last.
I slipped my arm around his waist and leaned my head into his shoulder. The black veil that covered my face was no match for the tears I shed. I'd always believed Matt was in a better place, but my heart broke for Elijah.
Even then, I longed to heal it.
I spent the night with him after the funeral, because he didn't want to be alone and his mother was grieving in her own way. In real life, we had curled up on his futon, trying to watch comedic movies to forget our sorrow, though it took us years to really heal.
But this was a dream, a nightmare from the recesses of my brain. As we looked into each other's eyes, he would lean in to kiss me, and the room would fade away. His kiss would be painful, like many of the men I had dated, and I would push away, my lip wet with the blood of a bite. Much to my horror, I realized we floated on a couch in a sea of lava that carried us to our doom. My skin burned, and he threw his head back and laughed at my agony.
I woke with the smell of singed flesh still in my nose and the touch of his kiss on my lips. Shuddering, sleep was impossible to find again that night.
I lay away until the sun crept over the mountains, the purple and blue hues matching the bags under my eyes. The mirror told me what toll the dreams had taken on me – from black circles under my eyes to abnormally paler skin. My eyes were dull; my hair was flat, and refused to cooperate. I pulled a navy blue beret over my short locks, and forced a smile onto my face.
Chapter Fifteen
When I got to the office, I was running a bit late. An extra shot of espresso and some additional make up had done wonders, but made me a few minutes late. Marion informed as soon as the door shut behind me that Elijah had called in sick, and that he'd said he would email assignment updates later in the day.
I was okay with that, because I wasn't sure how I felt about seeing Elijah that day.
At noon that day, I received a blow that escalated the situation. An e-mail from Alicia that told me, in not so many words, that I was no longer welcome to be part of the wedding, but she gave no explanation.
Well, it was clear to me that Elijah had come clean with her and told her what had happened. I was a little surprised to find the wedding was still going on, but Elijah was the king of charm, and in the end, I could see him apologizing to her and making it all okay.
In fact, if I knew anything about Alicia, I would say that she had probably just forgiven him with conditions, and one of them being that he wouldn't talk to me at work.
It explained his behavior, but my wound was still there.
I let the email go unanswered, for now. I was a little relieved. I wanted Elijah to be happy, not have to deal with my jealousy at this point. Besides, I had no right to feel this way... I delved into work that day, again spending as much time as I could in my office.
I closed the email, so tired of dealing with this. If Elijah wanted to end an 8-year friendship, then so be it. There would be...
Oh, who was I kidding. There would never be anyone else but him. I sunk in my desk chair, with my head in my hands. I hadn't a tear to shed, but my heart hurt and I'd give anything to heal it.
A pop-up dinged on my screen alerted me to a new email. Exasperated, and praying it wasn't from Alicia again, I opened it. Rochelle, your frequent flyer miles are waiting for you. What's keeping you! Said the subject line.
Absently, I clicked on it.
I had been so careful with my savings and loans. It had taken me nearly 3 years to pay off the business loans I had taken out to get
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