Set Me Free// L. Staley

20. Time

For the first time since he lived, Layne felt as though he could finally follow the conceptualization of time. 

He then realized how boring it was to sit and wait for something to happen, specifically, wait for Rowan to return.

The concept of time had not fazed him for the period of time he endured in the small bedroom, but for some reason, the confines of white walls and dusty objects seem to grow smaller, making him feel as if the air escaped his lungs.

His sincerity to see Rowan grew stronger the longer he sat, waiting with his hands in his lap, and facing the direction of where she arrived. The time between when they last met to when they would meet again felt taunting to him. Time stood at a standstill, the air growing staler and quieter, agonizing him menacingly.

Layne hummed tunes to himself, attempting to pass the time that sat with him uneasily. A partner for longer than he thought, time was of no benefit to him. 

For a while, he thought nothing of it, living along in the deep corners of endless oblivion. Now that he had Rowan, time seemed to halt in a way that made him feel antsy like he couldn't do anything to fix that. He was stuck, waiting for her to return to him.

His dread diminished, however, when the door appeared. Its golden accents shone brightly against the sunshine as Rowan entered through the door, her seeming to shine just as bright as the gold.

Layne assumed position, presumably one of a villain or some cheesy comic book character. As if he were Dr. Evil, he quirked his eyebrow in campy fashion.

"I have been waiting for you," Layne said, rubbing his hands together menacingly.

Rowan closed the door, looking at him with a quirked brow. "Was that supposed to sound sinister?"

Layne casually shrugged, laying back against the bed cooly. "Perhaps."

She rolled her eyes as she strolled over to Layne, sitting down next to him with a sigh. "Boy, am I glad to see you."

Layne looked over at her as he propped his arms behind his head. "Well, of course you are. Who wouldn't be?"

Rowan gently nudged him in the ribs with her elbow. "Is that ego or confidence?"

"Whatever you want it to be, sweetheart," he replied, winking as he smirked.

"Hm," Rowan hummed. "Ego it is."

Layne returned a nudge, tapping her simply with his elbow as he shrugged half-heartedly. 

"I'll pretend you didn't say that. So," Layne paused, leaning towards Rowan with a cheesy grin, "how was your early Christmas?"

Shit usually hit the fan when it came to Rowan's life. Her whole life, there always seemed to be something to go wrong. She didn't know if it was because she attracted bad luck or if it was purely coincidental. Nonetheless, questions continuously plagued her mind. 

As well as her brother, she felt as if it was her fault her mother was dead, too. Maybe her father was a drunkard because of her. She couldn't grasp a clue, but it did make her wonder.

Somehow, she pitted all her life situations against her, blaming herself for everything that went wrong. Perhaps placing all the guilt, all the blame on herself, made matters much worse for her mental health.

Rowan nodded her head, dryly laughing as she scratched the back of her head. "Well, it started out good, but then it went to shit."

"Uh oh," Layne began to sit up, so he was eye-level with Rowan. "What happened?"