Delirium

Chapter Eighteen: The Time Jump

Summer in Indiana was unparalleled. The flat surfaces gave the sun nothing to bounce off of, letting it soak in the entire state until every creature in it was being burned dry.

Hawkins was no exception.

Liv carried a box up the three flights of concrete steps outside of the brick apartment building she would call home for the next year- unless she and Beverly agree to extend the lease.

Sweat pooled at the nape of her neck and left tracks down her back. The thin green tanktop glued to her skin by sheer perspiration alone. It had adhered to her like a second skin. It would forever be a part of her, she had come to realize.

The box dug into her forearms and biceps and took up the entire front of her, disallowing her to see anything in front of her. She had to blindly climb the stairs and hope no one wanted to try and pass by her.

"Liv!" Beverly called for her at their front door. All she could manage was a grunt as she hit the last step. She huffed and took a slight breather at the third level. The open hallway of the apartment building allowed a small breeze, but even that was scorching. End of June brought a berating, unforgiving, endless heat that would be Liv's last battle.

"Liv! Stop standing around and bring that box in!"

"Oh, for all that is good and holy!" She grunted and began again, walking toward the door. She used Beverly's voice as a guide until she found their front door. She took one step inside before dropping the box on the light hardwood floor. She panted and wiped her forearm across her forehead to get rid of the sweat. "Fuck, Beverly, what do you have in there?"

Beverly squatted down to rip the box open. The flaps opened to show books, magazines, and book ends.

Liv gaped as she glared at her best friend. "I am never fucking do anything for you again." She gave the box a light kick before she moved further into the apartment.

The front door opened to the living room and kitchen. Both were open concepts that made the small space seem larger than it actually was. The kitchen separated itself from the living room as the hardwood transitioned into large light gray tile. She walked around the small island to get to their sink. She grabbed a styrofoam cup left over from the previous night and filled it with water. She downed the first cup, then went back for a second.

"Your face is beat red," Beverly teased. "Bless the melanin in my skin that I never have to deal with that."

Liv continued to gulp down the water as she slowly turned toward Beverly. Her best friend held a wide grin that squinted her eyes. After she finished the second cup she lowered the cup and crushed it in her hand, then threw it at Beverly. She screamed and ducked to narrowly miss the cup.

"You could have hit me!"

"What a travesty that would have been," she quipped dryly as she left the kitchen to venture down the hall. There were boxes outside the single bathroom pushed against the right side of the hallway right after the kitchen. She side-stepped those as she made a B-line for the first door on the left- her bedroom. The door was open to show the mess as it was.

She had a full-sized mattress laying on the ground without a frame to sit on. The sheets were sloppily put on from a night of restless tossing and turning. Her closet door was open to show only half of her clothes hung up on hangars. The rest were tossed carelessly in a box at the bottom of the closet. Her dresser was right beside the door, with drawers still opened and only partly filled. There were other boxes stacked around her room, waiting to be unpacked and given a home.

Liv ignored it all as she flopped face-first onto her mattress. She sprung her hand out to pet Rufus, but he wasn't next to her. She lifted her head and looked over to see her bed dog-less. She frowned and rolled off her bed. "Rufus?" She stood and peeked her head out of her bedroom. "Rufus!"