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I HAD MY UKULELE AND EVERYTHING IT WAS AMAZING.
--
When Devon got home the following Sunday morning, she didn't know what to do.
She had nobody to sit down next to and tell them how her day was.
She had nobody to be busy for.
Devon dropped her stuff by the door and made her way to her late mother's bedroom. Everything was the way it was left the previous day.
Her mother's over bed table was cluttered with instruments to measure vital signs like a thermometer, blood pressure cuff, and stethoscope. The rug that was kept under her bed was messed up, from which Devon assumed was when the EMTs brought the stretcher in.
Devon was able to imagine the whole scene in her head. It had happened numerous times before, but it never got severe or deadly like this time.
Devon sat at the kitchen table and put her head in her hands. She honestly had no idea what to do with herself now that her mother was gone.
She usually sat down and talked to her mother about anything, but now all she wanted to do was lay down and cry.
She felt almost as if she had the same condition as her mother, paralysis.
Instead of the nervous system, it was with her emotions. She was always stuck in one state. She barely ever had a smile on her face.
Devon was permanently sad.
The only thing that was able to pull her out of that deep, dark pit of despair was the company of Josh.
But she had lost him as well.
She blew up on him. She almost did the most intimate thing you could possibly do with someone, and then left him. She left Josh to feel worthless and used.
But that's the opposite of how Josh felt.
He was aware that Devon was going through a hard time and he realized that she wasn't going to be in the best of moods. He felt lucky to have Devon in his life, especially because of her habit of pushing people away. Josh wanted nothing more but to be with Devon, but he also knew that she needed to do stuff her way in order to get through it. So he didn't want to bother her about it.
Josh also knew she was too stubborn to admit she was having a hard time and take off from work. He had no doubt in his mind that she would show up for work the following day with red, puffy eyes and shaky hands that she wouldn't dare let Josh hold.
And that's exactly what she did.
***
It was Devon's lunch break, but she didn't bring a lunch. She was too focused on planning and her mother to even acknowledge the loud noises that her stomach made. But since she didn't get a good night's sleep, as soon as her lunch break started, her elbow was propped up on her desk and her chin rested in her hand, she was asleep.
As Josh left his classroom for his lunch break ( which he usually enjoyed with the lovely Miss Taylor ), he stuck his head in her open door a bit. When he saw her asleep, he got an idea. Earlier that morning, when he stopped to get his coffee, he grabbed her a cup, but there was something a bit extra he added.
Josh grabbed his sticky note pad and a pen, scribbling words onto the yellow square. He stuck it to the lid of the disposal cup and grabbed his jacket.
He made his way back to Devon's classroom and walked in quietly. He set the coffee down on her desk, proof reading the note.
I put vanilla creamer in it because you only like the cream between the Oreos and vanilla froyo. -Mr. Dun
He made his way around her desk and gently draped his jacket over her shoulder. She let out a small sound, but didn't wake up from her slumber. Josh remember himself the make sure she was awake for her next class.
Josh placed a light kiss on the top of her head and quietly left the room.
When Devon woke up, her chin was still resting in her hand, her hand now numb. She sat up straight and rubbed her eyes. Her lunch break was only an hour, and she slept through the majority of it. She felt the weight of the jacket on her shoulders, she tugged it off.
She examined it and recognized it as Josh's. Instead of draping it over her chair like she usually did with hers, she slipped it on her arms and zipped it up. She shoved her hands in the pocket and felt something, so she pulled it out and looked at it. She let out a light laugh when she saw that it was a taco wrapper from Taco Bell.
Her last two classes dragged on. Every single minute that went by seemed as if to be an hour. She had decided that instead of going by the lesson plan, she would just give the kids a free day. That was pretty easy, considering that it didn't take much to entertain young kids.
Devon had decided that her day wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. At least until the kids were let out.
Once the last class was dismissed, that was when she lost it. She took a seat at her desk and sighed. Then she broke down.
She rested her elbows on her desk and pressed her palms to her eyes. She let out small whimpers and sobs, trying her best not to attract any attention to herself. However, she failed.
Josh stood at her doorway for a few seconds before he walked in, immediately frowning when he saw a crying Devon.
"Hey," Josh rushed to her side and knee down. "What's wrong?" He asked quietly.
Devon just shook her head and didn't say a word to him.
"Come on you can talk to me." He spun her chair so that she was facing him.
Devon immediately threw her arms around him and dug her face into the crook of his neck.
Josh slowly stood up, his grip around her waist tightening. "It's okay baby," he told her. "You're gonna be okay." He could only concentrate on the fact that Devon was vulnerable. He was so used to her making smart comments about sad, but to actually see her so down was heartbreaking.
Her eyes were red and puffy. Her cheeks were tear stained and her hair was frizzy and falling into her face.
His eyes bounced around on her desk, searching for any sign of what could've possible happened. He hoped whatever happened was better than what he was thinking.
