"Cause once upon a time,
You were my everything.
It's clear to see that
Time hasn't changed a thing."
- Zara Larsson
***
I follow Liam into a dark room, the only light streaming in from the hallway.
"What is it?" I ask.
He doesn't answer, instead making his way further into the room, leaving me standing in the doorway.
"What did you want to show me?" I ask, louder this time, wondering if maybe he just hadn't heard me before.
He doesn't answer again, and it's then that I realize he heard me. He's just ignoring me.
I sigh heavily, not really in the mood for this right now. Does he always have to be so cryptic? I mean, we're in this together, aren't we?
"Look, if you're just going to ignore me, maybe I should - "
"A little patience, Adira," he says, stacking two cardboard boxes. "I know it's not your strong suit, but Jesus," he finishes picking them up and walking back towards me.
"For the last time, stop talking like you know me," I state.
"Fine, whatever you say," he replies. "Here, take this," he says, sliding the top box into my arms before I can even think.
It's a bit heavier than I expected, and I start to struggle under the weight. I hide it though. I don't need him thinking I can't handle myself.
Liam walks out of the room and down the hallway without a word, and I roll my eyes and follow him.
He stops in the living room and sets his box down on the floor, and I follow suit.
Liam sits down on the couch and pulls the first box towards him. When he notices that I'm still standing, he reaches out and pats the seat next to him.
Naturally, I raise an eyebrow at him.
"Come on, Ira, I don't bite. Unless you want me to of course, but you already know that don't you?" he says smugly.
I narrow my eyes at him. "Whatever you have to show me, better be worth it," I say before going to sit next to him.
"Believe me, it is," he replies, opening the box, and taking out what appears to be a photo album. He sets it on my lap.
"This album is from the 1970s. I found it at a library about a year ago," he starts as I open it to the first page.
"You stole this from a library??" I ask incredulously, glancing up at him.
Liam scoffs and rolls his eyes. "In a minute, you'll see why," he replies.
He reaches over and starts to turn the pages. As he does so, his hand brushes my thigh, and I try to pretend like I didn't notice, but I did.
How could I not when my stomach drops at his touch?
Finally, Liam finds the page he was looking for and points to the picture in the bottom left corner. "Notice anything strange about this photo?" he asks.
I look down at the picture. It's of a small group of people sitting on the porch of an idyllic white house. The picture is obviously old and the colors are faded, but you can still make out the faces of all the people.
My eyes slide from left to right over everyone, and at the end of the line there's a couple.
They're young. Couldn't be more than 19 or 20. The boy has his arm around her waist, and she has her hand on his chest. They look happy as they stare into each other's eyes, smiling.
That's when I see it.
The boy, he looks just like Liam.
I gasp, and hesitantly move my eyes to look at the girl again.
And I'm shocked to see my own face smiling back at me.
"What the hell?"
CITEȘTI
Help Me Close My Eyes
Fantezie"Have you ever felt yourself slowly becoming attached to something that wasn't real? An idea, or a place, or maybe even the fictional character in that book you just read or that show you just watched. Perhaps even a person in your dreams? It happen...
