The Abandoned Lovers

-18-

1632 words

Chapter 18 - How it Used to be

How it used to be. Something a lot of people can say, whether used to be meant yesterday or many years ago. So much can change.

I've probably said it before, but my life changed in a matter of minutes. Everything breaking around me, but maybe it's being fixed. What the future holds, we will never know.

I fix myself and go down the stairs, where I see him at the bottom. He's talking to Halo and my mom, my mom very obviously checking out River. He smiles at her, but sees me coming down the stairs.

He gets up from the couch he was sitting on and walks up to me. "You wanna show me around?" He asks and I nod, signaling to the bathroom the kitchen and the living room downstairs before walking up the set of squeaky stairs.

"Welcome to the upstairs, you've climbed mount bad memories to get here so welcome." I say looking up at him from where I stand on the ground.

That's when Kingston runs up the stairs, something new in his eyes before he sees me and there is relief. Kingston's arms go down to my thighs and he picks me up.

"You're supposed to be on bed rest, so I'm your bed. Continue." He says and I shake my head. My crutches dropping to the side as we move down the hall.

"This is, uh, lets skip it." I say but River opens the door to reveal a floral room. Perfectly intact from the last time she was in it. My sister. My dad never sold any of her stuff, he loved her. It's still weird to even think I have a mom.

"Is this your room?" He asks and I shake my head, "I-it's my sister's room." I say shyly as usual and he looks me in the eyes, slightly surprised as I put my arms around his neck and rest my head on his shoulder.

"Where's your sister?" He asks and My eyes go wide.

Kingston can tell where this is going, his mom died and he knows this feeling. "River you can't just ask that, man."

I shrug, "Depends on what religion you believe in." I says and he immediately put the pieces together. Kingston's fingers run through my brown hair slowly as we walk out of the room, him knowing I'd rather not be in there.

It's weird to be in somebody's arms though, it's just.. weird. Nobody wants to hold me, though I love it. Or at least used to love it, but I like being in his arms.

He walks down the hall a bit more, walking past an empty closet to my room. "This your room?" River asks making fun of himself, "Yep." I say popping the 'p'.

He opens the room and Kingston quickly sets me down in the bed. Sitting down next to me at my knees. "It's completely different. Me and my sister painted the walls when we were younger, a bunch of different colors swirled together in an old dark green." I say and he looks around.

"I bet you would have liked it better that way." Kingston says, laying back so his head is in my lap. I nod, looking around the completely white and grey room.

Kingston looks up at me as I look around. "I could guess what's in the other doors, but I won't and we'll just sit here." He says and I chuckle,

"We will have to go downstairs soon though, but I don't like bedrest much and I'm used to pain so we're doing things." I say and he chuckles, shaking his head but River just looks around.

"When are you going home?" Kingston asks River ask and he shrugs, "I do not know, stuff is happening back at home." He says, and suddenly it explains why he cared about me being in he hospital. All that caring about me is bull crap.