Winter's Kiss (Summer Rain #2)

XXV ~ Forever

{Slow Dancing In A Burning Room ~ John Mayer} 

...I was the one you always dreamed of, You were the one I tried to draw, How dare you say it's nothing to me, baby, you're the only light I ever saw...

----

11th November

AVA

     Some days stick in our mind, in moments that shine brightly, never quite fading into obscurity. There are days that when they roll around, year after year, you never quite forget that feeling. How it felt on that day. Where you were. What you said. What you could have done differently. How life cracks and splinters in ways you never expect, from moment to moment. 

     I didn't think it would be that day. But I suppose, no one ever does until it happens.

    I hadn't slept well, and after overhearing Elliot and Benjamin, a feeling of unease sat heavily on my shoulders. I was all too aware of going home, and the reality that awaited me. The reality I had run from, and the questions I wasn't asking myself. 

      I had showered, and Poppy had given me some clean clothes to put on. I felt strange being in someone else's clothes, but I was more than grateful not to still be in the same outfit from the last few days. 

     'Keep them,' she had smiled at me over breakfast. 'They suit you.' 

     My eyes flew to Elliot instinctively, but he only smiled slightly, his eyes falling to the floor. I let mine do the same, shy suddenly. I breathed a sigh and went on eating, knowing that the day ahead would be the last one here with Elliot and Poppy. 

Bodhi had called later, and the day had drawn to a calm and uneventful close while I waited for Benjamin to top up the gas tank in the car and get some snacks for our journey back to New York.

      Jax had left for work early, his demeanour quiet as he made his exit, kissing Poppy on the cheek as she called after him to have a good day. His grey eyes were unassuming, but they held an edge I couldn't quite get a hold of. It left Elliot and Poppy with a day together that I didn't want to intrude upon. Their voices filled the apartment with the music of their laughter, both of them cooking and catching up, and I joined them for a while, listening to Elliot recount his stories of London. Poppy hung on to his every word, the same look of adoration she had the first time I saw her, upon the Mountain near the Beaumont club that Summer. He was her rock, and it was nice to see it hadn't changed. 

     So much had changed, and yet, we still stood together on that day, both as the people we were and the people we had become. A light amongst so much winter darkness. The small sheds of daylight. 

----

     I was in the spare room, waiting on Benjamin, the day drawing to a dusky and grey close, as the night was once again returning. I could hear the sound of water running in a bath and the sounds of a busy household. My heart yearned for home suddenly, and I sent a quick text to Bodhi. 

Me: I'll be home soon, I love you x 

     Quick as a flash, there was a buzz on my phone. 

Bodhi Bear:  :) see you soon x 

     I sighed deeply, letting a wave of tiredness overwhelm me. I couldn't wait to sleep in my own bed. And yet, I ached knowing I was leaving. That I was leaving Elliot behind.