Twin Skeletons

If you knew what the bluebirds sang at you

Now

On the plane from California to New York I remembered how every time I saw her something odd would happen. The only not odd thing about her was how she waited at that bar for me every night, the most odd thing about her was how she vanished each morning.

Then

Gemma. I had whispered her name to myself all day as I decided to go to the bar again on the second night. I thought if I was lucky enough maybe I would find her, if I wasn't, I would drink myself into a state to where nothing mattered.

As soon as she walked in my eyes went straight to her at the bar. She was looking at me as if she knew I would walk through the door a look so deep like she had known me my whole life.

"How are you tonight?" She asked as she took the seat beside me at the bar.

"To tell you the truth, I really don't know." I smiled and chuckled a bit.

"Everything will get better." She said with a smile back that was bright electric white between her red lips.

"I don't doubt that." I flirted. "So are you here every night?" I asked wanting to know more.

"No, It's just a coincidence, fate maybe." She said looking at me with those blue grey eyes that powerfully stood out. I couldn't tell if she was actually lying or not.

"I must have the best luck then." I said. "do you want a drink?" I offered.

"Not tonight." She said. "Why do you think I need a drink to leave with you?" She teased me.

"Who said were leaving together?" I joked.

"I did." She winked at me. Wordlessly we got up off our bar stools and walked out the door together.

As I began to hail a cab for the both of us to go back to my hotel, I began to feel funny. I felt like I was way more drunk than I actually was, I only had to drinks but it had felt like I had ten or more. It got worse in the taxi as her beautiful face blurred and lagged in my mind.

I don't remember getting back to my hotel with her, I only remember pieces as if most of what happened had been cut from my memory. I remember running my hand over her bare body in the dark, the smell of her perfume, the sweet way her breath tastes, her voice.

Before I knew it, it was morning and I was alone in my hotel bed, my sheets still smelled like her and the bird was still outside my window just like the day before.

It cawed as my head throbbed, on and on again. I had had enough.

I got dressed wanting to get out of this room as quickly as I could. I took the elevator down to the lobby and marched over to the reception desk where a small, smiling, brown haired, too cheerful, young woman asked how she could help me.

"Yeah, I've been here for the past few days and every minute I've been in my room there's been in this bird constantly crowing. It's awful, I can't even sleep for it! I'm sure if we were to go up there right now you could hear it, I mean its been non stop!" I said.

"Well we can go up and have a look, and then maybe find you a different room." She said coming from behind the counter. I led her up to my room and unlock the door.

I stepped in and it was silent. I also realized just how many alcohol bottles were laying around my room.

"I swear it hasn't stopped since I've been here!" I said feeling frustrated and stupid. "It's been driving me crazy! I don't understand why it just now stopped!" I ran my hands through my blonde hair stressfully and looked at the woman who looked kind of shocked at the manic way I was acting.

"I don't hear it so there's really not much I can do, maybe it flew off." She said sort of as if I was a small child she was trying to calm down. "If you hear it again give us a call at the lobby and I'll be back up."

"No actually, can I just pay for a different room?" I asked not wanting to hear that crow again.

"Of course." She smiled cheerfully and I went back down to the lobby with her to pay for a different room and made sure it was on a different floor and on another side of the hotel, I then went back up to my room and collected my things and picked up the alcohol bottles and threw them away.

Once in my new room. which was almost identical to my last, I threw my bags on the floor and flopped on the bed, I still felt pretty hung over and I just wanted to sleep it off. I thought about Gemma as I drifted off and if I saw her tonight I would ask her more about herself, I wanted to know who she was, but then again I didn't.

I woke up only twenty minutes later to a shrill familiar sound.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me!!" I yelled as I sat back up. Was it another crow? was the outside of this hotel just teaming with crows or something? Was it crow mating season in New York? I had to leave, I didn't know where else to be though, I decided to pick up the phone and call Joe.

"Hey dude, what's up? You want to go with me to this freaking brilliant music store I found the other day?" Joe asked.

"I can't dude. I haven't gotten any sleep because of that crow I told you about. get this, I paid for a different room on another side of the hotel, on a different floor and its still out here some where, It's driving me crazy." I said

"Is it really that loud that you can hear it from out the window and you cant sleep?" he asked

"Yes! it sounds like its right in the room with me! cant you hear it now?" I asked and I was silent for a moment so he could listen.

"No dude, I don't hear anything." He said. "Did you go out drinking again last night?"

"Yeah. "

"You should really take my advice and just relax. If the bird gets that bad just stay here with me or get a different hotel or something." He said.

"What are you, my mom now?" I said

"Seriously, you need to stop. I know things are hard right now dude but just take this time to get your head together and not mess it up."

"I know. I need to take a rain check on that music store though."

"Sure thing buddy." He answered. "try to get some sleep." he said

When I got off the phone, I decided to try to ignore the bird and do what Joe said, sleep.

I woke up when it was dark out again and the buildings of New York were lit up outside my window. I realized that my phone was buzzing and it said "Patrick" on the screen

"Hey." I said with sleep in my voice still trying to drown out the bird that never sleeps.

"How's New York?" he asked

"Shitty." I said.

"I know actually. I talked to Joe, Are you okay man?" He asked concerned.

"Yeah I'm fine." I answered.

"Are you sure? you don't sound fine." he said. The familiarity of my best friends voice over the phone made me feel home sick for the first time, I felt like sitting there and spilling my gets to Patrick about Meagan but I'm sure he really didn't want to hear me whine and cry on the phone to him.

"No, I promise, I'm fine." I knew I was being short with him, but I knew the longer I was on the phone with him the more of a chance I had of bursting into tears.

"Just making sure. I want you to know I'm here when ever." he said sympathetically.

"I know, thanks Trick." I said and said goodbye.

I then began getting ready to leave again to go back out, I wanted to know about her so she wasn't so mysterious any more so I could maybe also get my fix of her just for tonight.