Even Now

Chapter 59: Dreams

Hey guys :') I know this chapter is WAY overdue. I hate that it took so long to get it out here to you, especially since its supposed to be a freakin part two. :(

Honestly, I was just super overwhelmed by the pressure I put on myself to update- especially with University starting and me moving away for school... everything just hit me so fast that I didn't know what to do.

The chapter is finally out, though! And I think it's cute :3 hope you like it!

And I can't reiterate enough how much I love you guys. Seriously. You're all some of the best humans I've ever met <3

And a big thanks to @Sir_Staley for helping me through this crazy time :') also, you guys gots to go check out their new Layne story!! it's such a cool concept, and I just know you all are going love it as much as I do :)

And with that... on to the story!!

***

August 22, 1994: Seattle, WA, USA

After leaving the building, Jerry hails a cab. If hurricane Nancy was about to hit Seattle, then he'd better make his getaway as soon as possible.

Once a cab pulls over to the curb, Jerry strides swiftly towards it and opens the door. He then proceeds to give the driver directions to... his old apartment.

It would be weird going back. After all, he hadn't set foot in that building since... June? Probably June. And now it was August. Already, it had both felt like only a couple of days since he'd left, as well as a whole lifetime.

He hadn't even really wanted to buy that apartment. He'd instead wanted to buy this nice rural place that was just outside Seattle, but... at the time, he'd wanted to be closer to Layne.

He doesn't care about this old place- honestly, if Layne said the words, Jerry would sell it in a heartbeat. Even though, in truth, he was apprehensive around commitment and anything that had to do with it... but living with Layne again just felt so familiar, and being with him felt like breathing.

Jerry had often thought about getting a realtor for his old place, anyway... and just thinking about that fills his chest with some emotion akin to happiness, but more profound and sure than that... like... joy, and being in the state of it...

Jerry thinks back to the time when he believed his feelings for Layne to be a curse; those feelings that had arisen out of nowhere, 'punishing' him for no reason at all. He'd often wondered what he had done to deserve feeling that way.

But those feelings had always been there, hadn't they? It was just when he believed he was going to lose the chance to act upon those feelings that he'd... acted. He never really expected Layne to ever reciprocate those same feelings... he still didn't really understand why he had.

But he wasn't going to question that.

The cab pulls up to the apartment building, and Jerry thanks the driver, pays, and gets out of the car.

***

The first thing he notices when walking into his apartment is how eerily quiet it is. And dark. Dust lines nearly every surface he sees, and the air feels stuffy and held.

The apartment seems so much wider and emptier compared to Layne's place- which Liz had so fittingly called 'cozy.'

She was right: the apartment sure was 'cozy.' There wasn't a lot of space... surely, there was nowhere to hide anything, not really. Nowhere Layne wouldn't notice at some point, and definitely nowhere that would deter the cats' curiosity. Honestly, the number of times Sadie or Yttik had gotten into something they shouldn't have...