Heavy breaths lift my chest up and down in a wobbly panicked rhythm, my head shooting from the pillow as my eyes open to the darkness, curtains drawn. Blurry, everything is blurry and dark, shadows fill the room. My face is cold, but my hands and legs are warm, sweating, crying, hot and heavy and clammy - I wipe them off on the sheets. Zacc is lying next to me. I don't need to panic. Slowly I lay down and pull the covers over my shivering husband. He cuddles into me as I wrap my arms around his chest. But his skin is dry. I wash over his cracked hands with my fingers. He's warm under my touch, his hair tangles gently in my hands, curly and dark against the white sheets and duvet. Subconsciously he nuzzles into me and I cradle him closer to me, hand on the back of his head holding him against me. I let my arm rest over his side and brush his slightly bigger stomach with my... I freeze...No- maybe he's just... It can't be.
"God this can't be happening!" Panic flows heavy through my body like tar, sticking to everything and slowing me down. Cold water, ice cold against my burning face. It drips down into the sink and onto the counter, I'll have to clean that later. It doesn't matter- Nothing matters! My hands tremble as I grip the edge of the sink, fingernails stabbing against the silvery tile. All the work I've put in is gone for shit! My face is pale against the dark black hair sticking to my sweat covered forehead -I've always been pale, as long as I can remember- the ringing is back, it always comes back.
"Alec?" My head spins to the side, peering through the open door to see Zacc sitting up in bed looking around for me. He locks eyes with me and his face lights up, he waves and lays back down. I wave softly back hand falling limply to my side, before turning back to the mirror. The small clock hanging on the wall reading 6:47am, too late for me to fall back asleep. I might as well start the day, let Zacc sleep in for once while I make coffee.
Zacc wakes up around four hours later at about 11:30, much later than when he usually wakes up. His face is rough with a few grey hairs scattered throughout the mess of poofy brown hair that sits at the top of his head. The scar across his cheek seems more wrinkled and noticeable than usual. I look away, why is this happening now? We were so happy, we did nothing wrong, caused no trouble but still, it's happening and there's nothing I can do to stop it. My powers can only stop him from realising what's
happening, stopping him from hurting is the absolute most I can do.
He seems to sense that something is wrong because he comes over and puts a hand on my back. I look into his eyes, still full of life. Despite everything I've done, that will soon fade...
Everyday he grows more wrinkled and he gets more and more grey streaks in his hair, it's going too quickly. I want him to be happy until he runs out of time. We've been going on walks around the garden, planting new plants, building a bird's nest, all the things he's always loved. It hurts so much to see him age, but soon it looks as if he's been on this earth for far too long, hair completely white, face wrinkled almost past recognition. And yet his eyes still hold the life that was there the day I first met him. He's stayed exactly the same ever since then, in looks and in spirit, seeing him change makes my heart ache. I've lost so many people to old age while I stayed exactly the same, year after year another person would die and I would live on. So I stopped going out, I stopped meeting people. And I stayed like that for years, but eventually I got lonely and went out to a bar. That's where I met him. He was the barista working that night. I wouldn't say it was love at first sight but God he was handsome, a smile with dimples and muscled arms, curly hair and smooth hands, that could toss the glass into the air and catch it smoothly without failing.
He gave me his number but I refrained from telling him I didn't own a cellphone. Just the thought of talking to him again was enough to make me go out and buy and an I-phone. We texted and called and slowly got to know each other, we even went on a few dates. He introduced me too his parents and then finally we made it official and three years later he proposed and I knew that I couldn't loose and luckily I still haven't.
Hes been the sun to my moon, the Leo to my Cancer, the jelly to my peanut butter and my rock through everything, my shoulder to cry on. He's been the best thing that ever happened to me.
