Beyond The Sky

22

The next day arrives and I'm dreading everything. I don't want to go anywhere or do anything. I know it'd be good for me as a distraction, but I don't know if even distracting me would keep my mind off Arlo. I still can't wrap my head around the fact that he's gone. I barely knew the guy - I don't know if I've mentioned this, but even if you've barely met your soulmate, you're always immediately connected to them. So it always seems like you're destined for heartbreak if your soulmate dies. Tragically or not.

It just kind of sucks.

I look at my phone, sitting on the nightstand next to my bed. The unread text from Arlo--er, Arlo's friend--is still there. Awaiting a response.

Would his friend still see the text?

I guess it would give me some closure to at least try it. I open the text reluctantly.

I read the text again and almost burst into tears. Why am I doing this to myself?

Oh, right, closure. Duh.

I stare at the text for a few moments, trying to figure out what to type. This is so weird...

I give up on trying to respond to it. I feel there's no use to even try. I put my phone back down and threw my face into my pillow. I hear a knock on my door and I don't even move my head as a very muffled "Whaaaaat?" comes out of my mouth.

"It's Spencer," the person behind the door says, "Can I come in?"

I sigh, flipping myself back over. "I guess."

The doorknob clicks as it turns, and Spencer walks into my kind of messy bedroom.

"How are you feeling?" Oh, look, he cares.
"Awful." I wanted to be honest with him. "I wish I could've seen him again."

Spencer comes and sits at the foot of my bed. "I may not understand how it feels, but I'm sure it's hard."

"You think?" I retorted.

Spencer pauses a moment and responds with, "Did you still want to come with Isla and I today?"

I sigh, "I don't know." I pause, thinking. "I feel like I should, but at the same time I don't feel like going anywhere."

"I think you should come along. If you isolate yourself for too long you're just going to make yourself worse." Spencer stands up, then grabs my arm and pulls me toward the edge of my bed. "Come on now, get ready to go. Show's in an hour and a half. Isla and I'll meet you out at my car."

"Fine."

And so I did. I didn't know if I was going to enjoy it, but it's worth a shot.

A few hours pass and by then, we're leaving the theater. It wasn't so bad, but I definitely couldn't keep my mind off of the text from Arlo's friend. It was just so... crazy. I wonder if the friend would text me on his own? I couldn't even begin to think he would.

Ping.

Huh? Who was that?