Dolonia

Daniella Benton 14: Mornings and Mealtimes

When I wake up I have faint memories of a dream where I was holding an ice cream cone, running down the strangely empty streets hand in hand with someone that I can't remember.

It quickly leaves my mind as I feel of the other side of the bed for Sebastian, and it's empty. I turn my head slightly, and see that he's not here. I groan lightly, and start to wake up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

My thoughts run slightly, but they're all foggy. I can't focus on them. I'm still in a dream-like trance, and I contemplate going back to sleep. My muted questions push me to stay awake, not to mention the pain slowly spreading through my body the more I wake.

I'm still wearing his looney tunes shirt and gray sweatpants. They remind me of what happened last night. We were awake for some time. I got to know more about Sebastian than I ever thought I would.

I feel content. He got to know about how my mom left, and we both spilled something from our past. It made me realize that it feels nice to share the weight sometimes.

It takes me what feels like years to get out of the bed and to the door. With every move I make, sharp painful stabs go through my abdomen. I manage to start down the hallway. I find a sliding technique that seems to work well enough, and use it to get to the living room with as few painful jabs as I can manage.

I see Jackson is sitting on the couch, wearing his pajamas from last night, and drinking a cup of coffee. He smiles when he looks at me. "Morning Daniella. How did you sleep?"

I shrug. "Okay. Where is Seb?" I can't keep the question from coming out of my mouth.

"He went to the store." Jackson helps me comfortably sit down on the couch next to him."Do you want some breakfast?" He asks lightly while going to the kitchen.

"Umm... no, that's okay." I say lowly. I don't want to impose any more than I already am.

"Oh, Daniella, you have to keep your strength up. We have plenty of food. You need to eat something at least." He says gently.

I suppose he can see how I'm contemplating it because he gets out a bowl. "We have cereal, toast, eggs. Just say which you'd like."

I roll my eyes playfully. "Cereal is fine."

"Our place is your place, and your wish is my command. What kind do you want?"

After much deliberation I settle with a bowl of Lucky Charms. Jackson goes back to his coffee, leaving me alone with my thoughts. My thoughts are hazy, though. I feel myself zoning out somewhere into distant space, but I don't have enough energy to focus on starting a conversation.

Jackson clears his throat and my mind comes back to me. "I don't mean to pry..." he begins, "never mind," he says before chuckling, "it's none of my business. I'm sorry."

"No, go ahead. You can talk to me, and ask me about things." I say gently. I would love to be friends with Jackson, and friends talk. "You have to get to know me at some point."

He smiles weakly. "Okay. I just wondered if you... I don't know. If maybe you ever had any romantic feelings or thoughts toward Sebastian?"

My eyes widen. It's definitely not what I was expecting.

"I only ask because I thought I sensed some kind of chemistry, but I could've been wrong. Or maybe you two just have really good chemistry as friends," he says quickly before I can form a concise thought about the original question.

I chuckle lightly. "Jackson, first of all, I'm not going to bite your head off."

He chuckles deeply next to me. "Sorry, I just don't want to offend, or step on your toes."