The Harsh Reality Of Life

Different Lives

Maddie squinted her eyes as the sun light was hitting her face. She tucked herself even more into the warm comfort of her blanket but a window was open which welcomed in the cold New York morning breeze. It was a Sunday Morning. She extended her arm out to reach Dean on the other side of her bed where he'd lay, and she'd rest her head on his beating chest. But she was greeted by an empty bed and cold sheets.

Suddenly, the door swung open, startling Maddie. She looked up in panic only to find a very smiley Dean at her door. Her hand was still on her chest that was rising up and down. She lazily picked up a pillow and threw it in his direction barely hitting him. "Dean, you freaking scared me!"

"Well good morning to you too." Dean said with sarcasm. He placed the bag of muffins, the two cups of coffee on her kitchen table and raced to her side.

"Where did you go?" She asked groggily.

"I went out. I woke up like an hour ago and you had absolutely nothing. So, I thought you'd like to wake up to something a little nicer than a bowl of cereal by your side."

"Kinda disappointed." She smirked. "I thought I'd wake up seeing you by my side."

"Well now that I'm back, I can take care of your disappointment." He laughed and then edged closer to her, laying her head on his chest like she wish she could.

She closed her eyes and smiled. "Okay, can I just say how much I love this?" Her words caused her to smile even more. "How much I love Sunday mornings. To hear your tired voice in the mornings, to have breakfast with you, to have those little moments that just warm my heart."

She looked up at him only to find him staring. He sat silently taking in her morning beauty. Her fluttering eyes and tired smile. He leaned closer and spoke. "You are so beautiful" he whispered in her ear causing her body to send shivers down her spine. Even after a thousand kisses, Maddie was always as nervous as the first time she kissed him because there was a part of him that was so intimidating. She leaned in and placed her lips on his causing him to smile. His lips were warm and smoothed and the aroma of fresh coffee and cigarettes drifted back to her mind. She relaxed a little as he wrapped his hands around her waist, pulling her close. Maddie loved how he kissed with such enthusiasm, with one hand pushing her even closer to him and the other intertwined with hers. She pulled away to breath and, he was pretty breath-taking". He immediately pulled her back causing her to giggle and nuzzled his head into the side of her neck slowly leaving a trail of kisses.

"That was a great way to start the morning." He said kissing her second after second.

"Yeah well don't get your hopes up...Dean" she said playfully. "Unlike you, I don't spend all my time in bed." She said picking herself up and off of him and walking away.

"Ouch." He said playfully resting a hand on his heart as if he's been wounded. "Don't lie. There's been a lot of days where you've spent the whole day in bed, especially with me." He said egoistically.

"Oh wow. Someone's getting a little happy. Don't expect another one of those days honey."

After freshening up and brushing her teeth, she walked into her small kitchen but didn't feel the urge to have muffins and coffee. "Dean, seriously? Muffins?"

"What? Don't judge me. I went all the way to Mr Andrew's bakery to get these." He scoffed taking a bite out of one.

"Nice to know you crossed one street." She laughed.

---LINE BREAK---

Liam looked at his reflection in the mirror and kept a straight face. He could feel the pressure all falling on his shoulders like a ton of bricks. Slowly tying his tie, he thought back to the early days in his life. He didn't want it to be like this. Four years ago he'd imagined still being with his best friends, still being with Maddie. The only thing that New York reminded Liam of was Maddie when he first stepped out of the plane. And the truth was, he could still remember the last time they talked so vividly.