Everlasting Silence

Chapter 1

Jordan's POV, eleven months prior

I was sitting cross-legged on my bed and drew patterns on the covers, while Keylani randomly stuffed clothes into her suitcase and held a monologue on how excited she was to visit Yale after she had been declined three times in the past.

»Plus, the university is much closer to my parents house, so I get to see them more often and maybe spend some time with my old friends«, she went on and I tried to ignore the sting in my heart. She didn't mean it like that, like I was just a poor version of a replacement for them, it was just my mind telling me that. At least I hoped so because she was the best friend I've ever had, aside from my older brother, but that didn't count.

The faint rays of the January sun shone through the window and made Keylani's auburn hair almost look like liquid copper cascading down her back as if they wanted to highlight her bubbly mood even more. Since she had first stepped into this dorm room with her bright blue suitcase in her hand, it's exterior decorated with colorful stickers and it's inside filled with even more colorful clothes, Keylani had illuminated the room and brought it to life. And now that she was about to leave I felt the shadows lurking in the corners and behind the curtains, waiting for her and her brightness to be gone already.

»Hey! Are you even listening?«, she asked me accusingly and my gaze immediately averted onto my hands because I couldn't bare to look into her eyes without showing the exact same amount of enthusiasm as her on my face, that wouldn't be fair.

I felt the bed dipping beside me and her soft hand pushing a loose strand of hair behind my ear and it took all of my strength and resilience to not burst into tears because all of these intimate little gestures that had brought me so much comfort in the past year would be gone soon.

»You wanna tell me what's going on inside that pretty little head of yours, curly?«, Keylani wanted to know after I had continued to stare at my hands for at least a minute, her voice calm and warm like the summer sun. I think I appreciated the most about her that she never pushed me to talk about my feelings since she knew how much I despised doing so.

When I lifted my hands to sign her something, they felt like someone had attached the dark hole of galaxy M87 to them. »Do you really have to go?«, I asked her and immediately guilt and shame began to settle in. She probably thought that I was pathetic and clingy. I thought that I was pathetic for even thinking that, let alone expressing it.

»Oh, come on! You won't even notice that I'm gone once your new roommate has arrived. I bet she'll be wonderful and if she's not, I'll come all the way back here and kick her ass because you are one of the kindest, most likable people I have ever met, okay?«, she said and her forest green eyes looked so intently into my brown ones as if she was trying to carve her words into my mind.

I raised my hands to contradict her, but she quickly took them into hers and therefore made it impossible for me to do so. After giving her a slight smile, she engulfed my in a tight embrace and rested her chin on my shoulder to dispel even the last doubts in me, which I returned gratefully.

A few long seconds passed and I tapped her back lightly, trying to get her attention, before pointing to my alarm clock that stood silently on my bedside table, a few of the golden leaves I had painted on the white surface years ago were starting to fade away.

»Damn it! The cab should be here any second and I haven't even finished packing yet, let alone saying goodbye to everyone«, Keylani shouted way too close to my ear for my liking and jumped off the bed, almost knocking my inkwell over in the process.

I sucked the air in sharply and prayed that the glass jar would stay in place because my art project that was due next week was right next to it. I never understood why Keylani thought that having my desk with my art stuff at the foot of my bed was a loose cannon. Now I did.