Moments of Collapse

Chapter 5 - A grave

I laid her gently on the bed. Soft snores escape her lips as I turn to leave. She looked so beautiful, even with the mascara running down her cheeks. I flipped the light off and shut the door quietly, careful to not wake her.

She had cried in my arms until she fell asleep. I don't know why she was crying, nothing really happened. She didn't tell me either. I could have asked but I felt I was already overstepping the boundaries just sitting there on her bed. I feel bad leaving her there, but what if she really wanted me to leave?

♥☻♥☻♥☻♥

I opened my eyes but could see nothing except for a faint blue slit of light coming in through the curtains. Something coated my body, something I couldn't quite understand. I was under the covers, yes, but this was something more.
I was alone.

I immediately jumped from my bed and rushed outside. Dim street lights hardly illuminated the streets. It was dark out and I know I shouldn't be taking a walk this late but what else is there to do? I'm so tired of being alone. I'm more afraid of myself than the dark.

♥☻♥☻♥☻♥

I continued down the sidewalk, staring at my feet, hands in my pockets. It was a bit chilly out, I'm glad I wore my jacket. I walked quickly, the silent streets scared me. It was so quiet.

I begin to doubt whether or not I'm going the right way for I have just come across a cemetery. I had never noticed this on the way to Marina's house. There was a figure standing over a grave. A body, curvy like a woman's.

I slowly began into the cemetery, stepping over graves and dodging branches and crunchy leaves. I know I shouldn't be approaching some random figure probably mourning the death of their loved one, but I couldn't resist the curiosity. It was like they had sort of a gravitational pull and I seemed to have walked right into the radius.

"Shit," I cursed in a whisper, fucking everything up. I stepped on a twig and it snapped. Before the figure could turn around I quickly slipped behind a conveniently large grave stone. My heart was beating a little too quickly as I rested against the cold stone. Fuck that was close.

I slowly peeked over the smooth rock, the figure seemed to be on their way out. I quickly, and not-so-swiftly scrambled to the grave they were standing before. The names carved were hard to see in the darkness of the night. I leaned in to get a closer look but still could not make out the letters.

"Did you know them?" A voice from behind startled me, knocking me off my feet and into the dirt of the poorly attended cemetery. "Or were you just following me?" They laughed, a familiar laugh actually.

She bent over to help me up, her lovely face came to view. "Come on Elizabeth, get up." Marina held out her hand and pulled me up. Her hand was cold, but warm all at once.

"If you wanted to stay over you could have just asked." She sniffled. Probably because she was crying earlier, she might have been crying just a minute ago too. "I was just walking back to the school to get my car. I thought you'd rather me not stay at your house." I dropped my gaze to my feet and kicked at the dirt.
"Well, I wouldn't mind your company," I glanced up at her, her head tilted, the corners of her lips curled. Her eyes were as dark as the night but seemed to hold so much light, it was hardly fathomable. I tried to keep from smiling so she wouldn't know that I wanted to stay at her house more than ever. "And, uh," her eyes shifted to a street opposite of us, "the school is that way." She broke into laughter, and I couldn't help but laugh too.

---

"So whose graves were you visiting?" I asked, shutting the door of her house behind me. Her head dropped and she looked at her feet for a few moments. Fuck, that was insensitive. "Oh, um. No one really, I was just walking around. Couldn't sleep." She chuckled awkwardly. "I think it was the cemetery keeper's grave though." That would explain the poor look to the cemetery grounds.

I decided to change the subject, since this one was super uncomfortable for her to talk about. "Why blue?"

"Huh?"

"Why'd you paint your door blue?"

"Oh. I don't know I just like the color blue, I guess. Could you really tell it was painted by me? Wow, it must be horrible." She ran her fingers along the door. "No, it's perfectly done. I wouldn't have guessed that you did it yourself." I could feel her breath faintly beating against my skin as she reached over my shoulder to touch the door. Her mouth hung open as she focused on the wood behind me. I don't think she realized how close we were until I bit at my lip, wishing they were against hers.

"Sorry," her hand dropped to her side and she turned away. She quickly changed the subject this time. What came out of her mouth was different, unexpected. Something you'd ask your friend when they walk through your door. Something Marina would never say because she always knew what to do. "What do you want to do?"

Perhaps she was just breaking the tension that built after the sudden awkwardness of realizing how comfortably close we were. Perhaps she was hinting at something. I don't know. I don't know what I want to do, I mean this is the second time I've been to her house. "I guess I could eat." I shrugged. She laughed and waved toward the kitchen.

We ended up getting hot chocolate and sat in her room, quietly sipping the warm drinks and glancing around the room. She broke the tension, once again, by setting her drink on the night stand beside her bed. She crawled toward the end of the bed, where I was sitting. My heart dropped.

But really she was crawling to the window behind me. She lifted the blinds by pulling on a string and opened the window. She balled up the blanket on her bed and slung it out the pane.