Time Spent Enough

Yesterday Wasnt Far Away

The week went on fast enough it felt like light speed. Every day that went on I found myself wishing I had more time. The days had started the same as any other where I wake up, go to work, then back home to drink myself silly until I fell asleep to do it again tomorrow. I was looking forward to Friday. Me and Collin had formed a shaky friendship in highschool that started as an agreement that there wasn't any other intelligent life in town. We'd spend our earlier years of friendship smoking pot, skipping class, and sneaking vodka in Powerade bottles into our classes for sips we were never caught taking.

     Collin was nothing if not consistent. If we made plans we stuck to them. You'd understand why I was pissed when he decided to start a new trend today, skipping out on me and our plans. I left the back door unlocked and got started without him thinking he was running late. That was at 7... Then it was 8... Then 9, 10, 11pm, and I finally realized he was a no show when I checked my phone for the thousandth time at 12:15am and he still wasn't there. I got up with my phone in my hand and the last of my weed rolled into a white owl wrap I'd already had lit, and between my lips, and I walked myself to the back door to lock up for the night. Just as my hand met with the door knob I received the first phonecall from Collin id received in a few days and paused, answering it.

    "You better have a good excuse dickhead, I'm locking the door now, you're paying double next wee-"
I was cut off from my rant by a heavy thwack on the other side and a sharp grunt of pain followed by pathetic shouts and sobs
"... You good buddy?..."
That was Collin. At this point the hair on my body stood on end and I knew something was wrong.
"Listen, I'll forget about the drinks. Come over and we'll talk bud-"
I was cut off again.
"SYDNEY!"
His shout sounded dry and painful, like his throat was tearing with every syllable
"I-   I MESSED UP!"
He'd broken down at this point and I had to decipher his next words through his choked sobs and gags. All I could make out was;
"I wanted to make life fun again, I did it for you. Just know you were always my brother."
No sooner than he choked out the last word my ear drums were sharply assaulted by the sound of a knife gliding effortlessly through soft, tender meat. It was all I could do not to scream as I listened to Collin choking to death. Without being there I could see him, a slash across his throat spilling a torrent of blood over the front of his corpse. When it was finally over, the last drop dropped, the last gasp gasped, I heard footsteps and what sounded like movement while the phone found its place in somebody livings hands.

     It felt like an eternity before I mustered up the courage to speak
"WHY?!"
I practically screamed the words through my tears. After a long time of no answer I asked again.
"YOU TELL ME WHY YOU STUPID FUCK!"
He laughed.
Not a sadistic cackle, but a laugh that said;
"You're really this stupid? Truly and honestly so clueless?"
The voice on the other end composed themselves and I was answered by what sounded like a chorus of men and women speaking in perfect unison
"All things are to be paid in full..."
Just as I opened my mouth to speak in turn they spoke again.
"Be grateful he was not selfish... It could've just as easily been you making payment worm"
And with my answer the call was over.

     I'd spent the rest of the night at the local Police department trying my hardest to get ANYBODY to take me seriously, but I'd almost gotten arrested myself for filing a false report for a murder of a man who'd never existed. Initially they'd taken me seriously enough, dotting there t's and crossing there I's. After a squad car was dispatched to Collins home, which magically housed a family of four for the passed 6 years all of a sudden, they'd came to the genius conclusion that I was drunk and threatened to have me sit in the drunk tank until the next morning. I wasn't having that. I left the police station confused and angry. Collin was real, but his pictures were gone. Collin died on the phone with me, but the call log was gone, and his number doesn't connect to anything but an out of service message. It's like he never existed.

     I crossed the street with my face in my phone trying to convince myself Collin was real, I hadn't imagined him, my best friend, my brother. A car came faster than I could react. I winced with no other options. I waited for the pain to come, for my feet to leave the ground, for my head to kiss the asphalt in a way only a head on collision with a warm body can replicate..... But it didn't come. I stood perfectly still with my eyes closed.
"Am I already dead?...
Is my life flashing before my eyes?... If it is why aren't I seeing anything?..."
I slowly turned my head in the direction of the car, opening my eyes cautiously.

     It wasn't moving. The car stopped dead in its tracks. The driver held an unwavering look of panic on their face. I turn my head slowly to look around and the few people walking on the street this late at night were frozen in place. As if they were playing an oddly well choreographed game of freeze tag where everyone was caught, and I was it. Taking a steady step forward, I eventually found my way back onto the sidewalk.
"What the fuck....  What the fuck happened?..."
I didn't know how, but I knew it was me. I was the cause of this sudden pause. I'd stopped the world from spinning out of fear, and I didn't know how I did it or how to fix it. Then I remembered what the voice had said.
"What did you do Collin?..."
After what felt like an eternity, it was still 3:17am when I found myself at mine and my sisters home. I sat down in the living room across from my sister Chelsea who was permanently frozen watching the same second of a tik tok on her phone for probably ever.
I reached out and plucked her forehead for the hell of it.
"What the fuck?"
She asked, annoyed rubbing her forehead. I was so shocked from her responding that I hadn't realized that everything else in the house had resumed, I looked down at my phone.
"3:18....."
She made a face and asked
"So what? I've been home for all of 20 minutes and that's how you decide to greet me??"
I shook my head
"Sorry... Wasn't thinking I guess."
She huffs angrily and goes back to her video
"How was your day dick?"
"It was the worst day I'd had in my life."
"Don't be so dramatic, it couldn't have been that bad."
I shook my head solemnly, but she'd hardly noticed the action
"Chelsea.... What would you do if you'd lost everything and everyone.... But you were given complete control over every second in life in return..."
She rolled the question around like the ridiculous thing that it was before looking up with a confused, but thoughtful look on her face
"I don't know..... I'm kind of an asshole so I'm sure I'd be shitty if I really had the chance.... But whatever I wanted I guess.."

   I smirked a tiny bit and shook my head at her response.
"No... Not whatever I want..... Everything I want..."
The words visibly sent a shiver down her spine and she found the nerve to change the topic
"What happened yesterday that made it so terrible anyways?..."
I shook my head again and stared at the floor
"I don't want to talk about it..."
After a long silence between us I got up to go to my bedroom and think about more important things
After all yesterday Wasnt Far away from where I am today, but tomorrow, if I can help it will never come.