VERTIGO

Chapter 3

The next morning, Landon decides to call out of work. He knows he’ll have a mountain of tasks to complete tomorrow, but it’s a worthy sacrifice. After all, he’s got a bad case of lovesickness to deal with now.

    Chaslynn haunts his every thought, more like a ghost than a guardian angel. He tries to take his mind off of her using various methods like steaming hot shower, TV, and video games, but his mental consciousness seems to be stuck on that rooftop, watching her walk away.

    By the time noon rolls around, his apartment is spotless, all of his bills are paid, he’s made his weekend task lists, he’s advanced several levels in his game, watched two movies, and somehow she’s still there, walking away into impenetrable darkness while he’s frozen, kneeling in the moonlight, unable to do or say anything.

    Landon knows the consequences, and he never wants to be in the spot he was in before.

    But she’s still there.

…

   

    It’s nearly dark, and Landon watches the sun’s last golden rays disappear behind a concrete and steel horizon. Against his better judgment, he’s perched,legs dangling, on the same building he nearly-

    “I knew you would be up here,” rings out a familiar voice.

   

Landon glaces up from the sunset into Chaslynn’s dark eyes. He looks away sheepishly.

“Did you miss me that much?” Chaslynn adds, sitting beside him.

    If only you knew, my guardian angel.

    “No, I just wanted… a chance to talk to you some more,” he explains, and Chaslynn only shakes her head, smiling.

    “Then talk, but I won’t be saying much, kid,” she finally says.

    Landon’s brows furrow. “Who said I was a kid? You don’t even know how old I am.”

    “Only kids try to jump off of a building because of a broken heart,” she answers simply. “How old are you anyway?”

    “Almost 24,” Landon responds, “You?”

    Chaslynn pauses for a second, as if she’s trying to decide whether or not this was a good idea.

    “I… I just turned 22,” she finally answers.

    “Cool.”

    They both go silent for a few minutes, until Chaslynn asks, “What happened?”

    “Well, for starters, you weren’t too far off with the broken heart,” Landon says, trying to keep the mood somewhat light.

   

“Of course. I’m usually always at least close to right,” she laughs.

    Landon takes a deep breath, and clears his throat. He can  feel Chaslynn’s expectant eyes watching him, tracking him.

“So, there was this girl,” he starts, unsure if he was ready for this, “She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. We started to hang out, and, well, you know the rest.”

Chaslynn nods.

“One day, well, I guess I thought we were ready to… uh, y’know…” He could feel his cheeks burning, but he continued anyway, “She refused, saying that we needed to get married first. I understood that. A few weeks pass by, and I notice she’s starting to act differently. More emotional.”

Chaslynn’s eyes widened, clearly guessing the rest of the story. Landon continued anyway.

“I figured it was because life had gotten a little rocky for both of us, but one day I had come home a bit earlier than usual, and once I went inside, I heard her on the phone. She was talking to a friend, and I didn’t think she heard me come in. I was curious, and a little suspicious, so I decided  to listen in. She was crying, and…” Landon took a deep breath, “and she was telling the person on the other end of the phone about how she was pregnant, and how she hated the life she was living, how I would never be a good dad, so on and so forth.”

Chaslynn gasps. “But you said you guys never did that, though!”

Landon looks down at the busy highway below.

“I know. The baby, it was someone else’s. Apparently she had been cheating on me nearly the entire time we were together. After that, I had heard enough. I walked in, and we had this huge fight. She told me that I was a terrible person, about how I always ignored her, even though I always made time in my day for her. Then she left, just like that,” he finished, glancing up to see Chaslynn’s horrified expression.