Is It Over Now?

four

"you're the greatest thing we've lost"

|~|

Blaring sunlight struck Eve's eyes as she opened them, squinting in an attempt to combat her hazy vision which she anticipated was the companion to a raging hangover. It had been months since she'd been on a team night out and to say that she had missed them would be an understatement, but to say that she'd missed the corresponding hangover would be a flat-out lie. Evelyn blinked her bleary eyes, allowing her to take in her surroundings; the light, linen curtains rippled in the light breeze, the white fabric taunting Eve, whispering tales of last night's blunders. Breathing a sigh of defeat, she buried her face into the unfamiliar bedding beneath her.

Why on earth had she agreed to go out? She had known that the night would only end in turmoil, yet she agreed anyway. She had found herself, for the first time in months, surrounded by people and, though she wouldn't admit it to anyone, somewhat enjoying herself. Though her view of the evening had been tainted through the dizzying lens of alcohol, she could remember the joy that she had felt from being with people again, despite having no recollection of the conversations that they shared. And it was - in that moment - that Eve wished she'd had less to drink, that she would be able to recall what her teammates would class as treasured memories yet she would never quite be able to grasp. The pounding in her temples had not lessened since she woke, and was not helped by her attempt to cast her mind back to yesterday's events. She groaned into the fresh white bedsheets, the airy fabric muffling her frustration.

"Fuck!" Her ears pricked up at a distant voice from outside of the room, familiar yet she could not place where she recognised it from quite yet. Now that she thought about it, the room she was currently situated in (situated meaning sprawled out dramatically on the double bed beneath her) did look vaguely familiar also, but again she could not get past the throbbing in her head to access the memory that she undoubtedly possessed - both of the room and of the voice.

The room, behind the billowing curtains, was a relatively simple space, only containing the necessary furniture and decoration to make it seem more homely. The light herringbone wood cabinet held only a lone lightly coloured candle (likely some bland scent like vanilla or sea breeze) and a solitary white picture frame. Pressing the heels of her palms into her temples, Eve swung her legs off of the bed in a rather undignified manner, pushing past the pain in order to investigate the room further. The picture frame, though the only one in the room, held nothing of great significance to anyone else, but Evelyn would recognise the photo anywhere.

It was a sunset. A delicate, powerful sunset that painted the sky a fading shade of maroon, the sunlight reflected on the calm ocean waves as they gently licked at the shore. The fading light grasped at the surrounding landscape, desperate to cling to the life that it currently possessed, unwilling to let go of the warmth that it gave. In the foreground of the photo, a low-lying brick wall framed the shore; the brick was tarnished, weary with use and the passing of time, and held many scratches - including those made with intent. One captured Eve's attention in particular: a carefully carved heart that framed two letters that were now forever intertwined.

'L + E'

Of course Eve recognised the picture. She had been the one to take it, encapsulating the stillness of the moment, before the chaos ensued and the turmoil began.

No matter how far they drifted, Leah and Evelyn would be interlinked by that brick wall. With their engraved initials side by side, they would remain on that beach, until the sea eventually wore them down, sending them tumbling apart. 

But the presence of this photograph meant that Eve knew exactly where she was, a place that she'd run away from no less than six months ago. She was back at her old flat, the one that used to be associated with so much love and devotion but now sent a chill tumbling down Evelyn's spine, the cursed memories resurfacing from the depths of her mind. And she had taken her time to forget this place, to forget when it was her home, when Leah was her home. She had separated herself from that part of her life and she had not wanted to come back here.