So Far In Between

Echos...

"What happened!"

"Is she alive!"

"Elizabeth!"

I could hear voices but they felt so far away. It felt like I was in the ocean, where you can see the sky in front of you but you can't reach it. I liked it here, wherever here was, it was quiet, everything was still.

"Elizabeth." I heard a voice which sounded much closer than the other ones. The voice was quiet but firm, it sounded like a male's voice. But the way the voice said my name made it sound as though they had said it a lot of times before. As though it hurt for them to say it. "You need to wake up from here, it isn't safe." The voice called softly, and it sounded as though it was getting closer. Suddenly I knew who the voice was, it was Theo's.

My eyes flew open, and I was on the cold, stone floor. The music from the band was still heard, but it wasn't as loud as before. Surrounding me where a group of faces most were familiar.

"Oh my god, Elizabeth, I thought you were dead!" Madison said as she pulled me up. I searched the faces to find Theo's, as he must have been closer than everyone else to me if I heard him the clearest. But he was nowhere to be found. I let Madison lead me to the seat a few meters away from the crowd which was starting to get smaller as more people went inside. Rolland walked a few steps behind Madison and he handed her a glass of ice water. She took it quickly and he touched her shoulder and said.

 "I better find Theo, I'll see you soon." he went to walk away when I said. "Wasn't he there?" Roland shook his head, his dark eyes shining. "That's funny, I thought I heard his voice," I said confused.

 "Must have thought wrong," Rolland said harshly, his eyes gazing frantically around the garden. "I have to go." He said as he quickly walked inside.

"That was weird," Madison said as she handed me the glass of ice water. I took a sip, my head slowly starting to stop spinning. "What happened?" she said looking concerned. 

"I-I don't know," I replied as I took another sip of water. "I was just out here with Theo and then everything went really bright. And then I felt like I was falling, and then I just kinda woke up. I said not wanting to tell her about hearing Theo's voice as I didn't have the energy to explain it. "How long was I passed out for?" I asked dazedly.

"Around 5 minutes maybe. James came rushing over to us saying you'd passed out, so we ran outside and Theo was crouched over you calling your name. Then James grabbed Theo's tie and told him to leave you alone. Theo whispered something to James and then left. You were mumbling weird words for a bit and then just woke up." Madison sounded exhausted and bewildered and I couldn't blame her. 

"What was I saying?" I asked curiously. 

"You were kind of just mumbling words. But you kept on saying she's not like me or I'm not like her, or something. Do you remember anything else?" Madison said looking at me like a nurse would look at a patient who had just had a meltdown. 

"Not really, everything's a little fuzzy," I said and it wasn't entirely a lie. Madison nodded. "Once Roland finds Theo he can drop you off, okay?" I smiled and nodded my head.

Fifteen more minutes passed, and my head wasn't as foggy as it was before. But there was still no sign of Roland or Theo. "I wonder what's taking them so long?" Madison asked for the hundredth time. I just shrugged as I was just as unsure. 

"There you both are!" I heard a deep proud voice echo into darkness. I turned and there stood Roland he looked like the man I saw at the start of the night, not the one who left. 

"Roland!" Madison yelled. "Did you find him? What took you so long!" Roland smiled.

"Yes, I found him. He's fine. Should we go?" He said pointing inside, the room was still alive with noise. Madison looked at me. 

"Liz?" I smiled and nodded. Roland walked over and they both helped me up as I walked through the ballroom and out the front gate. Roland opened his fancy black car, and I gently sat down. The leather was cold on my hands, and it smelled like cigarettes, and like Theo a smell I couldn't pinpoint exactly. Madison and Roland hoped into the car, and soon the engine roared to life. My eyes started to fall slowly as the car slowly rolled away.