One in the Same

Ch. 4: Arkyn

I was fairly certain I had met Sylvia somewhere.

But I couldn't quite understand where from. I never met her in person, never spoken to one another. I was too self absorbed into my own life. I hardly had the time to sit down, and attempt to make room for others in it. Occasional blowjobs and one night stands, but that ended a year and a half ago, once my restaurant was beginning to open.

    Up until she had placed a delivery order just as the first burner was getting turned off last week. Although everyone had gone home at the time, I was left on my own. It wasn't rocket science for what she had ordered. A bottle of white wine, two orders of pasta, marinara sauce, chicken cutlets and alfredo sauce, all packed individually. Along with two slices of our finest devil's chocolate lava cake.

    Time and time again, I had pictured what she would look like if I had made this for her. If I had taken her with me thirteen years ago. We would have both disappeared, leaving our toxic past lives behind to start anew. Be in each other's embrace until who knows how long. But the thing with WPP, you had to come with nothing but the clothes on your back. Once you walk through the doors of Head Quarters, it was cut and dry after that.

    Contact to the outside world was little to none. And that's what killed me the most.

    It felt as if you didn't have time to process everything that was happening at once. You had to just do, and that was that. She was a permanent mark on my brain, every second that was spent away from her. For hours, I wanted the ability to call her, to tell her that I was okay. That I was doing this not only to be protected for the sake of my life, but for her as well. After I had ended my connection phone call, my brother had called the authorities on Anna.

Apparently, there was a tip about a fight between their neighbors, and some guy fled the scene. Thankfully, Jake came in handy with the phone call. Once Anna was alert enough to talk at the hospital, they had slapped her wrists with the handcuffs.

    But fuck did I miss that voice already.

Every memory created in the small length of time, was stored privately in its own filing cabinet within my brain. Untouched, and unbothered. Protected. Until I was able to get my hands on a laptop and my old phone. I hurriedly downloaded all the photos and videos onto my laptop, creating a fold of nothing but her. That night, I revisited everything over a dozen times, my heart tearing in two. Before I tumbled into bed, I had lazily stamped the folder Sweet Pea.

It was and had been that way ever since. No other woman after her was different..

    Until Sylvia came into the picture, shaking my vision board into a pile of mixed memories and usual feelings.

Danielle was forgotten for the quickest of slightest of moments. The conversation with her flowed, even if it was me who started it. Something about her was calling me, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end when I rounded the corner of the produce aisle, and she came into view. Imperfectly gorgeous.  Oversized sweatshirt with her sleeves rolled to the elbows. Her hair was tied in a knot, high on her head, strands loose from probably being active in the morning. Her lip was folded between her teeth and her eyes were narrowed as she was walking along the aisle plucking bags of apples and judging them.

    Goddamn, and when she smiled as we departed, I swear my heart was beating so hard in my chest, she could see it bumping out of my shirt that day. That day was three days ago. Sylvia was already making her mark on my brain and trying to stick.

For the record, I didn't have any intention of speaking to her that afternoon. There was no reason for me to, she was a stranger, and didn't seem like my type of woman. She was beautiful, nonetheless. But the final bag of apples she had decided on, already had a bad one in it. And I couldn't take anymore of it, and the rest was history.