Fallen From Grace (#Wattys2017)

Chapter XXII

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Apollyon lay sleeping in the bed, his body completely relaxed as his entire being was at peace. Shifting, he reached out an arm to grab Eleanora, but instead his hand came in contact with empty space. Lifting his head off the pillow, he looked at the place beside him through squinted eyes and looking around the room for any signs of her.

Turning towards the bedside table, he noticed the time to be displayed 6:25 a.m, 45 minutes until the alarm starts to ring. Groaning, he sat up in bed and rubbed his head before getting off. He pattered across the floor in search for Eleanora before making his way out into the lounge. Apollyon went into the kitchen, seeing Eleanora standing in front of the stove, cooking something.

"Eleanora." He called out from the doorway. "Sweetheart, what are you doing?"

"Happy Birthday!" She exclaimed with a broad smile before tackling him in a hug.

"Birthday?" Apollyon confirmed in confusion as his arms instinctively wrapped around her shoulders.

"Yeah. The day a person is born is called a birthday."

"But I don't-"

"You don' have one. That is why I made one for you." Eleanora smiled up at him as he was looking down at her. "Today, December 12th."

Apollyon couldn't object. He didn't have it in him to object to her. Not with her enthusiastic smile and glinting eyes. He didn't want to take away this moment of joy from her. Eleanora didn't have many of them left, and he wanted to create new ones with her over the spam of the 17 months she had left to live.

17 months, 27 days, 12 hours, 17 minutes, 45 seconds and counting.

His heart ached as he gave her a broad smile in response. There was no way out of this, Eleanora Jane Clark would be dead by this time in 2016. Leaning down he hugged her tightly to himself as he inhaled her familiar fragrance, wanting to memorize every last detail about her.

Apollyon placed a kiss on her temple before pulling away from her, allowing Eleanora to take hold of his hand and settle him at the dinning table, before placing his favorite assortment of food on the table. Eggs with bacon, and toast, chocolate chip pancakes with strawberry syrup and his favorite peanut butter and banana sandwich.

Apollyon grinned at her, his eyes alight with joy as he instantly dug into the food. Eleanora smiled at him as she sat down across from him, eating her own breakfast as they talked with each other. At 7, they both got dressed for school as Eleanora insisted that she dress him. Apollyon objected, and one thing led to another, which led to an agreement.

The agreement stated that Eleanora gets to dress up Apollyon for the next two weeks and in return he gets to dress her up for the same duration. They both agreed, and Apollyon got to dress Eleanora first, since it was his birthday.

Apollyon looked through her clothes before he picked out an outfit, placing it into her hands and telling her to wear it. Going into the washroom, Eleanora stepped out a few minutes later with an impressed look on her face and her hair pulled into a messy bun.

Apollyon chose black ankle length booths for her with black skinny jeans, a royal blue blouse beneath a black leather jacket with a beige scarf around her neck. Apollyon stepped forward and opened her bun, telling her that she looked better with open hair.