Without You

Nine

   Author's Note| Here's a double upload, more to come soon :)

   I jumped awake at the constant knocking on my door. Sighing, I got up and walked to my bedroom door; I had locked it last night. Opening the door, It revealed a head of blonde hair. I slightly lowered my gaze so my eyes looked into Lianna's green eyes. "How may I help you?" I passed her and stepped into the kitchen to begin making a cup of coffee. My eyelids could barely stay open. I, unfortunately, only managed to get- I looked at the nearest clock- three hours of sleep.

   Once the coffee maker finished and I had poured myself a cup, I turned to look at Lianna who was watching me as she sat on one of my barstools. None of us said anything and I just raised an eyebrow. "I hate to be rude but was there any particular reason as to why you woke me up."

   "I was actually just going to tell you that I was planning on leaving Wednesday evening. I had a great time but a business can't run by itself." I smiled at her (or at least tried to (I probably looked like a drunk lunatic) and nodded. We were quiet as I poured myself another cup. "How do you do it?" I looked at her confused, how do I drink coffee? "No, I mean how do you manage to raise Ian, work weird and long hours of the night and have time to sleep."

   Over the last four years, I had developed a schedule. I would drop-off Ian at daycare or my parents for six hours (from eight in the morning until two in the afternoon). During that time, I would clean up the house, sleep, or simply hang out with friends and if needed I would work between those hours or all of above. When I pick him up, we'd play at the park or watch a movie; simply just spent time together. That'll be around two to four hours and afterwards, we'd have dinner. Around seven, his babysitter would watch him. When I returned in the morning, I would sleep until around six which is when I'd ensure that Jessica returned to her apartment which was across the hall. After that, I would make breakfast and get both Ian and I ready for the day.

   Lia was gaping at me once I was done. I just shrugged, I had grown accustomed to this new schedule over the years. Soon enough, Ian would start school and I'd have to shift his schedule to ensure that I was able to get him to and from school on time as well spend time with him.

   "I'm going to head back to bed before Ian wakes up. I got back later than I had planned." She only nodded and headed to her temporary room. I followed her actions.

   Unluckily, I wasn't able to fall back to sleep so I ended up getting ready for my day instead. I decided to slip on a pair of lightly washed jeans and a plain white tee. I decided to make some pancakes for breakfast. Mid-way through me mixing the batter, I heard a door open and Ian's soft voice. "Mom?" I smiled and replied that I was in the kitchen. He was rubbing his eyes as he lazily as he sat on the barstool. "I missed you. Auntie Lia brought me to the zoo and I saw all the animals!" he continued to talk about his trip to the zoo and all the animals he saw. After his story, I set a plate of pancakes before him so he could eat.

***

   Once again, Lia and I sat on a park bench watching as Ian played with his friend on the playground. I watched as Ian closed his eyes and jumped from the swing and into the sand. He watched his friend -Sam- do the same thing and began to cheer when they realized that he had jumped farther than her. She pouted and crossed her arms which led Ian to hug her.

   "Mya-" I turned to face Lia. "I am going to leave Friday. The shop has been doing well but I have to show my face every now and again." I smiled and nodded. It was great having Lia here but I knew that she had a life to get back to. One that I had somewhat disrupted for the last few days. "I want to come back soon. Maybe Zach and I can have a mini vacation together." I just nodded. Rosemary Beach was a pretty place to vacation. I had originally decided to stay here to get away after Evan's 'death' but decided to stay since they had a position open at the hospital.

   A few weeks after hearing the death of my husband, I sat in the corner of the apartment Evan and I had shared for the past year. Nearly everything I touched, looked or even thought about had a memory of Evan laced with it. Every time, I would break down in tears. I missed him, yet I hated him for leaving me here. We were meant to live happily ever after. Get married, buy a house, have children, raise said children and grow old together.

   A knock rang throughout my apartment. Despite my disheveled clothes, tangled hair and tear stained face, I decided to open the door to reveal my sister and best friend- Nicole and Sarah. "Hey."

   They pushed pass me and into the apartment. If I weren't such a neat freak, the apartment would probably covered in tissues, food and tear stains. "You're going to take a shower, wash your hair and then we can talk." My older sister ordered me. I complied, I knew I looked like garbage so I followed her orders.

   Nearly an hour later, I walked out in a robe with my wet curly hair fallen around me. My two closest girls smiled at me. "Much better."

   "We have decided to send you on a vacation." I shook my head. Me? On a vacation, no. It wasn't going to happen. "You need to get away from here, away from this apartment damn, away from this whole town."

   That's how I ended up on the shore of a beautiful beach in western Florida. The place that later became my home.