Five Minutes

New York Minute

The inside of the plane was spectacular. The colour scheme was a calming and sophisticated blue. It was spacious and luxurious; the leather couches were equipped with large cashmere pillows. The plane also offered flat media screens, plenty of table space and a bar for everyone's obvious desire for alcoholic beverages.

It was a shame that Veronica was incapable of enjoying any of it. She sat in her seat at the beginning of the flight home and hadn't moved since. The headphones she'd put on helped her cancel out the unwanted noise. She could rest in the comfort of her own personal space without any disruption.

She wanted to talk. She desperately wanted to. Veronica didn't normally remain reserved and borderline standoffish when amongst a group. She enjoyed immersing herself in conversation.

So why did even the thought of it exhaust her?

"Hey sourpuss."

Veronica lifted one side of her headphones and stared at Sallie.

"Something wrong?" Sallie asked. "You haven't said a word in about two hours, which, knowing you, is probably the longest you've gone without talking."

"I... I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. I'm really tired."

She was worried Sallie might question her, but luckily she didn't. "All right, I'll make sure no one bothers you," she said.  "I really meant to check on you last night cause you seemed out of it, but then I passed out. I would have taken care of you if could. I'm really sorry."

"It's okay." She forced a smile.

Daniel was on the flight with her. The entire crew was. Maybe she might have wanted to confide in Sallie, but with this many people who worked on set, she didn't want to risk attention. She knew it wouldn't be positive attention.

Oddly, she did manage to sleep on the plane, for the rest of the flight. And thankfully nobody else bothered her.
_____________

As she anticipated, she opened the door to an empty home. That was good. This was time she had to gather her thoughts and recharge. Perhaps rest, in absolute quiet.

She stood with her back against the front door for a moment, mentally arguing with herself about calling Melanie. If anyone was willing to follow through with impromptu plans, it was Melanie. Wouldn't it be better for Veronica to be sidetracked and commit to some level of social interaction?

No. She didn't want to talk or see anyone right now. She wanted to sleep in her home where she felt safe.

She went into the room with the theatre system and put on a movie with a gratuitous amount of action sequences. It didn't matter which one. She didn't want to watch anything that involved too much concentration.

Taking her shoes off and lying back on the leather couch, she feel asleep within minutes, with the screen on. And didn't wake up until much later when she heard Ralston's voice calling her name.

Opening her eyes, she expected to feel relieved and secure seeing those deep set brown eyes and perfect white toothed smile.

The terror, sadly, reigned over the hope. She only felt scared and despondent. 

Her years of acting gave her the perfect skills to put on a phoney smile. And that was what she did.

"How're you doing?" he asked, his smile fading a bit. "Is everything okay?"

He'd asked her that when she'd called him. Was everything okay? Would it ever be okay?

"What time is it?" she asked, purposely avoiding his question. 

"It's eleven thirty," he replied. "You're gonna sleep okay? You've probably been here since you got back. Might help if I gave you that tea with the bear on it."

"The sleepy time tea?" she asked. "No, no. I think I'll be okay. I'm still super sleepy right now. I could sleep through the whole night."

"Then at least let me help you get to bed."

"But I'm comfortable here." She didn't have the energy to get up and walk, even with his assistance.  "The bedroom's too far."

"What if I carried you up?"

"I don't trust your upper body strength. You'd just drop me going up the stairs." She closed her eyes, hoping he would forfeit and let her rest.

Silence surfaced. Moments later Veronica felt covers being pulled over her, then the pressure of Ralston's lips against her forehead. She relished the aroma that emanated from him. He always smelled so good. Like mint and apple.

"Night, Nicky," she heard him say.

She didn't even know why she was still so tired. Having nearly slept the entire day since coming back home, she should have been more energized.

______________

She woke up in a cold sweat, strands of her blond hair clinging to her face, perspiration heating up her entire body. She pushed the covers off, unsure what time it was. There were no windows in the home theatre room.

As much as she attempted to remember her dream, she had no recollection of it. But it left her feeling anxious and her chest tightened. She could barely breathe evenly.

Slowly, she strolled through the house, her bare feet cold against the tiled floor. She walked until she reached the kitchen, and opened one of the cabinets to grab a glass. Approaching the refrigerator, she pushed it against the water dispenser. When it was slightly more than halfway filled, she drank the contents within seconds.

The tightness in her chest grew worse. She lowered the cup and stared at it. All it did was make her think about Daniel handing her water before it happened. And even though she was still thirsty, she placed the glass carefully in the sink.

Only then did she notice she still hadn't changed out of her clothes.

She wanted to wake Ralston up and cry. But she wouldn't. She headed back to the home theatre room, slid back beneath the covers, allowing sleep to consume her.