When I Sleep | ✓

[three] a déjà vu night

The ending was quite sad to write. I bet you all know the song to the side, "Say Something." Listen to it while you're reading the chapter :) Dedicated to @labrynthine- for the new cover <3 

Ignore weird mistakes and typos, enjoy!

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1:14 pm

It's obvious that Archie is purposely not asking Maya about taking a day off for Caroline's birthday. He sure is trying hard to avoid the conversation every time I ask him about it. Today he must have been desperate because, this time, I woke up to an empty bed and an empty house.

 Luca called the other night to inform me that Caroline wishes to have a pre-birthday party, which included Archie and I to drive up on Wednesday to spend the day with her – just us. However, when I told Archie about it yesterday, it only made him seem more reluctant on going. 

Enough was enough, I thought. Caroline was way too excited to see Archie again and I don't want to disappoint her. It's Monday today, and Archie has brushed away the subject one too many times. If he wasn't going to ask Maya, then I was. 

I finished up taping Caroline's birthday present before sliding off the couch to find my phone. AJ came to my feet as I called the office. 

The secretary answered. "Hi, this is Ellie Lewis. Is Maya available at the moment?"

"Sorry, dear. There's an important meeting taking place right now."

I held in a sigh as I slumped against the counter. "Oh, okay. I'll call back later, thank you," I said and collapsed back onto the couch, letting my phone slip through my fingers in defeat. Would Maya let Archie off at such late notice? "If only he asked sooner," I muttered angrily to myself. AJ, as if knowing how truly upset I was, trotted down the hallway and came back with her leash dragging behind her.

 "My genius girl." I smiled and clipped the leash onto AJ's color. With a small handbag thrown across my shoulder, I lead AJ out the door and down the sidewalk. 

Some fresh air would definitely calm me down. I needed to get away from this suffocating silence in the house, anyways.

1:30 pm

"Ellie?"

I pulled AJ to an abrupt stop as my head jerked to the side at the loud call of my name. A familiar face – two familiar faces – stood beneath the awning of a nearby shop.

 "Sarah? Amie?"

Amie, clearly thrilled that I still remember her after losing contact since she dropped out of college during freshman year, came running across the street to pull me into a tight hug. AJ began barking vehemently, but I returned Amie's hug with an equal amount of force. It's been way too long since I've last heard from her. 

"I can't believe it's you," Amie said happily, pulling back with a radiant smile. I had always loved Amie's easy smile; it added to her already stunning beauty.

"I haven't seen you in years. What are you doing here?" I asked, looking over her shoulder at my long-time best friend. 

"Surprise," Sarah laughed and came to pull me into a hug, too. "She came in to visit a couple days ago and I was just telling her about you."

 "I'd love to catch up right now. Are you busy?" Aimie asked in a hopeful tone. I nodded my head down to AJ, to which barked up at me.