❝she was their autumn moon, brilliant and beautiful, guiding their way though the dark...❞
❝... and they were all of the stars in her night sky - glowing constellations,
forming a map that lead her
...
❝WE MEET NEW PEOPLE IN THE HOPES OF FINDING SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL.❞
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ELI TYPES OUT A MESSAGE TO LUKE WITH TREMBLING FINGERS AND A CRACKLING RIBCAGE. She isn't sure what started it - last night she slept better than she has for months.
Then, she woke up.
are you busy?
Some distant part of Eli knows that he's in school right now, but Luke texts her back immediately like he always does.
God, Eli thinks. I don't deserve him.
I'm taking a test in Japanese, Bug. Are you okay?
Her breath hitches in her chest and there's a storm raging somewhere in the back of her mind. She can barely make out the letters on her screen and she has to start over a few times due to her trembling hands.
i need you
Dropping her phone onto the bed, Eli curls her knees to her chest and presses her face into them. Her breaths are coming too quick; her chest is too tight to get any air in. There's a pounding in her head, one that keeps time with the panicked thundering of her heart against her ribs.
Her phone rings - a song that Luke recorded with his guitar on her phone. She stares at it through a waterfall of salt and panic before grabbing it and pressing the answer key.
"Bugs...? Shit, Eli, what's wrong?"
His voice is honey with a slight rasp and is so familiar and beautiful and it causes the dam inside her chest to break free.
"Oh, fuck. Come on, babe, breathe. In... out. Nice and slow. Pretend I'm there with you, okay? Just like always. You can feel my breaths - in and out, in and out. Easy, now. Focus on my voice. Don't close your eyes. It's just like always, remember? Your head's on my chest and you can feel my breaths and hear my heartbeat."
