In Your Arms

Celebration

Farrah stared at the group of young men and women, gathered around a fire they had lit off to the side of the busy streets in Haven. People were hustling around, attempting to buy groceries while also shielding themselves from the heavy rain that had fallen upon them. Unlike the others, Farrah did not care about the weather. In fact, she wasn't all too happy about anything at the moment.

A group had walked up to her earlier, offering some hot chocolate or a slice of bread. It was obvious they were concerned for a young woman sitting out in the rain doing nothing for hours. 

Farrah placed a hand over stomach, feeling a wave of nausea rising inside her as she got up and travelled to the closest open shop.

It was a simple arts and crafts store for people who wanted to sit around and color- among other things. Farrah pushed her way inside, politely asking the brunette behind the counter for the closest bathroom. The girl showed her the way, and Farrah was relieved to find herself the only one inside the restroom.

She tumbled into the nearest stall, flipping up the lid of the toilet seat as a waterfall of red, gooey vomit flew from her mouth. Farrah hastily wiped her lips, frantically looking behind her to make sure no one had followed her.

She grumbled to herself, ripping off a piece of toilet paper as she flushed the foreign material down.

Since her last encounter with Isen over a week ago, she had been puking up nothing but the strange bloody substance over the last few days. She was worried at first, wondering if there was something in Haven's food that was making her sick. As time passed by, she began to eat less and less, hoping that her stomach would recuperate. Unfortunately, it only seemed to be getting worse.

Farrah stood up on her weak legs, turning back around to wash her mouth out in the sink. She threw cold water on her face, staring at her exhausted reflection in the worn down mirror before her.

"I look like shit," She grumbled, staring at her chapped lips and baggy eyes. She wondered if Isen would still love her if he saw what she had become, but the thought immediately began to fade away when she realized she already knew the answer.

"Wow. You do look like shit," a familiar, gruff voice coming from a crack in the doorway of the ladies' room nearly caused Farrah to curse out loud. She glared daggers at Skye's head poking from the doorway. With a clenched fist and anger burning in her eyes, Farrah nearly spat at him.

"Wrong restroom, dumbass."

"Why so feisty?" Skye inspected Farrah closely, noticing a blood stain on the edge of her shirt collar. "Are you okay?" He asked carefully, trying not to annoy Farrah any further.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Uh...no reason. Hey, I heard there's a group having a little get together tonight. Why don't you come hang out with us?"

Farrah shook her head from side to side, "Nah. I'm okay."

Skye sighed loudly, stepping aside for Farrah to exit the restroom. She brushed past him, but he wasn't going to let her go so easily, "There'll be games, fruit punch, story time-."

"Sounds more like a get together for kids."

Skye chuckled, opening the front door of the shop for his companion. Farrah eyed him suspiciously, cautiously stepping out as she narrowed her eyes at him. "What are you up to?"

"Huh?"

Farrah waited for the door to close behind them before she shoved her finger at Skye's face. He was pressed against the wall, eyebrows raised as the short woman began to accuse him of all sorts of things.

"Why have you been following me a lot? Are you spying on me? Do you want to fight? What's the deal? If you think I'm single I'm not!"

"Relax, Farrah," Skye interrupted, gently pushing Farrah's hand down. "It's just that you're always so alone. I feel bad."

Farrah didn't respond at first, and she momentarily glanced down, a little embarrassed by her uproar. With a shrug, she cleared her throat and tried to pretend his words meant nothing.

"I'm not really social."

"Well, you haven't talked with people in a long time. I can only imagine you've forgotten what it feels like to be part of a community."

Farrah recalled the last time she had hung out with her friends. Before the disaster on Earth had occurred, they were all talking about going to prom. Farrah had a crush on some football player who's name she had forgotten. She was hoping he'd ask her out. All her friends were so excited, giggling amongst each other and flipping through magazines for the perfect dress.

But that was years ago. Farrah could barely remember their faces.

"How old are you again?" Skye asked, trying to figure out Farrah's exact age. She merely sighed, scratching the side of her head with a confused expression, "I don't remember. Maybe twenty something?"

"You don't know your own age?" He teased, causing Farah to turn slightly red with shame.

"You try living in the middle of nowhere with no calendar, no phone, no anything. You'll lose track of the days also."

"I'm kidding," Skye stated before the woman he was with could lose her mind again. "Hmmm. I'll personally say you're 24."

"24?"

"Yep. 24."

Farrah nodded to herself, trying to imagine how much time had passed since she last had a birthday party. As if reading her mind, Skye snapped his fingers once a great idea popped into his head.

"Hey! Tonight, we can celebrate all those birthdays you've missed."

Farrah frowned, raising an eyebrow," Are you serious?"

"Duh. What do ya say, sweetheart?"

Silence followed, and though Farrah hadn't said yes, Skye felt he already knew the answer.

"I'll drop by your place in a couple of hours. Meanwhile find something nice to wear. Its your birthday party after all."

Farrah attempted to protest, but Skye wouldn't even hear it. He was already crossing the street, soaking wet as he turned to flash a dashing grin at Farrah. She rolled her eyes, groaning to herself as she leaned against the damp wall.

Though she wouldn't admit it, there was a small part of her that was slightly excited. It had been a while since her last party. She had almost forgotten what it was like to even have one.