[EDITORS' PICK]
Joyce Blackbird is a bored aspiring writer who just entered her adult years. The world around her frustrates her and disrupts her inspiration to write.
Chase Journey, musician, is the first person she's interested in. Through the cl...
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He was carrying a guitar case on his back, his long hair flying in the evening's wind.
"Chase," she called him, fresh energy filled her, but he didn't hear her.
So she ran toward him. She didn't need to call him twice because he turned around and caught her running.
"If it isn't a Blackbird," he said, the corner of his mouth quirked up.
She stopped a few inches away from him. Something was different. A stubble had grown on his face. His soft skin was now covered by this five o'clock shadow and she didn't quite know how to feel about it.
"Have you been crying?" he sounded concerned as he stared at the black lines under her red and swollen eyes.
"I..." she stopped just as she started. Chase put a hand on her shoulder and brought the smell of his cologne along with it. Embarrassing memories surrounded Joyce's mind before she realized the smell wasn't talking to her libido anymore, but rather warmed her heart with a familiar feeling.
"Did something happen to you? What are you doing out here all alone, anyway?" Chase's voice was so calm and relaxing, her spirits lifted.
"I was running away," Joyce admitted.
"From what?"
"From my life." She sighed. "From my own house. I had a fight with my roommate."
"Was it that serious?" Chase asked.
"It was an actual fight. With hands."
"What?" Chase was confused, his eyes betraying the same kind of worry she'd heard in her dad's voice.
"Yeah." Just talking about it made Joyce's eyes start to water again, though she fought the tears this time.
"Look, I was just going to Edysium. How about you join me and we talk about it?" Chase asked.
"Alright," Joyce said, and Chase looked surprised.
They halted the talking until they reached Edysium. It wasn't an awkward silence. Their heads were both filled with thoughts, neither of them noticed there was silence between them.
When they went through the door, something weird crossed Joyce's heart. It felt like a lifetime since the last time she'd been on Edysium, and she expected it to hit her like the very first time he brought her there. But instead, when they sat at the usual edge of the rooftop, she didn't even feel dizzy as she usually would. Hell, she was the type of person who'd feel dizzy climbing a transparent staircase.
Now it was as if her mind hadn't even processed the idea that she was on high ground. If she closed her eyes, she would've felt like she was down in the street. The entire city slowly turning on its lights didn't feel real in her eyes, and her head was starting to trust them.
