April 5th, 1995
A resound emptiness settled inside of Dave that day. He went through the normal motions of his life robotically, lacking emotion.
One year is a long time. Twelve months, three hundred and sixth five days, they all equated to a long period of time. But one year had flashed past Dave in the blink of an eye, leaving him stunned.
One year ago on that day, he had been searching for Kurt, unbeknownst to the dark twisty fate that had captured him. They had finally discovered Kurt three days later, on the eighth, but he had died three days before.
Dave felt the same feeling of still numbness that cloaked him just a one year ago.
The pain of what had happened traveled far deeper than sadness. Sadness was not a word that could even suffice for how he was feeling, so his emotions took on the form of sullen nothingness, a feeling that ate him alive.
Rosie wasn't sure of what to do, and Dave didn't want her help. He wanted to be alone.
Well, there was one person who he wouldn't mind seeing.
Julia understood the pain. He assumed she felt the same agony but in a different way than his. Krist and Julia were the only two people in the world who understood. But he could not even work up the motivation to contact them in his state of uncomfortable numbness.
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Pure agony. That's the only way Julia could describe the sorrow that the day brought. Her stomach was nauseated at the thought of Kurt, and her heart ached worse and worse every time he appeared in her thoughts.
She was buried beneath her blankets, like she had been for weeks after his untimely death, crying with such violence that it made every muscle in her being ache miserably. The desperation and unimaginable hysteria she fell into after kurts death had come back to haunt her.
Ellis was coming over at any moment, like he usually did after work, but Julia could not bear to pull herself together. She was broken.
She knew she would now have to explain her past trauma to him, and that instilled in her the coldest feelings of fear and vulnerability she'd ever felt. The thought of this made her crumple up, and cry even harder beneath the blankets of her bed.
Through her weeping, she could hear the front door opening. Her heart hammered in her chest wildly, her stomach flip flopping. She muffled a hand over her mouth in a measly attempt to silence her cries.
"Jules?" Ellis called. She imagined him tossing his coat on the back of the sofa as he usually did, and kicking off his shoes. She yearned to answer him, but was unable to in her hysteria.
There was silence for a moment, but the shuffling of his feet disturbed the quietude. He walked down the hall, inching closer to Julia's bedroom. She could practically feel his warmth radiating through the bedroom door.
Julia heard the creak of the door, and the slow footsteps of Ellis. "Julia?" He asked softly, standing at the foot of her bed. She was sure he could see her figure shaking beneath the blankets, and hear the sobs that shook her.
She heard him move towards the other side of the bed. He was now beside her. The bed sank slightly as he sat down beside her. The instinct to reach out for him itched at her, but she just kept crying.
She felt the blanket being moved off of her, a chill creeping over her skin. She removed her hands from her face, her red, blotchy eyes meeting his. Tears sparkled in his eyes, his lips turned into a frown.
"You scared me." He whispered, lying down beside her. She could not reply.
"What's happening, Julia?" He asked, voice heavy with concern. Again, she couldn't reply verbally, her cries strong as ever.
She couldn't speak, so she grabbed his arms, wrapping them firmly around her waist. She pressed herself close against his chest, her face nuzzled against his neck. He was so warm. She loved his warmth and ached for it.
Ellis knew he would not receive a verbal response from Julia any time soon. He pressed his lips against her head, and hoped she would stop crying.
