Lost Before Bloom (Open Novella 2020)

Longing...

Adrian

Five in the morning on my only day off, and I get abruptly awoken by some asshole banging on my front door.  Needless to say, I was less than happy as I crawled out of my warm covers.  My blood only boiled more as I wrapped a robe around my nude body.  My jaw clenched as I walked barefoot to the noise coming from my front door.  I was more than ready to rip whoever kept banging on my door a new one as I unlocked the deadbolt.  My knuckles were white as they clenched the doorknob.  I was beyond pissed off from the pounding on my barrier to the outside world that never ceased.  The door swung open, with far more force than I intended.

That was I laid my eyes on the perpetrator rudely awakening me from my slumber.  I recognized the face immediately as he slowly lifted his head to look at me.  It was like looking at a ghost from the past.  A ghost that I never had the chance to meet face-to-face.  His slender form was soaking wet, with his bleach-blonde hair clinging to his forehead.  Only a thin blanket covered his slim torso.  His eyes gazed into mine, completely void of any sign of reckoning.  It was if this shell of a man magically appeared on my threshold without any realization of how he got here.  And considering the past, that may not be too far from the truth.

I wrapped my arm around his slender back and led him inside my small house.  It was nothing fancy, but I still called it home.  I led him to my old couch, where he curled up into the fetal position right after laying down.  I wrapped his shivering body up in a few blankets that I had handy.  He laid there now sleeping while I retrieved a towel from the hallway bathroom to dry his wet hair.  Once his hair was somewhat dry, I situated a pillow under his passed out head.  My still thoroughly exhausted ass slumped into the armchair beside the couch.  My fingers ran through my all too long brown hair while looking at the sleeping man on my couch.  It had been a good ten years since anyone reportedly last saw him.  Ten years since a day that I couldn't forget if I wanted to.

...

My sixteen-year-old ass couldn't have been any luckier to score concert tickets from a local radio station.  Tickets for two front row seats to see a singer that made my right hand work overtime.  And now here I was, about to watch the last concert of the tour.  The energy in the venue was overwhelming.  Most of the audience consisted of fangirls and their reluctant boyfriends.  Although, there were some fanboys in the audience as well.  I being one of them.  This concert, which I could never afford on my own, was the high point of my teenage life.  My bestie sat beside me in the other seat as we awaited the start of the concert.

Between the anticipation and the venue full of screaming adolescents, sweat was pouring down my sides.  As I considered this a safe environment, I pulled my thin hoodie off.  Leaving my frail frame covered by a tank-top.  Any reservations about people looking at my skinny body evaporated from my mind.  Normally, I was too self-conscious to even consider showing this much skin in front of other people.  Well, except for Amy anyway, who had seen me wearing far less than this.

The lights dimmed and my arms flung into the air.  The culmination of years of dreams about to walk out onto the stage just mere feet in front of me.  I was more excited than a kid on Christmas Day.  It was just a matter of moments before my teenage crush waltzed across the stage.  That feeling went straight down the toilet when an older gentleman walked out in front of the set.

He tapped the mic, making a shrilling sound.  "Due to circumstances beyond our control, tonight's performance has been canceled.  All ticket holders will be refunded accordingly.  We deeply apologize for any inconvenience."

There was an uproar behind me as my arms slumped to my sides.  Weeks of anticipation and years of teenage angst all gone up in smoke.   The crowd started slowly milling toward the doors while I sank into my now worthless seat.  I was vaguely aware of Amy trying to comfort me.  As she wrapped her arm around my semi-bare shoulders.  The dream concert that I had spent two weeks mentally preparing myself for now gone.  I barely realized that I was even crying until Amy pulled my head against her chest.