The Art of Starting Over

Chapter 39 - Thunder

Keith was edging towards the door and my grip tightened around his fingers, complaining as I playfully pulled him back towards me.

"Ally, I'm going to be late for work!"

Keith and I had been going out together for a month and three weeks. I could say I was happy, until it was time for him to leave. Slowly and steadily, he had become like a drug that numbed all my open wounds. He gave me a much-needed break from pondering how persistent Nanna's cough was getting. He helped me forget about the bloodstained handkerchiefs I found when putting away the washing and how Millie had started to hold on to nearby chairs and furniture to support herself. Everything was slightly hazy when Keith was around. Then he left, and my head was as clear as day and left to wander freely amongst the horrible and ugly thoughts that had taken up permanent residency in my brain.

"You serve people alcohol. It's not good for them. You should stay here instead of destroying people's livers," I whined, leaning into his chest.

He held me and chuckled softly into my hair. "Alison Lewis, what am I going to do with you?"

Then he started humming softly. I closed my eyes and listened to his warm, gravelly tone as he started crooning under his breath.

"Ally, my darling, I almost wish I never met you,

Ally, my darling, you're ripping my heart in two,

Nothing I think of and nothing I do will distract me,

Ally, my darling I think that I'm falling for you."

I looked up at him, giggling like a goddamn idiot. "You wrote me a song? You are so cheesy!" But my smile was immediately wiped off my face when I saw how serious his eyes were.

"I love you, Alison."

Time stopped as his words sank in. My eyes darted around his face, looking for a sign that he was joking or making fun of me, but they found none. I moved my lips, but nothing came out. So I did the only thing I felt capable of doing in that situation. I lifted my face to his and kissed him gently, taking in his sweetness and letting it settle the panic inside me. He put his arms around my waist and smiled into my mouth.

I loved it when he did that. It made me feel like I was in one of those rom-coms where everything was too good to be true and you couldn't possibly hold all the happiness inside you. You had to smile to release some of it, even in moments that didn't dictate smiling at all.

"Now, I really have to go," he said, flashing his dimples. I nodded reluctantly. "I'll call you when I get a chance to, okay, babe?"

I watched him disappear down the steps before closing the door and walking back moodily to the kitchen.

I tried calling Sosa, but she didn't answer. I hadn't seen or spoken to her in over five days. She missed a few shifts because she was stuck in bed with a fever. But other than a few courtesy texts, I hadn't heard a peep from her and quite frankly, I was worried about her. She had been acting strangely ever since her sister left home.

I went to the sink and started clearing up the dishes before Millie got home from shopping with Carmen. I turned the radio back on. Keith had switched it off earlier, but now that he was gone, it was eerily quiet. I thought about getting out Shakespeare so I coulddo some revision, but I wasn't sure I wanted to dive into tragedy so soon after Keith's departure. I was still savouring what I could from cloud nine.

I heard the key turning in the lock and rushed to the living room just in time to see Nanna coming in with a ton of bags and a broad smile on her face. She dropped the bags on the floor and rested both hands on her back as she stretched her spine, her features giving in to a slight wince. I tried to ignore this and took her bags over to the sofa.