The Space Between Us | L.S

A New Ending

"Are you out of your mind?" I shrieked, looking in bewilderment at the man in front of me.

"Am I out of my mind? Have you heard yourself?" He scoffed back, his face scrunching up in disgust at what I was suggesting.

"Yes, I have two working ears; which is why I can hear the absolute shit being spewed out of your mouth." His tongue jutted out, wiping smoothly across his perfectly straight teeth.

"Okay, hear me out; there is just too many holes in the story. There has to be a third party that hasn't been investigated yet." Will exclaimed, his hands moving rapidly in circles at every word he was saying, emphasizing each word.

"There's too many holes in your head, if you can honestly tell me that the brother didn't do it and the parents covered it up." Jonas joked, pulling Will's head into his chest to give him a childish noogie. I let out a laugh looking down at the amber liquid in my cup, poking my pointer finger in to whirl around the glass-like cubes clanking against the cup's edges.

"I'm with Wendy and Jonas on this one." Sam said, their eyes wide with excitement since they were the one who brought up the kind of morbid conversation.

"What family would do that to their own sister and kid?" Will said, throwing out one other argument before throwing in his white flag.

"You clearly don't have siblings?" I snorted, raising the glass to take a sip; barely feeling the keen burn on my tongue and throat.

"Or children." Celine piped up cackling at her dark joke, considering she had two children of her own.

"Geez, okay okay - I stand down. You lot are right and should all quit your day jobs and become private investigators." He threw in an imaginary towel, leaning over to grab another handful of salt and vinegar chips.

I was sitting cross-legged on our loveseat. Through laughter, my eyes scanned over to the group of people sitting around Jonas' and my living room. I had met the group from my new job at the astronomy dome and I was sort of still in disbelief I had connected so fast with the three of them. Maybe it was the fact that everyone else who worked with us were certified senior citizens but when I asked if they wanted to grab coffee one afternoon after our shift they said 'yes'. Now we were getting wine-drunk and discussing cold-cases of six year-olds.

"Alright William, what are your thoughts on the Madeline McCann case?" Celine asked, her sleek eyebrow rising. Celine was beautiful in a classic way but there was nothing generic about her. When I met her I was utterly intimidated, she stands at almost six feet, her black skin flaw-free and she oozed confidence. She oversaw the event planning department at the dome, and so she was always walking around the building with her Bluetooth glued to her ear and calling people 'sweetie' when she was frustrated with them and 'honey' when she wanted something. She was older than me by six years and had a husband and two seven year-olds named Clementine and Cameron; but I benefited from it because since I could go to her with my childish issues and she was like a walking Wikipedia page on what I should do.

"It was clearly the parents; they gave her too much melatonin." Will shrugged, assuming it would be the crowd's consensus.

"Are you kidding me?" Now it was Sam's turn to shriek. Sam was the first person I met at the dome. They were also the first non-binary person I had ever met, and they were kind and patient  when people called them inaccurate pronouns. They recently immigrated from Sweden and wore their pale features proudly. We both work as the tour guides to the stars but aren't scheduled together anymore since we always mess around when we're together.

"Why do I even bother putting in my input in these conversations?" Will moaned. Will worked in the security department which came in handy when the dome has charity banquets and he could get us in for free so we can sneak off with some of the expensive sandwiches. He also looked like he just walked off of a GQ magazine. He was half-Thai so his curls were midnight black and his eyes were dark brown. As soon as I saw him, I practically shoved my phone in his hand with a photo of Jonas'. Thankfully he was into men and now sometimes I catch him butt up on our couch so it was a mistake I have to live with.

"Ugh! Jamie is here; I told him midnight not 11:45." Celine moaned, throwing her head back to get the last sips of her merlot. "Want a ride?" she asked Sam who eagerly nodded, before she turned to Will. "I'm guessing you're staying here for the night?"

Will's cheeks grew a soft tint of pink. "Why you gotta be so loud about it?" The group once again started to laugh at his expense.

"Bye-Bye!" I called one last time down the hallway before securing the dead-bolt. I turned around lazily to an empty room; I narrowed my eyes scanning my eye view. "Alright, I am heading to the kitchen!" I called into the distance, making slow steps to the kitchen just in case I was about to walk into something I would have to go to therapy to talk through.

"We are in the bathroom Wen!" Jonas called out. Thank god, I thought, instantly relaxing before another gross thought popped into my head and I shuddered.

"Don't go anywhere near my toothbrush please!" I pleaded into the empty air and I was met with a chorus of laugher. I made the short distance to the kitchen where I poured myself a glass of water, trying to ease the major hangover I will have in the morning. While gulping down my second glass, I stared at my reflection in the window placed above the sink. The person looking back at me would have been a stranger five months ago. After some very impulse decisions, my once golden blonde hair that was a direct genetic gift from my mother was dyed a dark brunette. At first, I hated it but now I think it really complimented my eyes and my freckles which I once hated were more noticeable with the dark colour and days lounging near my Aunt's pool.

I had also lost a stone and a half. I always thought I would be ecstatic to lose weight to this extent but it just reminded me of my stress-filled summer at my parents. It reminded me of being overworked and not having time to eat at my job, and then coming home to a salad my mother had prepared for me, even despite the many times I told her I could make my own food. It also reminded me of how many walks I took just to escape my family house for an hour or two. My sudden weight loss was most noticeable in my face and arms, also my boobs but I tried to ignore that. When Jonas' picked me up from train station, he almost audibly gasped; his jaw dropping slightly when I saw him. We had kept in constant contact with one another in the beginning of the summer but towards August, work picked up and I was fighting with my family on a regular basis. He had also spent the month backpacking through Vietnam and Cambodia so we hadn't facetimed each other in over four weeks so my sudden transformation was definitely a shock.

"I mean; I know you said you dyed it but holy shit!" He gasped.

"It's bad isn't it?" I sighed, looking around the train station.

"No, I love it. Such a Megan Fox moment." He said, picking up one of my locks between his fingers.

"You know what, it's weird you said that because I was wondering why people were asking for my autograph on the train." I scoffed. He slinked his arm around my shoulders and the other arm grabbing my bag for me. I was ever-so thankful that he didn't mention the other bags I was carrying, positioned right under my tired eyes or my slimmer physique.

"Let's get you home."

I turned suddenly, leaning against the counter so I couldn't stare at myself anymore. Despite something I had wanted for so long, I almost felt more insecure with the weight loss. I was angry at these thoughts at first; it wasn't even a lot of weight yet I felt like I now stuck out more. When I ran into people I knew before the summer they would always, without missing a beat say "You look so good." Which made my over-thinking kick into high-gear, and I wanted to yell "So I didn't look good before?" But I didn't because I knew the answer. Which is why I loved hanging out with Celine, Sam and Will because they didn't know the old me. They only knew this version of me and that was sort of refreshing.