A Love That's So Demanding

Run

Run

I held four bags of groceries in each hand as I walked up to our apartment buildings front door. I wasn't looking forward to having to climb the steps to the second floor where our apartment was located and as I looked behind me I could tell Gerard wasn't looking forward to it either.

"Hey, is Non feeling better?" Travis asked walking up to the door from the opposite direction.

"Did you bring her the medicine?"I asked. There was a long awkward pause.

"Ha, he must have left his wallet home." Gerard said with a smirk. He handed the groceries to Travis and added. "Do not lose these. See you later Frank." And then he was gone.

"I got it. It's in my pocket?" Travis said obviously lying. I felt my temper flare.

"I thought you would have been home way before I finished at the grocery store. I mean the drug store is just around the corner," I said trying not to lose my temper as we made our way upstairs. I was pissed that Nonnie had been home alone for this long when she was feeling so bad.

What if she's gotten up and had another dizzy spell like the one she had this morning? I'd noticed that Travis had changed his clothes since he left the house this morning and there is only one reason for him to have done that. I struggled a moment with the bags as I tried to open the door and wondered how Nonnie would have been able to manage without Travis or I there to help. It didn't happen often but there had been occasions when shed had to go by herself. I resolved as I placed all of my bags on the countertop that it wouldn't happen again. Travis sat his down as well and then headed back to check on Nonnie. It killed me a little but I stayed in the kitchen and started putting away the groceries.

"Where is she?" Travis said coming back into the kitchen.

"What do you mean where is she? I left her sleeping in your bed." I answered walking back to look in his room but when I got there all I saw was an empty bed. I let loose a string of curse words. The worry that I'd been keeping a strict control of suddenly boiled over and an unexplainable feeling of foreboding settled in the pit of my stomach. "She probably went to work."

"But you said she was sick." Travis accused.

"She was when I found her in the bathroom this morning she nearly collapsed. She still insisted that she was going to work until I made her lay back down." I explained.

"Okay, I'll call her office and then go and get her." He said. I could tell he thought I was overreacting, but I had a feeling telling me that something was wrong with Nonnie. I watched as he dialed the number on our land line and was struck again by how we'd neglected our responsibilities for our ambition. We couldn't afford to have cell phones because three phones was too much for Nonnie to handle on her own.

"The receptionist said she didn't come in today. Where else would she have gone?" Travis asked.

"Maybe she tried to go in but didn't make it. I'm going down there maybe on the way I'll run into her. Can you call the hospitals and see if she's been into any emergency room?" I left with the resolve that first thing in the morning I was getting Nonnie a prepaid phone for emergencies. We'd talked about it in the past, but she'd always argued that it wasn't worth the money. The bus ride to her job was uneventful and even though I had already called I went into the building and ask the receptionist if she had shown up in the past twenty minutes. When I receive the same answer again I return to the corner to catch the bus back home. As I stood there waiting I decided it might be a better idea to walk in case Nonnie got off at the wrong stop in her confusion.

As I walked the route my mind raced through everything I needed to do to fix our friendship. She'd already chosen Travis, but I knew she would and I would never ask her to choose between us anyway. However, I couldn't continue living with them, not after tasting her kisses and feeling her body responds so eagerly to mine. Lately I found myself hoping that Travis and she break up so I can have a chance at something that isn't just physical with her.