mark of the moon child

The Leather Jacket

"Coffee." She mumbled as the scent of it woke her from her sleep. Elle slowly sat up on the couch and looked towards the kitchen where Mia was pouring some fresh coffee into a couple of mugs. "I want the pretty coffee." Mia laughed.

"It's coming, it's coming." Mia walked to the living room and sat next to Elle as she handed over one of the mugs. Elle took her first sip and her body cried of happiness.

"Oh, it's so good. Thank you." Elle said as she took a second sip. She turned to look at Mia and found her already staring back with a slight frown. "What?"

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm good. Why are you frowning?"

"Elle, what happened yesterday.."

"Oh, right. I heard your mom last night saying it was probably an extension of a dream I'd had on the beach?"

"Yeah, that's what she thinks." Elle raised an eyebrow. "Elle you scared the hell out of me. You just ran across the street looking so panicked and then you were on the other side talking to yourself-" Mia's voice hitched and her eyes became glossy.

"Mia, I'm so sorry. I didn't even think about how all this affected you." Elle put her coffee down and hugged Mia. "I'm so sorry."

"How are you so calm right now? Didn't yesterday scare you?"

"I don't know. In the moment, yeah, but it's almost like it wasn't real. Like it didn't happen. I guess it's hitting me more now seeing you."

"Ugh, I need to stop." Mia said, shaking her head, forcing the tears away. "Okay, so what do you want to do today? We can go to the mall or we can stay in, watch some movies?" Though Mia had successfully dried her eyes and smoothed the frown lines between her brows, Elle saw the worry in her friend's eyes.

"I think we should go shopping! My wardrobe is not California ready and we need to fix that ASAP." Elle got up, coffee in hand. "I'm going to go get ready. I'll be good to go in about 30 minutes, that okay?"

"Yep. I already showered so the bathroom is all yours." Mia answered. She sat on the couch as she watched her friend walk down the hallway. What if it happened again? What if something was seriously wrong with her cousin, her best friend? She'd keep an eye on her, make sure nothing like that happened again.

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"There's no ceiling?" Elle stood in the centre of the mall looking up to the open sky. "Oh this is way cooler than the malls back home." Mia laughed.

"Yeah. With the weather conditions here we're in rare need of a roof." Mia took her by the arm and lead her towards the first store. They rummaged through happily, each with an arm full of clothing. Elle made her way back towards the display window where a fitted black leather jacket hung neatly on a clothing rack.

"Oh my." She said and simply dropped her pile of clothing onto the floor. She brought both hands to the jacket, traced her fingers along its lines.

"I don't think I've ever seen anyone so hypnotized by a piece of clothing." Mia commented. "Well, try it on! There's a mirror right by the window." Elle carefully slipped the jacket off the hanger and slid each arm into their respective sleeve. "Okay, THAT looks amazing on you." Elle walked to the mirror and stared.

"I've always wanted a leather jacket but never found one I really loved and fit me right. This one is so simple but.."

"It looks like it was made with only you in mind. It's perfect." It was so odd. She felt silly thinking this but it's like it was always meant to be hers, just like Mia said. "Well go on, give it a twirl!"