Dusk & Dawn

5- friday blessings

Friday nights used to be the best nights of the week for me. I'd crash parties, dance away my sorrows with people that I barely knew.

However, since I bought my way into a new life at Midland, Fridays haven't been the same. On days when my friends were free, I went home after my shift to join a movie marathon. On days that they had plans, I stayed at the diner to watch random people navigate the typical bustling college life.

I couldn't find myself in such scenes anymore. It felt like another phone call would disrupt my life in a minute, again.

I hadn't seen Ezra since that day, so I figured I wasn't in a position to care much about what he was up to, considering I had no way of contacting him unless he came in during my shift.

Cleo had gone home for the weekend, while Harper was at a friend's house party downtown and Naomi was back at the dorm after a long day of lectures.

Someone plopped down across from me in the diner booth. My brows furrowed in confusion as Ezra smiled and greeted me.

"How've you been?" he asked.

"You're late three years, I stumbled upon an actual cop and got married to him," I replied with a playful glare.

"I've been practicing my detective skills too. Solving the mystery of why you're sitting alone in a diner booth," he answered, with a playful pout.

"You always have something to say," I chuckled as I continued munching on my fries.

"Sorry," he laughed again before continuing. "I was getting tickets to a football match, you aren't busy, are you?"

It didn't take much to convince me to go to the match; I had nowhere better than my dorm to be. As we walked into the stadium, Ezra led me to the food court and ordered two bowls of popcorn.

"What drink would you like to have?" the server asked as he handed the popcorn bowl to us.

"Two natty lights," I answered before digging into my pockets for my purse to at least pay for the drink.

"I actually don't drink, Raine," Ezra said to me.

"Bless your heart," I smiled at him before turning back to the server. Ezra pointed to a fruit punch and one natty light before paying for both altogether.

He cheered for the college team and occasionally explained some of the football terms. I cautioned myself against downing the whole content of the alcohol bottle, but 90+ minutes was too long to resist my temptation.

"Do you play? You seem to know a lot," I asked, feeling myself become tipsy.

"No, my uncle coached for ten years; it's hard not to pick up a liking," he answered with a smile, and I nodded in understanding.

"Is your Dad a doctor like your Mom?" he asked this time.

Questions about my father was always challenging for me. It reminded me of the fact that I couldn't see him before he died, it reminded me of how selfish I had been with the choices that I made.

"Yeah, but he was more into the business aspect of medicine," I answered, shaking the fuzziness off.

"That's pretty cool," he told me, nodding his head before turning back to the game and I couldn't be more pleased that he didn't realize my choice of words when I referred to my father in a past tense.

By the time the game ended, I was far gone. I had fallen asleep on his shoulder. What brought me back into consciousness was the jubilation of the audience to the school victory.

"How long was I out for?"

"Not long."

As we walked back home, I kept checking my phone for any notifications, letting myself relax, thinking if anything bad happened, someone would have called.

"What do you think about skydiving?" I randomly asked Ezra to distract myself from my self-destructive thoughts.

"Skydiving? I prefer to keep both feet on solid ground," he responded with a nervous laugh, taking glances at me to see if I was serious.

"Looks like our friendship subscription just expired," I teased.

"Is there a grace period? We can find common ground that doesn't involve acrobatics in the sky," he suggested.

I burst out laughing as I turned to my dorm reception. "Good night."

"See you tomorrow, Raine."

I walked into the house staggering, dumped my bag on the floor, and dragged my feet toward my room. I didn't bother opening my eyes to see clearly as I headed straight to the restroom.

As I poured water on my face, it suddenly felt like I had burnt corn stuck in my throat. In the process of getting it out, I could feel the metallic taste of iron at the back of my throat before the familiar liquid dropped into the basin.

The door swung open, and my eyes widened in reflex. This time, my panic didn't subside when I found out that it was Naomi.

"Oh my God!" she screamed as she rushed toward me before helping me cough out the remaining blood and washing my face right after.

As I took in the room decor, I realized that I had gone into Naomi's room and not mine. And from the drowsiness on her face, I knew I must have woken her up.

As she settled me down on her bed and handed over a cup of water to me, I knew she was about to question me again.

"What are you going to do?" She asked me, her hands shaking even though she was trying to pat my back.

"I am fine, Mims." I tried to reassure her.

"Fine? Nosebleed in the morning, coughing out stuff in the night? You're far from fine Raine. You need to call your Mom and let her know." She finally breathed out as she finished.

"Yeah, I will don't worry," I answered her.

"If you really don't reach out to her, I might do it myself," she threatened me. I nodded fiercely knowing Naomi's words were not a bluff at all. I knew she could do it, she would do it.

"I need to rest right now," I asked of her and she led me to my room and I found peace in the comfort of my bed.

Nov 10th