Out of Sight, Out of Mind

Chapter 8

He didn't sleep for the rest of the night in constant fear that he will experience it again. He called in sick for work so he could recuperated his reality. His neighbor knocked on his front door like always. He got up slow and sluggishly made his way over. He opened the creaky door to the same optimistic man he knew as Bard.

    "Mornin', neighbor! You, uh, sick?" He said, a concerned tone hidden under his smile.

    Play it off, idiot! He snapped to himself.

    "Oh um.. yeah I'm not feeling grounded today. Wait shouldn't you be working right now?"

    "Nuh-uh kiddos don't have uh school today, ya get it?"

    Porter nods and Bard does the same. The awkward interaction did not dissolve any ounce of Bard's wondrous smile. Cars meandered down the road in front of his house, seeming to be looking at him or the houses around him. He moved out of his house and stood in front of his house number to hide it from them. They kept driving slow until the car moved out of sight. Bard noticed the tension and said his goodbyes.

    "I'll uh leave you to your uh healing, okay-uh, buddy-o?" Bard chirped.

    "Mhm. Have a good day, Bard." Porter replied as he slowly moved back into his house to escape the encounter.

    Once the door closed, he sighed in relief and went back to his room to take a nap. He bumped his hip into the corner of the dining table and groaned in pain. He cursed under his breath and lifted his shirt to look at his hip to see if it will bruise. He tugged at his jeans to see a forming bruise on the recently made dent. His smooth skin became discolored around the bruise and when he trailed his fingers over the oval-shaped dent, he quickly retracted his hand as a reflex. He groaned again in pain and frustration. He didn't remember the table being there from yesterday's dream day. He still needed time to connect with what is and what isn't.

Once the feeling subsided, he walked back to his bedroom. He laid in bed for a while, spacing out to think of spending his life with her. He didn't even know her name but that didn't matter. He just needed her near him. He needed her warmth, her smile, her smell. Her.

    Today's the day, He convinced himself. Today, I'm going to ask her out.

    Throughout the rest of the morning, he was stressed over if he should ask her out or just ask for her name. He debated with himself for hours, forgetting to even eat lunch because of the dilemma he has created for himself.

    If I ask her out when I don't even know her name, that'll be like asking out a complete stranger and expecting them to say yes.

    In fact, that's 100% what it was. He didn't know much about her. He knew she has a sister because she had called during one of their conversations but he doesn't even know her favorite flower nor color. He was genuinely going out of interest and friendly desire to know more.

    He needed to get ready to ask her. Porter knew he couldn't go in sweatpants and a hoodie though he desperately wished he could. He wanted to wear a big shirt so if she were to say no, he could get sucked up by said shirt and disappear from existence without the embarrassment of saying another word to her.

    Instead of the black-hole shirt he wanted, he put on a black, loose dress shirt. He tucked in the shirt into high waisted jeans. He puffed the shirt to somewhat melt over the belt of the pants. He washed and styled his hair before collecting his stuff and starting his tense walk to where they were going to talk.

    Wallet, phone, keys, mints. Wait mints?

    He stared down at the unopened bottle of mints he never remembered buying. He stuffed the items into his many pockets before leaving his house. He kept his eyes down as he crossed the street, trying not to cause any suspicion from the police officer waiting at the red light.

Getting to the designated spot to meet, he saw her. Her hair was in a loose yet kept bun. Few strands here and there fell from it but most stayed in place. Thicker locks of hair framed her gorgeous face. He admired her as he made his way over.

"Hey, stranger." He joked with a smile.

Her beautiful smile welcomed him. "Hey there! How's life?"

"It's been... busy. For the most part.."

"I understand! This last week has been chaotic for me!"

They sat at a nearby park and their conversation skyrocketed from there. She told him stories from her last week. Her missing cat was found, her great grandfather passed away, her boss fired her, and many more stories. When she told her stories, she used the name 'Savanah' multiple times.

"Is that your name?" He blurted.

"Savanah? Yeah that's my name.. I apologize if I forgot to mention it." She laughed a little and he couldn't help but laugh with her as he reassured her it was alright.

That was her name... Savanah. It was perfect for her. It matched her so well. She had deep auburn hair with emerald eyes and full pursed lips. Her laugh was contagious whether you heard the joke or not.

She stopped speaking and seemed to admire him too. Her ivy gaze slithered down his outfit before getting distracted by a honking car on the street. He felt her eyes getting further and further down his figure before leaving to look at the cars.

He felt a rush of adrenaline. This was it. Now was the time to ask her out.

"Savanah?" He croaked a little. Her green eyes sank into his soul deeper than the ocean. Her smile made him even more nervous than before.

"Yes, Mr. Porter?" She cooed.

His palms were sweaty, his face became a beet red. He cleared his throat while shifting to face her more on the bench.

"Um.. I've never done this before. Would you..." he trailed off, becoming too nervous to speak. He pushed through the feeling and cleared his throat again.

"Would you like to go out with me? On um.. a date?"

Her emerald pearls for eyes widened. She was shocked by his question. Her smile formed into a small oval shape. He began to regret his decision of asking and starting stuttering out his apologies.

Her hand fell onto his as she forced words to come out of her mouth.

"Mr. Porter, I'm truly sorry but I'm going to have to say no." She sighed. She squeezed his hand gently to show her sympathy for him.

Glass shattered in his ears. Her sympathetic expression sent chills down his spine. He felt an ache in his chest unlike anything he ever felt before. He was just as speechless as she was when he had collected the courage to ask.

She said no.... He cried to himself. Something sparked in him and his sanity snapped in half. His fists clenched a little as he screamed in his head. NO! NO IT'S NOT FAIR!

She moved her hand off of his and he blinked in shock. He promised himself so long ago that he'd never kill anyone again but today.... right now.... he was so close to breaking that promise.

No.. she will be mine. Either she is mine, or she is no one's.