A World Apart

Gone

The sunlight streaming through my window woke me, and my tired eyelids fluttered open. I winced as they met the unpleasant brightness and retreated under the duvet.

Wait... Duvet?

Jolting up with a start, I looked around me, blinking several times in quick succession to adjust to the light and shake the sleepiness from my eyes. I was in my bed. But how? The last thing that I remembered was watching the movie, my eyes getting heavier as my head lolled against the cushions on the sofa.

How did I get here?

No sooner had I thought of the question than the answer sprung to the front of my mind...

Jake.

It brought a smile to my lips to think how sweet he'd been in putting me to bed. How sweet he'd been all evening actually. I wanted to repay him, to do one last, small thing for him before we parted ways.

Leaping from my bed, I felt the dull aches in my body from last night's unpleasant moment in the park. I briefly wondered where my attacker was. Maybe he'd fled somewhere far... maybe he still lingered somewhere in the shadows. The idea made my stomach churn a little in fear of ever coming across him again. Making a mental note to stick to the illuminated streets, or only get cab rides back to my building, I left my room, making a quiet path toward the kitchen where I gathered an assortment of food and began making a pot of coffee.

With a heavily stacked breakfast tray balanced in my arms, I knocked at the door of my spare room, poised for a reply from within. When no answer greeted me, I called out. Still nothing. My mood rapidly deflating, I stood the tray on the floor and let myself in, hoping to see Jake still sound asleep beneath the covers. The reality though was far sadder. The spare bedroom was as it was the day before, the only sign that it had been slept in was the slight creases across the crisp sheets, and a small bundle of neatly folded clothes lying at the foot of the bed, a small note placed on top of them. My feet carried me to the edge, where I reached out a hand, taking the paper from the pile and reading the note which had been scrawled in pencil across the page.

Charisma,

Thank you for everything. Stay safe.

Jake.

I felt my heart plummet as I read the few words. He was gone. I'd had no chance to say goodbye, to find out more about him or to even convince him to let me help in some way. For just a second, I convinced myself that there was a chance of crossing paths with him again. But the hope was instantly extinguished a second later when I thought of how large New York was, and how likely it would be that I'd cross paths with someone when I'd no idea where to find him.

My moment of contemplation was shattered with the crashing bang of my front door flying open. My head snapped up so fast that I cricked my neck.

Was Jake back?

The question was answered immediately with the panicked call of my mother's voice.

"Carrie? Carrie where are you?"

Rubbing at the pain in the back of my neck, I plodded back out into the hall, leaving Jake's letter on the bed and closing the door behind me.

"I'm here, Mom."

She whirled around, her usual composure non-existent as she charged at me, sweeping me into her embrace before I'd even properly made it to the living room.

"My baby!" She gasped, smothering me and causing me to hiss in pain as my various bruises were crushed under her embrace and various jewellery.

"MOM!" I shouted against her shoulder, the sound coming out all muffled.