Chasing Memories

[4] Opportunity

    Broad columns of morning sun filtered between the gaps in the bedroom's blinds. The light poured over the bundled bedsheets beneath the window, every shift of their ocean blue folds casting another speck or two of dust into the shafts of sunlight. Gripped by a stifling, unrelenting heat, the room's air lingered like treacle to slow the movement of the clock's hands to a laboured crawl. On the opposite side of the bed, a half-full glass of water trembled to the beat of distant steps.

    Elise dug her way out of the tangled duvet and wrapped her fingers around the glass, wincing at the tang of its tepid water before finishing the rest of its contents in one glug. Squinting at her phone screen through the glaring light, she saw she had overslept by an hour, missing both her usual alarm and whatever efforts her flatmate had made to prise her from her pit. Exhausted, Elise slithered out of her bed and picked herself up in front of her mirror. Her dark, baggy eyes widened at their own reflection, and the tag for her soft pink t-shirt stuck out behind the nape of her neck. The door matched her own groan as she passed into the flat's kitchen.

    Sipping at a large mug of black coffee, Robin waved at her from behind the kitchen counter. "There she is," he cheered, raising his mug and indicating a second drink held within Elise's cherry red mug. Suddenly, his eyes locked onto the front of her shirt. "Did you put your top on inside out?"

    "I feel like I've been turned inside out, Robin." As she took the red mug's handle, Elise tapped the back of Robin's hand in gratitude. "Thanks again for sitting with me last night. I can't believe I beat myself up so much over a stupid argument, especially one with someone I hadn't seen in years. Honestly, why do you put up with me?"

    "To pay the bills, mainly," Robin answered, a wicked smirk playing on his lips as he spoke. He ducked behind the counter and scoured through the cupboards, and he returned with a pair of smooth cinnamon swirls kept in a paper bag. "And because that's what friends do. This Cadence wasn't just 'someone', Ellie. She was your best friend once, and out of nowhere she bursts back into your life and dumps her anger on you. It's a lot to handle."

    As she took the extra pastry from the bag, Elise stared at her reflection in the dark coffee. "I just don't get how she could still have such a grudge about it. It's been a decade – how hasn't she let it go yet?"

    Robin shrugged and took a bite of his swirl. "From the way you described her, Cadence doesn't sound like the type to let things go easily," he said as he set the swirl down and flicked the golden flakes from his fingers. "Look, you two are living your own lives now. You don't ever have to see her again. As much as it hurts right now, maybe Cadence was right, and the best thing for you is to just...move on."

    The spiced strands laced within the swirl stirred Elise's senses to life, resurrecting the memory of the bitter shadows that clouded Cadence's shining hazel eyes. Elise took another bite to try and melt into the layers of buttery pastry, yet the image stuck in her mind. "I hope she's okay," she whispered to herself, a heavy weight pressing on her shoulders.

    As Elise moved to take another sip of coffee, her phone called out from the side of her bed. She darted from her bar stool to her bedroom door, leaping onto her bed to grab the handset in time. "Hello?" she spoke into the phone, her voice rasped and loud.

    "With two shots, Leonard. Two shots. And no milk, damn it!"

    Elise adjusted her grip on the handset. "Excuse me?"

    "Aha! Finally!" cried the voice down the line. It was a man's voice, slick and smooth like a butter candy, but too unfamiliar to be immediately charming. "Can you put me in touch with...Miss Elise Penrose?"

    Elise walked out of her room, her fingers fiddling with the drawstring of her dark blue shorts. "No need, because I am Elise Penrose. Can I help you with something?"