Purple Rain

Chapter 3: Crazy You

Prince was here. Right here in front of me. He was sleeping so deep that he had barely moved all night. I was probably freaking him out from all the touching, but...I wanted to make sure he was here. I missed him so much and I thought he was gone forever like some kid from your past that you remember, but hadn't seen in years. His cute curls, his beautiful long eyelashes. My Prince. I curled up and realized my hand never left his chest and had been touching him all night. He hadn't changed much since we were kids. He still had his smarts, his talent, and his kind soul, but he seemed...so closed off. He was more quiet and shy. He was so work driven. I missed his hugs and his sleep talks and his voice. It was different now obviously, but...his presence was...so warm.

I laid completely still as he was shifting and rolling onto his back with his eyelashes fluttering some. Please don't wake up yet. No, he was getting comfortable. I was tempted to move the hair from his closed eyes and feel his heartbeat like I used to when we were little. He used to laugh so much and now he didn't. I had rarely seen him laugh since I saw him for the first time. "Solange..." I froze. He was sleep talking. Solange was my mother's name. I stayed quiet but inched closer to him. "Solange..." he was dead asleep but talking clearly. Why was he talking about my mother in his sleep? Suddenly, he grabbed my hand that was by his hip and rolled over to put my arm around him. I was surprised, but I wasn't scared. Good, he'd probably go back into a deep sleep. I rested my cheek against his shoulder blade feeling his skin. His stomach hair brushed my inner forearm and my knees curled up behind his.

I closed my eyes enjoying feeling him again. "Samira." He said. "I'm right here." I said softly. "Are you awake?" He asked. It reminded me of when we were kids and had our sleep overs. "Of course." I always said. Prince rolled onto his back but I kept my arm around him. He looked around really confused. "You stayed over last night, remember? You're gonna stay with me on Saturdays." He relaxed at my words. His eyebrows were knitted together as if he was stressed. "I need a tooth brush. I forgot mine at the-" "Shhh. I'll get everything together. Just rest." I felt of his heart and it was racing as if he was panicked. "What time is it?" He asked. "It's only 6. Just rest." I took the opportunity to lay on his chest and he didn't mind it. He actually held me as I was listening to his breathing. "How long have you been awake?" "Not long. Shhh." He seemed antsy. I sat up some and cupped his cheek. "Prince, calm your mind. It's early. You can rest a little while." He slipped away from me and out of my bed. "I gotta get going. I gotta write a song at least. I need to brush my teeth and head to the-the studio." He was stuttering. He sat on the bed and pulled his boots on. I sat up watching him quickly lacing them up. "Prince, look at me." I slid close to our my hand on his arm. "I-" "Prince. One off day isn't going to kill you. You need to take a break. It's Saturday." He seemed to be calming down and he put his elbows on his knees. "I have to get...something done. You don't get it." "Prince Rogers Nelson." I still remembered his full name. He got completely still. "Let me take care of you. This one day isn't going to put you behind." I snaked my arm around over his chest to his other shoulder to hold him. "Take your boots off and relax. Let's have a cigarette and coffee before I make you some breakfast. Then you can eat." I told him. He nodded and lifted his leg up to take off his boots. I kissed his cheek before getting out of bed and he stood up to place his boots on the other side of my room. For the first time since last night I saw how...thin he was. I could see Prince's ribs and when he laid down I saw them even more. It wasn't scary, but it worried me. Prince grabbed his notebook and pencil before walking into the kitchen with me. I always hid my cigarettes in my purse because I promised Wendy I'd quit, but with work it was almost impossible to quit smoking. I had a pot of coffee making while Prince and I made our way into the living room. I opened the window and climbed onto the window sill to sit and Prince sat in front of me with his notebook on his lap.

"Can I have one?" He asked. I passed him a cigarette and he lit it up before passing the Zippo lighter to me. I was looking at him, enjoying how the sunlight hit his beautiful eyes. With one drag of the cigarette, he seemed to be doing better. The sun was warm, but the air had a slight chill to it. Prince dropped his notebook on the floor and reached over to me. I took his hand gently but I realized he was pulling me towards him, so I put my cigarette in my mouth and turned my body so I could lay my back against him. It was strange how he was holding me like this, but I was loving it. "Did you sleep okay?" I asked him. "That's the most sleep I've had in two weeks." He admitted. His voice rattled his chest. Prince put his leg up and I put my free hand on his thigh. When he wasn't thinking about work, he was being affectionate. We weren't lovers, but I'm sure our neighbors thought we were by now. I stroked the side of his knee as I was taking a drag. I heard the ding of the coffee pot and finished my cigarette before getting up and making us some. "How do you like it?" I asked him. "Whatever you like." He said as he shut the window and walked over to the dinner bar to have a seat. I put the coffee cup beside him and saw he was already two lyrics in.