𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐎𝐟 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 ~ 𝐉𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐭

𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘆

She moved to the small green armchair in the corner of the room and nestled into it, smelling the pine needles as she stared out the open window. Part of the reason she was cold in her dream must have been the fact that the ginger had cracked the window before heading to bed. The cold air danced across the arms as she sat there holding her knees.

Small goosebumps arose on the open skin from her T-shirt. She leaned into the chair watching the streets below; they were empty for the most part due to the late hour in the night, but every now and then a small drunk group of people would walk by, or a person possibly out for a late-night walk.

The orange light from the street lamps below made the room glow slightly. She occasionally saw cars driving by as well, a white one, a red one, a blue one. Soon her tired mind was too sleep-deprived to try and keep track of the ones she had seen. Her eyes hung heavy but she didn't want to go back to bed, scared of having the same nightmare.

She turned her head when she heard the bedframe creak, the girl saw the dirty blonde-haired man sit up in bed and look to the spot she was supposed to be sleeping. He then looked around the room once he had deduced that she was no longer in the bed with him. She gave him a small smile once the boy made eye contact with her.

"Leanabh," The man spoke sweetly; the nickname was Gaelic for babe. "Come back to bed." Tallulah just found it funny that the man spoke some Gaelic; he had a Boston accent and was originally from the states.

Tallulah had found Davis in a pub in the town. He had originally started the conversation by talking to her about a band that used to play there when he was a teenager. Little did he know it was Tallulah's old band with Joe. The boy's eyes had bulged out at the realization, and they had been inseparable ever since.

The boy made Tallulah happy, and vice versa. He had dirty blonde hair, cut in a very '90s fashion; his dark blue eyes that were usually covered with wire glasses were on her now waiting for the girl to move back into the bed. She hesitated but only for a moment before moving from the emerald-colored chair and climbing back into bed with the boy. He instantly wrapped his arms around her, "You're chilly, Leanabh." He mumbled sleepily; she chuckled lightly.

She felt the heavy tug on her eyelids again and let the sleep overcome her for the second time that night.

THE NEXT DAY

Tallulah sat the next day on a seat in the stands while she worked. The girl still refused to step foot in the tiny office. For some reason, the girl could not fathom she was terrified to go back in there. It was too cramped, too snug. She knew as soon as she got back in there that she would feel trapped again, and as soon as she would be able, she would want to leave again.

So she found that the stands were the best substitute for her office. She set up her computer and got back into her work. When Tallulah was on her break, she had gotten all of the photos she had taken from the disposable camera and had digitalized them. Tallulah was now working on converting the tape footage she had from the old camcorder and converting it to digital as well.

Tallulah was about an hour into work when a voice had stopped her. A darker-skinned woman in a green shirt approached her. "Hello, I'm Doctor Sharon Fieldstone. I'm the club's new therapist; I was told I would find Tallulah Fitzpatrick up here." She stuck out her hand once she had finally reached the ginger.

Tallulah furrowed her eyebrows at the woman but accepted her hand all the same, "Yeah, that's me. I'm the team photographer; nice to meet you."

"You as well, I was wondering if you'd like to stop by my office later today."