Everything Changes (Kavi)

Las Vegas, NV

"Oh, plenty of honey then."

"Yeah..." She trailed off, her eyes darting nervously around the room. There was just something so foreign to her about being alone with Avi, they hadn't been alone together long enough to have a conversation in years but there was a slight familiarity to it, a lingering memory of the past.

Reluctantly, she perched on the edge of the couch, as far away from him as she could, if he was willing to talk, she was too. She glanced sideways at him so as to not make him feel like he was under inspection and took a moment to take in the unusual situation they were in. They were alone together at a late hour, they were actually talking, none of them were bolting away from the other, up until that moment they were all just distant memories for the two.

Avi had pulled the blinds hanging over the window aside and was staring out at cars as they drove by. The light coming in from the street illuminated his face and revealed to her just how much he had been crying. His eyes were red, swollen, and so were his cheeks, a dampness seemingly lingering over them both. Against her better judgement, Kirstie's immediate instinct was to comfort him, to return him to the lovable, carefree Avi she knew and loved. She could still remember how to cheer him up even after all that time. 

They used to spend many times together not feeling their best, be it home sickness or hurt feelings she knew exactly how to make him better. First she would get him a drink, hot chocolate if he needed to feel loved, scotch if he needed to let off some steam. She would then proceed to wrap her arms around him, whispering soothing words, holding him until his crying stopped. On the odd occasion that didn't work, she would have added a blanket to the mix and the added warmth usually would have made him better. When he had calmed down, she'd talk to him, allowing him to open up his feelings in order to feel the cathartic release of letting them out. As soon as he felt satisfied enough, she'd always end the routine by doing an activity that would keep his mind off of what had happened, an action which implied to him that she was not judging him for his display of emotion. She learnt early on that if you made Avi linger too long on his feelings he'd get defensive, closing anyone out who asked too many questions or wanted to sooth him longer that necessary. She knew that made him feel belittled and knew to avoid it, choosing instead to cuddle up to him and watch whatever fantasy movie he wanted with no complaints.

But that had been years ago when they actually were close enough to turn to each other for problems, when they actually spoke to one another. It felt like a lifetime ago so despite her instincts, Kirstie stopped herself from doing the routine she knew worked like a treat. Instead, she slid closer to him on the couch, hoping that her warmth would give him some comfort.

"Avi are you okay?" She asked softy and  reached out an unsure hand to touch his arm lightly, drawing him back into the conversation.

He pulled away from his observing of the outside world and dropped his gaze down to the couch. "I'll be fine."

"Is it your parents?" She bit her lip as she gazed at him, unsure at whether her guess was correct. She believed it was, she could remember too well just what could put him in that mood and she knew that he had a hard time saying goodbye to his parents after the show that evening.

"How did you know?" He already knew the answer but he felt like he should ask it anyway.

"It may have been a while but I can still read you like a book." Kirstie smirked at him just like she would have a few years previously. There was something about being together in the dim lights that made their current relationship easy to forget.

"I'll just miss them, you know?" He sighed, eyes boring down on the hand that she had placed on his arm but even when she noticed what was in his line of sight she didn't remove it.