Back to You [An Endgame Continuation]

Crimson Station

1,000!! WE MADE IT. You guys are incredible! Thanks to the ones who have given me feedback! The more I receive the more I'm motivated to give you chapters, so please keep it going! I've wanted to write this chapter for a long, long time. (Pun intended.) Enjoy! XxLauren_Luv

§Ｃｒｉｍｓｏｎ Ｓｔａｔｉｏｎ§
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

I was never someone who had vivid dreams.

They were always so dull and unrealistic that I could always tell they weren't real. I dreamed of a beach, I never heard the crashing waves or the seabirds. I never smelled sunscreen or felt the rough grains of sand beneath my feet. It was always so out of focus that even the largest details would evade me.

It's the reason I wondered why I felt I was dreaming now. At this moment, I was taking note of every sound I heard as if I was holding a seashell up to my ear and eyeing every visual detail under a microscope. The mixed smell of morning coffee and cigarettes drifted into my nose and I welcomed it with familiarity. It was almost as if I took in every single detail because I was afraid I would miss something if I didn't. I wanted everything from these moments to be etched into my memory forever. Because I was finally here.

All of us bouncing in our seats as the train car transferred onto a different track brought me out of my ultra-focused state. I was pressed up against the window that was still covered in a thin layer of morning dew when I heard a grainy static-laced voice come over the intercom. "Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Passengers getting off at Crimson Station please prepare for departure."

Just hearing the words made me feel lightheaded, and I leaned back in the brown leather seats. I felt the early rays of the morning sun filter through the windows and warm my skin as I imagined seeing her again and saying...

I lost my train of thought, eyebrows furrowing. Wait. What was I going to say?

The skinny businessman sitting next to me watched with amusement as my mind tried grasping onto an idea, but every time I'd think of something I'd dismiss it annoyingly until I eventually gave up and looked back out the window.

"You 'aight there, lad?" I heard the guy next to me say in an unexpected Scottish accent, and I turned to him still frowning. He made a weirdly accurate guess. "Girl trouble?"

I looked down to the slate gray floor of the train car. "You could say that, yeah."

Freckles dotted his entire face as his mouth tilted to the side. "In that case.." He cocked his head as he thought for a moment, then bent over his seat to grab something out of his luggage. I heard the sloshing of liquid as he brought up a dull metal flask and held it out to me, a knowing look on his face.

My eyebrows rose up to my hairline when I realized what it was. "Oh, no, I can't," I declined softly as I held up my hand. He moved it closer, and I scoffed quietly as I saw a sympathetic look on his face.

"Are you sure? This stuff's known for healing broken hearts, believe me."

I shook my head politely, and the man twitched his eyebrows as he moved the flask back to his lap, paused, then raised his other hand to unscrew the cap. I watched him take a swig, then tuck it back in his bag.

"Girl trouble?"

"No," the man quipped with a playful smirk, and I broke out into a smile.