Fractured (ON HOLD)

One - Franny

    "So come on," Tally says. "How have you been? What's your apartment like? I know you've shown me pictures and I'm gonna see it later but is it nice?"

    I glance down at the suitcase at Tally's feet and feel a warmth surround my chest, knowing someone will be spending time with me at my apartment, giving it a little more warmth and colour - something it sadly needed.

    Tally flew back home and temporarily put her things in storage and at her parent's place before packing a suitcase and flying over to me to stay for a little while. We haven't been around each other for a long time and maybe staying in the same small apartment will drive us crazy, but hearing Tally laughing and going on about her flight and the cute air hostess makes me banish any worries. It doesn't matter if we end up throwing punches by Wednesday night. I have my best friend back with me. And after feeling like there would be no one else to ever fill that position again, it makes me happy to know that she's back here anyway to fill it herself.

    "So romance is still dead then?" Tally asks and I almost pout, sipping my coffee.

    "Pretty much," I huff. "I just...no one's really stuck, you know? I've been on dates and I had a couple short relationships but they were over before I could even start to question why."

    "Same here." Tally rolls her eyes, taking a quick swig of her drink. "I mean, I tried. But the longest relationship I had was four months and even though it didn't end badly it still ended. God, she knew before I did that this wasn't going anywhere which just ended up making me feel embarrassed about it all by the end of it."

    I wince. "Guess romance wasn't really in the cards for us, huh?"

    "I probably cursed us when I kissed you in high school."

    I snort, almost choking on my coffee.

    "Stop it!" I laugh, shoving at her shoulder. "You're such an idiot."

    "Some queer curse I probably left on us," Tally says and I laugh louder. "We're stuck together forever, aren't we?"

    I grin. "Probably. But that ain't so bad."

***

    My apartment is small. There's a kitchen and enough room for a couch and a TV but there's no table. I eat my dinner sitting cross-legged on the couch in front of a shitty reality show so I've never needed a table.

    I feel a little embarrassed now, as I help Tally wheel in her suitcase, and see that it really is a small thing. I guess I can put a small table up against the wall, but then we'd walk into the chairs trying to get around the place.

    There are fairy lights lining the large, full length windows that cover the wall at the end of the apartment by the couch. The view is pretty nice, especially during the night. The couch is squishy, with a bright orange throw hanging over the back of it that my dad gave me last Christmas.

    I stand a little awkwardly beside the bathroom door near the entrance.

    "I mean it's a little...cosy, I guess. I don't know if that's good, I just..."

    "It's so cute," Tally says and I look at her surprised.

    "It is?" I ask.

    "Yeah," she smiles, then her eyes pop open as she points towards the couch. "You got fairy lights too! It's gonna look so nice tonight. We should go in and order pizza and watch TV all night."

    I roll my eyes fondly and sling my arm over her shoulder, hugging her quickly.

    "Whatever you want," I say, then point to the door beside me. "So, that's the bathroom. The laundry machine is in this cupboard here, Fig's litter tray is on the bottom but it gets cleaned regularly and doesn't smell much."

    Tally nods, then freezes and claps her hands togethers. "Where's Fig? I wanna see Fig."

    "Oh, yeah, I forgot," I say and push open my bedroom door which is beside the TV. "He doesn't really come greet me, he sort of sleeps through everything."

    Sat upon my double bed which occupies the centre of the room is my cat, Fig. His bed is underneath my desk where he happily sleeps most of the time, until I leave the apartment and he gets bored so feels the need to sleep on my bed instead. He lounges under the sunlight that comes through the window with his eyes closed peacefully. I got him about seven months ago when he was a little kitten and he's quickly growing into a gangly thing that's all limbs.

    When the door creaks, Fig opens his eyes slowly before looking at me. It takes him a full minute to decide to come off the bed and over to me. I pick him up and press my cheek against the top of his head, turning to Tally.

    "So this is Fig," I say.

    "Oh my god he's so cute," Tally says, scratching Fig's head. "I just wanna squish it."

    "He usually sleeps in the living room but I can move his bed if he gets distracting."

    "No, no." Tally shakes her head. "It's okay. I'm not allergic or anything." She then takes sight of the mattress that had been placed on the floor beside my bed, which I had ended up pushing further to the other end of the room. I filled it high with the duvet, blankets, more throws and a ton of pillows. "Woah, is that mine?"

    "Yeah, is it ok? I thought tonight we could like do a sleepover and then I can move the mattress into the living room tomorrow?"

    Tally grins. "I'm good with a sleepover if you are."

    I smile and clutch Fig a little closer to my chest, suddenly relieved that someone else is here, someone I know, who I haven't seen in so long. Coming to Canada alone was scary and even though I've figured it all out now, it feels amazing to have someone from home with me. I blink rapidly as I get hit with a burst of nostalgia.

    "A sleepover sounds perfect."

___________

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