Stand By Me

Part 6- Stand By Me

~One Month Later~

~Bella's POV~

Sleepless nights, random bouts of crying, and spontaneous panic attacks. That about sums up the past month for me.

All I have to do is think about my circumstances and I start to cry. Sometimes it's just a bit of wetness on my pillow, other times it's a complete show of waterworks. Tonight I'm somewhere in between- which means I'm struggling to fall asleep.

I wipe my face off on my pillow then roll to my left side. When doing so I spot my telephone on my nightstand and smile. I reach for it, then start to dial a number I'd recently come to memorize.

To my surprise, he picks up after only two rings, "Hello?"

"John?" I mumble tiredly, smiling as soon as I hear his sweet voice.

Over the past month John has been the only constant in my life. Slowly but surely a lovely friendship had started to brew between us- and I cherished it with all of my heart.

"Hey! You okay?"

"I can't sleep." I chuckle, which makes him laugh as well.

"Yeah, me either."

"What are you doing?" I ask as I prop myself up in bed, twirling one of my curls between my fingers.

"Not a lot, just listening to records."

There's a brief pause, though I can hear John tinkering with something on his end of the line.

"It's good to hear your voice Bella."

A blush blooms onto my cheeks, "Yours too."

"What are you doing right now?" He asks.

"Well let's see, it's currently 11pm, so I'm in my bed." I giggle.

"I know it's late, but would you like to come over? I haven't seen you all week, it'd be nice to chat."

"We're chatting now." I smirk.

"I know, but I miss your eyes."

"Really? I'm rolling them right now."

He laughs, "Come on Bella, are ye coming or not?"

I glance down at my loose fitting, wildly unattractive pajamas and feel vastly underdressed, but given the time of night I don't think John will mind. He's not the type to be superficial anyhow.

"Alright you've convinced me. Gimme about half an hour, I'll be there."

"Good. Be safe, Bella."

"See you soon."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I arrive at John's a little before midnight, toting a container of leftovers from dinner. When he answers the door I hand them to him, and he smiles gratefully.

"Ace! I've not eaten at all today!"

"Typical." I roll my eyes and plop down on the sofa. John joins me and continues to stuff his face, moaning dramatically at the flavors of the food.

"What is this?" He asks with his mouth full.

"It's called Sou-Borek."

"I'm sorry, did you just sneeze?" He jokes.

I roll my eyes, "It's a family recipe. I can give it to you if you'd like!"

"Why would I need the recipe when I've got you to cook for me?"

I swat him on the shoulder, which makes him chuckle like a sassy child, "Pig!"

We sit for a few moments while John finishes eating, my fingers lightly tapping my knees as I listen to the song spinning away on the turntable.