The Void Between Hearts ~~ongoing~~

48. Ivan

𝖣𝖾𝖽𝗂𝖼𝖺𝗍𝖾𝖽 𝗍𝗈 arrestthatqueen Tritty_pet T𝗁𝖺𝗇𝗄 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗋𝖾𝗌𝗉𝗈𝗇𝖽𝗂𝗇𝗀♡

BREATHE.

Grabbing my robe, I step out of the bathroom. Today has been one of those days that start out calm, unsuspecting and by night, leaves you feeling like you've lived three hundred and sixty-six days in twenty-four hours.

Pyjamas.

I walk into the closet and select my favourite navy blue sweat pants. I feel like being shirtless so I walk back to the bed and lay down.

Being back home after so long feels strange-not in the way that it made me hate my life before-rather, like I'm living my real life for the first time.

I don't dislike the maids calling me sir, any less, I'm not anymore pleased by Mother's gigantic furnishings and Sangria, I don't think I'll ever forgive Tosin, he just went too far, and my bed is still too big. But I feel a different level of participation in learning to love it.

I pull my phone up to my face: 11:23pm

She must have settled in by now.

I turn off my lamp and hit call, waiting patiently as it rings. She picks up on the third one.

"Hey," I say.

"I'm sorry about today," she says.

"How are you now?"

"Drugged," she chuckles weakly.

"Did it help?"

"They just put the I.V in and so far, it's only making me high. The pain is stubborn. "

"Sounds familiar."

She laughs. A bit stronger than the chuckle.

"Finding it hard to fall asleep?" I ask.

"Kind of. I asked Mom to leave. So I'm alone and it's harder than I thought."

"She left?"

"Yeah. I told her I was going to die if she stayed, so she left."

I laugh, she laughs too.

"Are you good, alone?"

"I am now," her voice tapers off into a sniff.

"Talk to me, anything. Let's talk till you fall asleep. "

"What would you like to talk about?" she asks.

"Anything, everything you haven't already told me."

"Chinny blocked my number."

"Not that, something cute," I say.

She lets out a sniffy nasal laugh that makes me smile.

"I can't think of anything cute right now."

"Okay, I have one. You were telling me earlier about what you want to do most."

"Sunsets?" she asks.

"Yeah you said you had a top five?"

"Mhmm." she says. I imagine her nodding, I imagine her smiling, I imagine I was there in the hospital.

"I didn't know sunsets differed like that, so please educate me professor," I say.

She chuckles again. "It's not that big of a deal. There's Kenya, Tanzania, Italy, Greece, India, Seychelles, Boston-wait. That's seven. Sorry." she laughs.