Hold Me While You Wait

35|only lovers left alive

only lovers left alive

It was the ginger girl's laughter that served as the most captivating sound Elis has ever heard. It acted mystically, like reviving her life to create an entirely new one, giving her hope whenever she felt none.

The girls were in Elis's bedroom, where Elis had finished packing the clothes she put in the closet to the ones that she never got to unpack. And Gray was there the entire time, even when she knew that Aunt Lauren would want her back home because of how late it was getting.

But being the last night both girls were with each other, Gray wanted to spend it all with Elis, and hold her until the last minute in which they'd be forced to separate. But it was when the ginger girl sat on Elis's bed, playing with the bracelet Elis had given her that she brought herself to not think of anything other than Elis, the curly haired girl who lied next to her.

So Gray turned to Elis, who was lying on the bed, her stomach against the mattress as her head rested against the pillow. Slow breaths escaped past her lips, as the curly haired girl fell into a slumber holding Gray's hand.

And by the time a few hours passed, when the moon fully revealed itself to create the only light illuminating her bedroom, Elis's eyes slowly opened. And almost immediately a feeling of guilt overwhelmed her as she looked over to a wide awake Gray.

"Hey..." Elis trailed off, her voice heavily groggy from the sleep she's just been in. And it was upon her voice that Gray looked at her, a smile forming in her face.

"Hey," she replied, her voice just as low.

"I'm sorry," Elis sat up, taking her head in her hands before furiously rubbing her palms over her face, as if to clear any remainder of the sleep away. "I didn't realize I'd fall asleep."

"It's okay. I was just reading your poem over and over again. I probably have it memorized by now."

Elis smiled, but it dropped soon as the guilt overwhelmed her again.

"Doesn't make me feel like the best company though," Gray joked, but Elis's remorse only further multiplied.

"No. That's not true at all," the taller girl panicked. "I just... I'm sorry. I didn't realize how tired I was. Now I wasted so many hours..."

"It's alright, Elis. I was just joking. But even though so many hours got wasted..." as smile formed on the ginger girl's face as she lied down next to Elis, her hand beggining to tug on the hem of the taller girl's shirt. "We still have a few more left... So we can make the most out of it."

It was the heat felt in Elis's gut that made her take Gray's suggestion in the blink of an eye, which was a part of their significant love that both girls would always cherish. And on that summer night, Elis and Gray got lost in exploring each other's bodies again.

It was certain their beings have been marked somewhere in infinities of each other's worlds. And it remained true of how much that summer was a start of their entire lives, a summer that drove both girls just high enough to fall for each other, in a way only they wished.

"I can't believe you stayed," Elis breathed, a while later as she wrapped her arms around the ginger girl's body. Her physical beauty was always enticing, remaining pulchritudinous amongst many other ways Elis would describe, if she ever could.

"I told you I will spend this night with you Elis," Gray said, and by this time feeling her energy slowly leaving her body after another one of their mind-blowing love making.

"I want to spend all nights with you," Elis added, eyes searching Gray's face for any reciprocation, which she found abundance of.

"Me too," the ginger girl clarified, a soft smile reaching Elis's face as she looked at the ginger girl, who's eyes began to drop the longer she forced them to open.

"You sleep now," the curly haired girl said, leaning down to leave one of the gentliest kisses on Gray's lips. But it was when she tried pulling away that Gray quickly wrapped her arms around Elis's neck, and kissing her more.

A warm feeling settled itself in that atmosphere, when Elis would rest her hand against Gray's cheek to pull her closer, and soon Gray pulled back, a soft smile reaching her face.

"My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
My love as deep; the more I give to thee, The more I have, for both are infinite," Gray recited, looking into Elis's eyes even in the darkness of the room. "It's another one of Shakespeare's quotes that I love. And I never thought I'd ever say this quote with so much meaning before... Thank you for coming into my life, Elis."

The ginger girl's voice was even more heavy with sleep than before, and Elis kissed her forehead one more time. "I love you, and I'm the one who should thank you for coming into my life. Go to sleep now."

"But I want to spend every minute with you," Gray fought.

"You will," Elis assured. "I'll be right here."

And the ginger girl didn't say anything more as she closed her eyes, but still breathing heavily so Elis knew she wasn't completely asleep yet. So Elis trailed fingertips swiftly against Gray's skin, taking in all the amazing beauty she was always in awe of, and suddenly becoming saddened by the fact that she'd spend a long time without seeing it again.

"You can take my picture," Gray countered, her eyes not opening, and Elis found a smile.

"You do realize you're naked, right?"

"Yes," the ginger girl sleepily nodded. "You can still take my picture."

The taller girl chuckled, pulling the sheets over their bodies, and falling asleep right next to Gray.

Everything was the way she wished it would be. But it was when Elis was woken by her mother, hours later, that she realized everything about the night was gone. That Gray was gone too, with no sign left of her ever being there, except for a small note placed on the bedside counter. It brought her back to the first time that they slept together, in a wonderful night covered by stars, that Gray would leave her in her sleep. But this time, she wasn't leaving to return, but that Elis would have to endure whatever length of time without seeing her.

See you later, Gray had written, which gave Elis a little hope that it wasn't the last time they saw each other. That their love hadn't reached it's end, and that it would further blossom somewhere else, in another place at another time. Even though for now, they had to be away.

"Elis wake up now. We have a seven hour drive awaiting us," Mrs Collins ordered, opening Elis's door to poke her head in. "Take a quick shower and come for breakfast soon."

Elis nodded, Mrs Collins closing the door while the curly haired girl went over to take a shower.

Everything was done quickly, too quickly, when her parents loaded all the bags in the car while Elis stood rooted on one stop.

Somehow, she hadn't been thinking that the day would come, that she wanted it to be just another regular day where she would either go swim in the lake or fix the garden. Another regular day where her mother would talk about renovations and she'd explore some night bar with Gray.

But it wasn't that anymore, and Elis explicitly realised it when she closed all the windows in her room, putting a close to everything else too.

And it was when she settled on the backseat of the truck, her father beginning to drive away, that Elis heavily sighed, eyes blurring with tears as she looked out the window, at the passing trees and the masses of fields.

The most painful thing was that she didn't have an idea of when it would happen again.

It could've been extremely easy if Elis was given a specific date, to know an exact time of when she would see her again.

But having none, all Elis would have to live with were the everlasting thoughts of when they'd meet again. Or if they'd ever meet again.