Erica sat quietly at the dinner table with her mother and father. There was the same silence as there always was when she got back from an afternoon of therapy. Everyone thinking their own thoughts about her well-being and what led her to this. She had gradually learned to accept the silence as a positive part of her day. Although this time it seemed more quiet than usual.
Her father cleared his throat,"So, we hear there's progress with you." he said trying desperately to break the silence, as he often did.
Erica continued to line her mashed potatoes with her peas,"I guess." she mumbled softly.
"Do you remember anything new?" her mother asked hopefully.
Erica sighed heavily at the interrogation she was now being put through. She ignored her mother's question and continued to push her food around on her plate.
Her mother and father exchanged looks across the table. Their daughter just hadn't been the same lately. There were no more fun times and no more jokes. Everything was always so serious now and no one could figure out the missing piece of the puzzle. Erica knew what that missing piece was, but she didn't know that she did. It was buried under a thousand pieces of her broken heart. And until she could put herself back together, she would never fully know.
Erica glanced quickly at her parents and seeing no reason to continue to play with her food, she placed her fork down,"Can I be excused." she asked.
"Fine," her mother responded harshly, snatching Erica's plate from the table and taking it towards the sink,"take your medication and then go to your room."
Erica glared at her mothers back, wondering what had made her mother so angry all of a sudden. She left the room though, and didn't say a word.
Taylor sat quietly on the balcony of his hotel room. He had been staring at the sky so long and the stars had become blurry. He felt that if he reached up, he could touch the face of God and all of the angels. He especially wanted to touch his angel, Erica.
He bowed his head, Are you up there Erica? Watching over me like a guardian angel? Ever since I left I have never been able to forgive myself for not being at your side. Have you forgiven me, Erica? Can you see me right now? Can you hear me when I send these questions out? Do you know how much I cared for you? That I'd do anything for another minute, another kiss, another anything? I care with all of my heart, Erica. We all miss you so much.
Zac walked onto the balcony as Taylor was having his silent confession with Erica. He stared at his brother and knew what he was thinking almost immediately,"She misses you too, Tay." he spoke.
Taylor jumped,"What? Who?" he asked confused.
Zac walked further onto the balcony,"Erica misses you." he repeated, leaning against the railing and staring out to the stars.
Taylor crossed his arms,"What would you know about it?" he asked bitterly.
Zac nodded,"She's up there, Tay. And up there, her hair is a beautiful golden blonde and as soft as the finest cornsilk. Her eyes look like they're made of the richest chocolate with bits of sugar in them to make them sparkle and shine. Her skin is so soft and smooth, and she has so much life that she seems to be glowing from the inside. And up there, her smile has every power in the world. She's watching you, Tay. Floating admist the stars on the most delicate of clouds. And I'm sure that she'd give up all of her youth and beauty so that she could be sitting by your side, on a ratty hotel chair, and holding your hand."
Zac stopped talking and blushed at the way he went on about what he believed happened to Erica. He heard Taylor sniffle behind him. He glanced back.
Taylor wiped at his eyes with his forearm,"Do you really think that all of that's true?" he asked his younger brother.
Zac looked thoughtful before looking up towards the stars again,"Yeah, yeah I guess I do."
Erica burrowed around relentlessly, in her closet, in search of her black dress flares. They were the only thing tight enough for her liking that matched her form fitting black sweater.
She tossed aside various pairs of pants and a few shirts before coming across the pants. She smiled and lifted them triumphantly from the pile. A jacket underneath them caught her eye. She snatched that up as well before leaving her closet. She dropped the pants on a chair and studied the jacket as if it was an alien. It almost was. It had been Taylor's after all.
She sat silently on her bed before pressing the jacket to her nose and inhaling the familiar aroma of CKbe. Her eyes filled with confused wet tears. Hadn't she given it back to him? She tried as hard as possible to remember but her memories kept fuzzing over.
She set the jacket aside neatly before standing up. She absentmindedly pulled off her blue jean flares and snatched up her black pants.
"Meow, meow." Avery murmmured as she crawled around on the hotel room floor. Taylor sat on the edge of the hotel bed, his face set in a frown. He didn't even acknowlegde the presence of his sister, who was pretending to be a cat.
"Meee-ooow!" Avery whined pitifully, rubbing her head on Taylor's shins.
Taylor glanced at Avery, practically looking right through her. His mind was anywhere but in the same room with him.
Avery stood up and shoved her face in Taylor's,"Me-ow!" she stated boldly, demanding attention.
Isaac strolled in upon this scene. He watched as his sister meowed loudly in Taylor's ear. Taylor never flinched though,"C'mon Avie," Isaac announced calmly,"leave Tay alone. He's much too serious to have any fun." he joked.
Avery frowned and resumed her catlike crawling position. She stuck her nose in the air and crawled from the room.
Isaac shook his head and flopped on the bed opposite Taylor,"So what's up?"
Taylor sat motionless and speechless. He didn't feel like talking right now. Zac had left him with some very deep thoughts for the night.
Isaac rolled his eyes and glanced around for the remote control. Once he found it, he flipped the television on,"Let's order some porno." he announced.
Taylor whirled around, his face turning red at the thought,"Are you out of your mind?"
Isaac dropped his jaw and gasped,"He speaks!" he mocked his brother.
Taylor couldn't help but snicker,"Dude, I thought you were serious. You scared the crap out of me for a second there."
Isaac gave his brother a satisfied smile before handing him the remote control and standing up,"That's better." he told him,"You should laugh more often, you don't always have to be in mourning."
Taylor's eyes snapped the carpet,"Whatever." he mumbled, silently cursing himself for laughing. How did he have the nerve to laugh after Erica died? He felt unbelievably dirty.
Isaac yawned,"Order in some food for dinner while I go and find Zac, okay Tay?" he asked as he headed from the room.
"No problem." Taylor called to his brother as he walked over to the phone. He sat down again and picked up the reciever. Suddenley, a weird thought crossed Taylor's mind. He started to dial Erica's phone number. He was curious to whether or not her answering machine was still hooked up. To hear the sweet sound of her voice sent a chill through him as he listned to the phone ring in anticipation. On the fifth ring, he realized how desperate he seemed and quickly hung up the phone, ashamed at the lengths he would go to hold onto her.
...Ring...Ring...
Erica picked up the phone on the fifth ring,"Hello?"
Click
"Hello?" she repeated into the reciever. No answer. People are so rude she thought hanging up. They don't even have the decency to say that they dialed a wrong number.
She contemplated using *69 to find out who the rude person was and giving them a piece of her mind. Before she had the chance though, she saw a pair of headlights flash three times in the dark night. She grinned and approached her window.
Back
Back To Stories
Go To Chapter 3