Separation Anxieties

Work in progress. :)

Reese.


The smell of her sweet perfume was everywhere I went; school, home, my car, everywhere. I sat on my porch swing, watching the evening sun slowly sink over the horizon, wishing she was here to watch it with me. I sighed and leaned my head back, curling up under the warmth of my blanket and the thick hoodie.

Stars had begun to shine and oranges and pinks of the late July sunset gave way to the purples and blues of twilight.

My roommate came outside and sat next to me. She curled under the blanket with me and yawned; her soft sandy blond hair pulled into a lazy bun and her bangs laid perfectly curled over her forehead.

"Sorry I missed it, Ronny called." I nodded.

"No worries, is everything okay?" I knew they didn't talk often, Ronny was deployed somewhere right now and called whenever he could, but the calls were few and far between. It was amazing how these two stayed together, they were both so strong for pulling through. Still, Ronny had only a few more weeks left of deployment and she was extremely excited.

"Yeah, he was just saying hi and updating, he sounded tired." Sully said, sounding happy, but indifferent. Her deep blues rippled with longing and hope.

"I'd be tired, too." I smiled, making Sully giggle lightly. She looked up at me.

"So, have you talked to August?" I sighed heavily, her image flashing behind my eyelids, playing my favorite scenes of her in my head.

"Not since June." She squeezed my hand gently. Sadness burned an intense flame in my grassy green eyes and the feeling reached to the edge on my lips where my usual happy grin was weighed down to form a grimace.

"She'll come around, Sweets. Have you tried calling her?" I nodded yet again, hope for my traveling girl dwindling.

"Yeah, last week, had to leave her a message and it went straight to voice mail." it was Sully who sighed this time, making me shrug. "I just don't understand, Sully. She'd never blow me off like this. I feel like she's either mad at me for some reason or something's just gone wrong."

"She must be busy or something. I'll try her tomorrow, okay? I'm sure nothing's wrong. August loves you too much to just disappear on you."

I looked down at my hands and played with the ring on my middle finger. It's one August gave me for our two year anniversary; we exchanged rings, mine being just a thick silver band while hers was a thin silver with her birthstone of opal inset in the top.

"I really hope you're right, Sully. I really do." I said sadly, frowning slightly at my ring as I turned it over and over on my finger. I felt a slight, warm, summer breeze pick up and ruffle my styled, short, brown hair.

Sully snuggled into my side as I wrapped my arm around her, feeling her warmth. We stared up at the sky at the constellations beginning to take form from the dim lights of the stars.

I wished August was looking up at the same sky. That gave me hope. Hope for a better night.

 

 

August.


It was my third month abroad. I sat, exhausted, on the hotel balcony, enjoying the warm summer Mediterranean air. My fingers found their way habitually to the ring on my left middle finger. Reese's cologne left a scent all over my things, especially my clothes, which made me miss him more.

I kept everything locked away in my suitcase in the closet so nothing could take his scent away. What I wouldn't give to have him here, holding me in his arms. An all too familiar feeling of regret and pain filled my heart, causing a lump to work its way up my throat and tears to blur my vision of the open sea. Instead of choking it all back like I did usually, I let it all fall down. My roommate for this part of the trip was too busy with her boyfriend to be here, so I was completely alone, at 3 o'clock in the morning.

I was traveling with a group to go around and visit places around Europe. Just to discover the area and learn about the surrounding history. It was a brilliant trip, I loved seeing the world... But damn, did I get lonely, especially when about 75% of the group were couples. Right now we found ourselves in a beautiful hotel on the coast just northwest of Rome.

I let out a loud sob and heard a sliding door open and close from the room next to mine. We were only separated by a concrete wall and it made it easier to hear the sea and the beach. The white noise was almost enough to drown out my sorrowful cries, but not enough for me to remain alone.

A familiar face poked around the wall and frowned sympathetically. He was in our group, very handsome, rugged, and tall. I didn't talk with him much, but by the way he acted, he was very outgoing and energetic, didn't seem too much of a sensitive guy. His hair was a stylishly short dirty blond, almost light brown, sun-kissed. His eyes reminded me of Sully's; a blue as deep as the ocean that would make the Mariana Trench jealous. He happened to be shirtless now and his torso and abs were chiseled and toned, making the sweetest of eye candies. The man decided to join me on the balcony and scaled across the railing so he was sitting in the chair across from me.

He grabbed my hand in both of his and frowned sadly. "August, Love, why such large tears? A pretty girl like you shouldn't know crocodile tears." his British accent was thick and smooth, like the caramel topping over his appearance.

I sniffled and shrugged, hugging my knees tight to my chest. "I'm just... My boyfriend is just so far away... I miss him so much and I haven't been able to talk with him much because of the time zones and all the activities were doing here. It's just been such a struggle." I said, not sure why I was opening up to him so quickly. He just felt... Trustworthy. Like, I could tell him everything.

I pressed the sleeve of my sweater over my mouth and breathed deeply, inhaling the scent. He squeezed my hand gently and I closed my tired eyes. "Can't you talk to him now, while you have a break? Or tomorrow, we'll be travelling again, so we'll have more free time. It'll be brief, but it'll be something. I bet he misses you just as much; I know I would." I gave him a thankful smile and he shrugged, smiling. It made me blush lightly, he was sweet. He sighed. "I have the same kind of situation, you see. I left my boyfriend in London to come on this trip. He's working and I saved up to come along. I've really missed him, but I talk to him at least once every day, whether that's via text, Skype, or phone call."

I giggled. "I didn't tag you as gay. That's really awesome, how're you holding up?" He laughed a little.

"Not a lot of people do, I don't have a girly voice like some people." I nodded, willing him to go on, "I'm holding on, I guess. I've never been apart from him for so long, you see. It's been difficult." I sighed, nodding again, looking at the coastline in the distance. He followed my gaze and we sat in a peaceful silence for a few moments.

Then, I broke it with a giggle. He looked at me, a question playing on his features. "I just realized," I laughed, turning to him, grabbing his hands in mine. "I don't remember your name, but you know mine. It's kind of embarrassing, but what's your name again?" He laughed, the look fading from his face. Those blues sparkled beautifully in the dim light.

"I'm Carey. It's nice to formally meet you, August." We shook our hands, laughing at our stupidity, as he had a hold on one of my hands while my other hand was on top of his, making it a lump of hands. I broke away from his grasp to wrap my arms around him in a hug.

"Nice to meet you, too, Carey. Thanks for helping me out, I'll have to try your approach to communication. I've never been that great at figuring that stuff out." I laughed, still in our embrace. He gave me a quick squeeze and pulled me away to hold me out in front of him at arm’s length. We looked into each others' eyes and smiled.

"Stay strong, August. We can make it through if we stick together, two separated souls should stick with each other, lean on each other." We hugged again, but he pulled away yet again. "There's only one thing."

I nodded, smiling. "Anything."

"I wear the pants in this relationship."

 

 

Reese.


The next day, I got a call from August. I was working, so I excused myself for a break and stepped outside so we could talk. My boss and several of the customers at the ice cream shop gave me nasty looks, but I didn't care, I needed to hear her voice again.

"August? Hey, how are you?"

"Reese! Haha, I'm fine, you? I've missed you soo much!"

"I'm good, I've missed you too, babe. How's Europe? Have you made any new friends?" I leaned against the wall in the alley between the shop and the grocery store next door, staring intently at my feet as we talked.

"It's great, the sights are just... UGH. SO AMAZING. Everyone's really nice, well, the group I'm travelling with is okay, but the people in the different countries are so nice and hospitable. I've made a friend, one of the guys on the trip. He's in the same situation as me, you see. His boyfriend is in London and he misses him very much, so we've been hanging out all the time. He's really awesome. You'd like him."

I laughed. "I'm glad you have someone there looking out for you when I can't. When do you get back again?"

"Uhm, in a week I think! AHH I get to see you in a week, baby! I miss you so much!" She nearly screamed into the phone. I had to hold it away from my ear.

"I can't wait! Sully misses you, she worries a lot about you and me both, and you know how she gets. Ronny is coming back soon, too. So, that's gonna be fun. We'll have a big coming home party for the two of you, ha ha." She giggled.

"That's awesome, I can't wait to see you guys! Tell Sully I'm doing fine and I'll see her when I get home, okay? I've got to get on a plane now, I'll text you later, okay?"

"Sure thing, Love. I love you, August, see you soon."

"Love you, Babe! Later!"

We hung up together and I walked to the grocery store. Since I was already on break, I might as well get some lunch while I'm out. Walking through the isles I grabbed some quick microwave stuff and checked out, my mind lingering on August.

I was thinking a little too hard and almost ran into someone on my way out the door. "Oh, geez, sorry!" I said, side-stepping her just in time. I opened the door when I heard her turn around.

"Wait... Reese?" I turned, confused. Who would've guessed. My ex, Trisha, had almost literally bumped into me trying to exit the store. I gave her a half-hearted smile and she pulled me into a hug. I nodded and tried walking away, but she trapped me with her need for a conversation. "Reese! It’s good to see you, how've you been, Love?"

I shrugged. "Good, how about you?"

"Great!" She smiled, her large eyes still creeped me out. I could never quite get over the fact that her eyes were so much larger than they should be. It messed up the proportion in her face and they were kind of buggy, creepy.

"Great, well I have to get back to work, see you around." I took a few steps away and she nodded.

"Yeah, see you around. I miss seeing you, Reese." I tried to hide the shudder and turned to walk back down the alley and entered through the side door of the shop. There was nothing I wished more right now than for Trisha to just disappear like she did last time. Drop off the face of the Earth. She had a nasty habit of stalking people.

Could this week go any faster?

Reviews

[Shanil Mehdi]

This was absolutely beautiful! I love the interactions between Sully and Ronny! I was starting to get pissed at Carey because i thought he was making a move on August but then ugh, it takes a lot to work me up and get me into a piece. you're just brilliant, good job!

[Kaela]

Sweet! Thank you so much! :) I'm really glad you liked it so much, I should have the rest up here in the next week or so. xx