A short fiction.

No rating, but you read on your own risk. Please leave feedback :)

BURNING DAYLIGHT

”When are you coming over tonight?” a stressed asked as he briefly passed her. giggled as she saw how stressed he was. snorted, as to show her that he was in no mood for jokes, certainly not on his behave. “Sorry” mumbled as she tried to drown her laughter. “Perfect, !” exclaimed as he lost the four glasses of Pepsi on the floor. bent down and helped him getting the small pieces of glass gathered so they couldn’t hurt anyone. “I’m so sorry, . I’ll help you out”. She walked down the hall and towards the kitchen. There she found a cloth and a can they could put the glass in.

was down at the record company to put the last touch on his band’s second album. He had called his girlfriend during their break and asked her to come down, which she did. However, with the way was acting she had begun thinking it was a mistake. He always seemed stressed and had mood swings when he was at the studio. Even worse were things when something had gone wrong or the members of the band couldn’t agree on something when it came to songs and melodies. didn’t any longer know why he was bothered enough to call her when all he would be doing was to start and argument and push all his high-tempered feelings onto her shoulders. It also came to as a shock that she stayed with him despite the way he treated her. Her love for him had burned out and died a long time ago, but still it was one of her unsolved mysteries that she kept the relationship going. She believed, in her own trail of thoughts, that despite the arguments, horrific meetings and sleepless nights, she needed him.

“Fuck it!” said angrily as the coke had started to soak the purple carpet on the floor. “Fuck everything!” didn’t say anything. “Why are you just standing there? Say something!” hated it when he commanded her, like she was some kind of employee of his, someone he could boss around just to make himself feel superior. “Oh, just shut it” replied angrily, “You were the one wanting me to come, so don’t even try to blame this on me!” got up from the floor, threw the cloth away and walked towards the rehearsal room without even saying goodbye. snorted, turned on her heels and walked out.

She had been home for about ten minutes when the door bell rang loudly and caused her to drop a bunch of DVD’s to the floor. She cursed under her breath as she picked them up and walked towards the door. It was . “Why did you have to lock the door?” he asked. The way he had said it showed that he was still on a downside. “You know I always do that, and besides, you have a key. You could, like, use it, you know!” She emphasized the word ‘use’. obviously pretended not to have heard it, to ’s irritation. He told her about the rest of his day, and while prattling on about the coke machine down the hall, their useless assistant and an irritating wanting to sing more, closed her ears and pretended to be somewhere else. That was all she was doing when suddenly started to turn, feeling guilty for behaving like a jerk towards her. ’s thoughts took a turn down Memory Lane, and while ’ voice became a sleepy buzz in the background, she was standing in front of her parent’s house in the middle of the night. She was eighteen, young, many would also say naïve. Her friends all said that being with a man five years older was a bit too much for her to handle. disagreed. She had wrapped around her finger. He did everything she wanted him to, and all it took was one single look. It was almost too easy. “Are you sure I’m allowed to stay over?” a worried whispered. laughed and kissed him. “I’m sure”.

“She’s like you, in a way, but without the stubbornness”. Her house vanished into thin air. “What did you say?” asked confused. “I said; She’s like you, in a way, but without the stubbornness” he repeated with provocation. “Good for her” simply replied, leaving him on his own.

lay down on their bed, exhausted and dazed. Veils of an ancient sorrow took a hold of her heart and she fell asleep. Her dream was nothing but a blur. Shadows vanished and a glimpse of the sun showed. As appeared in the dream, the shadow yet again drowned her soul in darkness.

“You are unreasonable!” stated as she yet again was in the middle of an argument with , who was now standing in front of the kitchen table, looking angry. “Tell me why” demanded. “We used to have a good relationship, until you became possessive” told him, like he didn’t know before. Being , he denied, of course. “I might as well go and talk to the wall, I’m sure it’ll give me more” said angrily as was acting childish. walked after her when she walked out to the hall. “I love you” he said sincerely. stopped and looked at him. “Why would I believe that?” found the question stupid and shook his head. He ran his fingers through his already messy hair and replied; “Or else I wouldn’t be with you”. turned and walked out.

At the end of the day was worried about her. He had tried calling her, but she didn’t reply. Not being able to reach her, he sat down on the sofa in the living room. He flickered through 32 channels without finding anything decent to watch, so instead he turned it off and just sat there in silence, not knowing what else to do.

walked around town, only knowing that she would never go back to him. It was over, and it had been for a while. She knew they were never meant to be. She also knew that they were one of those few couples that had found love that was never supposed to have been there; one of those couples that you could never have seen getting together. It was all clear to her now, as her feet took her through town. Since it was a Friday night she decided to visit her favourite pub, an intimate and dozy place in London’s south. As she entered it and took off her jacket she noticed sitting on a bar stool, talking to the man behind the bar, Lucas. “Ms. , fancy seeing you here” Lucas grinned as he instantly took a glass and filled it with her favourite drink; Strawberry Daiquiri. greeted her as well; it was thanks to her that he had found this pub. She took a seat next to and sipped her drink. “Hard day?” asked as Lucas disappeared through the personal door. “You can say” replied shortly. sensed something was wrong and leaned closer. “I’m sorry about what happened between you and today, and all other days. He doesn’t treat you right, and I hate seeing you like this, because I love you, you’re my friend. I’ve told what I think of the way he treats you, but it’s like talking to the wall”. ’s confession didn’t do anything for . She already knew what had to be done. “It’s over now, , don’t worry anymore”. raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean ‘over now’?” he wanted to know. nodded towards Lucas and put the money for the drink on the table. As she did, Lucas shook his head and motioned for her that the drink was on the house. mouthed a ‘thanks’ and got up. “Bye, ” she simply said as she left.

The clock was 5 am when reached the apartment. With steady hands she unlocked the door and got in. She didn’t bother to take her clothes off; she just walked into the living room in silence. She saw the weak contours of lying on the sofa and walked up to him. His eyes flickered and after spending a few seconds to get used to the dark he opened them and looked at her. He knew this was her queue and didn’t say anything. He would wait for her signal. “I haven’t been honest with you” said quietly while sitting down next to him. For the first time in ages she took his hand in hers and caressed it. “I fell out of love a time ago. How long doesn’t matter, and it’s not you, it’s me. Sometimes I think I’m not meant to be in a steady relationship, because I never seem to get happy. I’m not meant to do this, , not yet. I’m not ready, and if I could turn back time, I would have acted differently. I’m so sorry if this hurts you, because you have always loved me, and I have never been able to give it back to you”. still didn’t say anything, not because he didn’t care, but because he was speechless. “We had a great time when it all started, and I wouldn’t have traded it for anything”. got up and pulled her up with him. “Where do all of this come from?” he asked her. She could see he was afraid to lose her. After all she had been next to him since she was eighteen, and now she was twenty-four. “I’m not gonna lie and say that this is entirely my fault though. You’re not a man, , you’re still a boy. You show that by the way you treat me. A real man respects a real woman when he sees one, and certainly he will respect and honour his girlfriend. You haven’t done that in three years, , and that says a lot. So for once in your life, be a man. Let me go, let me find my happiness”. ’ thoughts flew around in his head. He couldn’t understand how this could happen. As the burning daylight slowly shone through the curtains and into the room, kissed him on the lips for the very last time and walked out. He never saw her again.