Page 32 of Sorry, We're Closed

The longer I stand here, the more I wonder if the shock is from the cold or that once again, I'm a thought that is getting closer to just being forgotten completely.

The man's voice bellows, the depth of his bass can be felt through the walls and floor. “Was that your son? The footballer?”

And there's the lie. The reason that poor bastard has been lured into her nest.

I take off up the stairs and swing my bedroom door shut. I've been in this house for minutes and all of the colours which Avory made brighter than I thought possible have been dulled to nothing.

All of my senses which Avory has overwhelmed in the best possible way are now numb, this numbness being what I am familiar with. How can I go back to this lack of feeling after Avory makes me feel everything and more with such intensity?

My phone buzzes in my pocket, and a smile instantly grows through the tears which begin to drip down to my chin.

Avory:Hey, you.

Fourteen

Avory

I just kissed Sawyer Sombre.

The rain has become wintry, which is funny considering autumn is just getting close to knocking on Tetherton's door, yet no amount of cold could win a war against the warmth which Sawyer has left lingering on my lips.

That same heat melts across my face, it begins to drip down my neck and across my chest and eventually into the place I was hoping to avoid. A strategic shuffle of my waistband will sort that out… for now. How has one kiss with one guy caused this? No. Sawyer isn't just a guy and that wasn't just a kiss.

Sawyer is beautiful, in so many ways, and my chest will continue to scream out about this until everyone in this goddamn town knows. I have never felt this sensation for anyone.

The freedom and experiences that I have endured, solely because of Marcus, are indescribable. We meet crowds full of faces and personalities, we visit a catalogue of locations, we create memories which I'll forever hold tight to my chest and as close to my heart as I can get them, yet there's one experience I've never had.

It smacked me hard across the face when my lips left Sawyer's, when our hands were interlocked and fitting flawlessly, when his hand swept the strands out of my face and lingered on the back of my neck. Nothing and no one has ever grounded me.

Everything I've ever done has been filled with excitement, the thrill of the unexpected, a fast-paced life which never really stops. It never stops for any of our shows, it never stops for the countless amounts of fooling around with someone in a pub for an evening, and I never thought it could stop.

Yet, it stops for Sawyer.

Time stops, everything stops with him and for the first time, I want to remember this guy's name. I want to learn about every minuscule thing that makes Sawyer Sombre, and I want to memorise it to the extent that if you test me, I could ace every question.

I don't want this kiss to be our only one, I want a million and one kisses with this man. A million and one kisses means we'll need quite a bit of time together.

Another new feeling – I want him to stick around, and I want to stick around for him.

The rain begins to pelt against my already soaked hood, distracting me from the overwhelming introduction of everything I’m feeling, and acting as a reminder that I need to get home. If I get ill, then I can't get us that delicious coffee from my—thatdelicious man.

A puddle starts to form under me as I rip my boots off at the front door. I pull my hoodie off and throw it over one of the bar stools in an attempt to dry it.

“Goddamn Avory, did you swim home?”

Marcus’ head peers over the sofa cushions, his large feet hanging off the opposite arm. His computer balances on his lap as I am given the very rare sighting of his reading glasses. They have a thick, black rim around the entirety of the lens’ which digs into the bridge of his nose – as he constantly reminds me.

His glasses are the complete opposite of Sawyer's. Those freckles of his dot all over mind in the same fashion they do on Sawyer's face. I can’t wait, I shoot over a text.

Avory:Hey, you.

“Come sit, I've got something to tell you.”

Marcus’ tone invades my thoughts of Sawyer and everything that has just happened, however it didn't have its usual jovial and warm tone to it. No, it’s still warm and welcoming but I can sense that something is about to be discussed. Something which Marcus probably doesn't want to bring up and something I probably don't want to hear about right now.

I don't want to come down from this Sombre high, but this is going to drag me right back down to the ground and into reality.

I drop my behind over Marcus’ leg and into the small gap between him and the arm of the sofa. I kick my legs out and dangle them over Marcus’. He takes a deep breath and exhales as he rubs the bridge of his nose once again.

---