Summer Rain

XL ~ Dust Settles

{Once Upon Another Time - Sara Bareilles}

...I saw myself in summer nights, and stars lit up like candlelight, I'd made my wish, but mostly I believed, in yellow lines and tire marks, sun-kissed skin and handlebars, and where I stood is where I was to be...

----

AVA

        And just like that the sun had set, and the days were not as warm, and there was a cool breeze that blew at my back like the memory of all that I had come through and been witness to around me. It had been a few days since I heard the noise that sliced through to my very soul and shattered me with fear. It was the fear that made me feel what love was.

        Elliot, with his eyes of ocean blue and the heart of a hummingbird, had helped me unchain myself from the life that now lies in my memory like an empty birdcage. I had found that freedom was not making every single decision on your own, but the feeling of the wind against your face and knowing you are a force within yourself.

         Dancing with him was like floating on air, like the tiny particles of dust that would swirl around his room in the Summer morning sunlight when I would wake with his arm draped around my waist and his steady breath on my neck, and being with him was like feeling the heat of the sun and knowing it wants to bathe you in the warmth of love.

        That gunshot had made me feel it all, rushing past in an instant, as I feared it would be torn away from me, scarring and scathing me like the crack of a whip, sharp and succinctly painful.

----

31st July

        "Do you have the rest of your things packed?" Mom brushed my hair away from my face with her fingers and tucked it neatly behind my ear, to frame my sombre expression. The day had finally come all too soon, and even the sun had hidden behind a cloud.

    "She's just sulking because today's our last day." Cady whizzed past me, complaining to Mom about me, while I was fully present and able to hear. I didn't mind, though. I was used to her snarky, at times, witty comments. It nice to hear a tone of normality in my life again.

    "I'm just tired, that's all." I retorted. Tired, I thought to myself. Tired of everything I'd seen this last few days.

    The shadow of the man who had welcomed us with the beginning of Summer had, in the end, held us captive. He was gone, and we could all sleep easier and breathe deeper.

Clara and Benjamin had come to apologise to us so many times, bringing flowers and money, should we want it, to compensate for the trauma. Their faces bore the guilt of Tim's misdeeds. They wanted it dealt with quietly, like a swift sweep under the rug, and I was happy to comply as I knew that Elliot was still alive.

    The gunshot of a few days before had ricocheted through our surroundings, and the birds in the trees had fled from the scene. Yet, I ran towards the noise and aftermath of my shattered lungs and shaking knees to see the bullet had hit right through the window, missing Elliot, who stood in shock at Tim's murderous attempt. The police swarmed us and ushered us to safety, and soon I watched Tim leave, with nothing but a cold and empty stare past me to the boy who had held up his empire and torn it down.

        "Well we leave tomorrow morning, and I do not need you all running around at the last minute, so get packed, and we can enjoy our last night here." Mom hugged me tight, which forced a sort of half-smile to emerge.

    "Well, Dad isn't packed yet! He's still got all of his stuff lying around here." I tried to defend my lack of motivation to pack, but Mom only lowered his eyes to the floor.