The only sounds that could be heard through the apartment were the steady hum of the refrigerator and the wind lightly blowing against the door. It was all he could focus on. Instead of slowly lulling him to sleep, it filled his ears and kept his mind wide awake. The thing no one will tell you about being a genius is that you become your own worst enemy. Day after day it's a constant fight with your mind to hold onto your sanity, to subdue your inner demons and produce something tangible and worthwhile at the end of the day. He used to be better at it, or maybe it was because his demons didn't haunt him like they do now.
He couldn't stand it anymore. He flung the comforter off his body and brought his legs out over the floor. Dressed in pajama pants and a t shirt, he felt a slight chill as he walked out into the summer night. Southern California never really got cold like it used to in retroville, which was nice on sleepless nights like these.
The thought of his old hometown snapped his mind back to what was keeping him up in the first place. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply, wishing tomorrow would never come. Tomorrow marked one year. Three hundred sixty five days. Eight thousand seven hundred sixty hours. All filled with the same thought.
Her.
His massive head dropped into his hands and he furiously rubbed them against his eyes until he began to see fireworks. These thoughts needed to leave him alone so he could sleep in peace.
But then, his thoughts were his only company. The only familiarity in this foreign place. He had left his home with good intentions; Stanford was a respectable college and he was fast on his way to becoming a renowned scientist and inventor. He should have loved it. Here he was in his element, surrounded by other scientists and inventors. It was a veritable paradise.
But even paradise can't stop the demons from seeping in through the cracks. Like a pack of ravenous they encircled him, nipping at his heels and waiting for the inevitable. For him to give up and surrender.
Maybe I should, he thought. After what I did, it seems fitting...
Like a world frozen in time he remembered it like it was yesterday. She was his best friend, the challenge in his life; like two beta particles they orbited each other, each giving off their own energy while simultaneously complementing the other. It was a happy time in his life.
But then... Total annihilation.
He shouldn't have been drinking in the first place. It only served to cloud his mind and fuel his anger.
But she had been giving all the signs, hadn't she? Treating him better, flirting with him...that meant she wanted more than friendship, right?
In those romantic movies, you see that all it takes is one kiss. One kiss and then happily ever after...
What they don't show is how one kiss can sever ten years of friendship like a plasma torch through a steel bar.
It all came rushing back. The yelling, the fighting, and the slamming of the door as she walked out of his life forever. Now if only she had walked out of his heart...