When I first wrote this story, this wasn't originally the first chapter. But while editing I realized the story was beginning at too much a quick pace, so I had to alter a lot of text in order to like what I was reading.


Chapter One: Hourglass

DENVER, COLORADO

Nothing. She could find nothing within the depths of the assortment of objects scattered across her room. There was too much of a mess to make sense of how everything was remotely organized. Her patience was wearing thin, even though she was to blame for this unnecessary dilemma. As she stepped over a pile of clothes, to avoid breaking anything that might have been fragile lying beneath it, she stepped onto something sharp, forcing her to jerk back.

Sara Collins cursed loudly as she slumped to the ground, rubbing the sole of her foot. The skin had turned red with irritation, pulsing with a pain that was almost bearable. She gritted her teeth, cussing in her mind as much as she was allowed to. For such a small object to cause pain, it hurt a lot.

"You okay?"

Sara frowned at the question, looking up at the tall man that stood in front of her. He beamed at her, amusement in his beautiful blue eyes as he observed the expression on Sara's face. She rolled her eyes in response. She knew right away what his first thought was, and there was no way she was going to give him the satisfaction of saying it. Not now.

"Don't you dare say anything, Andrew."

Andrew only shrugged his shoulders, the smile still on his bright face. "Who says I was going to say anything?" Sara stared at him for a very long time until his fake smile fell from his lips. "Okay, okay. I'll shut up. But seriously, babe, you need to consider—"

"Getting rid of all this stuff," Sara finished for him in an irritated tone. It wasn't the first time she heard it. "Yes, I know."

Andrew smiled at her with a real smile, his pearl white teeth visible as he lent her a hand. Although she was slightly annoyed by him, she accepted the gesture without hesitation. He pulled her back to her feet effortlessly. Andrew pulled her into him, placing his arms around her, embracing her tightly.

"Why do you have to go now?"

Sara sighed, leaning against him, the agitation swept away. She placed a hand against his chest. "Because it's been already three years since I've seen her. I miss her, Andy. It's been too long since the last time I've seen Jamie."

It took a few seconds before Andy replied. He understood the tight relationship between Sara and Jamie. It would have been selfish of him if he would to convince her to stay in Denver. "How long did you say you were going to be there for?"

"A couple of days at the most," she answered and pulled away from him. "There are still a few things I need to grab from your house."

Andy pursed his lips the way that Sara would always remember. She ran her fingers through his short, dark brown hair, feeling the softness of it. Tracing her fingers over the stubble on his chin, she smiled towards him.

"I need to get to work...," he said regrettably.

"I know."

He then pouted humorously. "But I don't wanna."

Sara grinned, poking his chest. "Well, you gotta."

"Yes, ma'am." Andy rolled his eyes exaggeratingly. All joking aside, his face turned back into his somewhat serious expression. "You going to call me when you get there?" Sara nodded her head; bringing her attention back toward the small bag she had been stuffing her clothes in for the weekend. "You still have that key to my house, right?"

"Yep." Sara zipped up the bag, throwing it onto her mattress. She began pushing the remains of clothing and other objects under her bed.

"When are you going to clean up this place?"

"I'll do it when I get back. I'm off of school and work for the week; I have time to clean the house," she replied. She grimaced as she thought forward. "The whole house."

Andy chuckled. "Have fun with that." He looked at his watch, frowning. "Okay, I better get going. Drive safely, okay?"

"Don't worry."

He placed a hard kiss against her lips. "Don't be picking up some better looking guys than me while you're gone."

"No promises." Sara laughed.

Andy sent her a careful stare before exiting out the door from her bedroom. She listened to his quick footsteps down the stairs and out the door before she turned back to the bag that lay silently on her mattress.

With all clothes packed, Sara quickly began cooking herself lunch in order to settle her troubled stomach. She hadn't eaten breakfast—not that she regularly ate breakfast—and now her stomach growled with the lack of patience Sara felt earlier. Anticipation still lingered within her, however, as she thought of Jamie.

Jamie Leslie was a good friend of Sara's. Their relationship resembled that of two sisters. The orphanage was the first place they met since Sara's father passed away. They kept close through the difficult years of seclusion from society. It was a frustrating time for Sara. So used to her father, Eric Collins, being by her side in all of her childhood, she became rebellious, a troublemaker, unfortunately bringing Jamie down the road with her. Jamie didn't mind at all, however. Sara never knew why Jamie was also in the orphanage with her. She never talked about her family, and Sara never pushed her to. She was quiet the first time they spoke; but Sara never gave up on her. Sara dragged her along into everything she did, whether it was trouble or downright stupid pranks. Through the months, Jamie began speaking more. It was good to hear her voice. From what Sara could remember, she was getting tired of talking to herself, even though Jamie was there to listen.

As the two got older, being relatively the same age, they began volunteering at the orphanage, to help new comers adjust and help with fixing up the meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They were not given much pay, which was predictable. Turning the age of eighteen, the two put together what little they had and rented the cheapest apartment they could find. It would be naïve to say it wasn't that bad. The cockroaches was one thing they knew they had to get rid of, the disgusting looking wallpaper was another thing they knew they had to live with, and the flickering lights was another they knew they could just ignore.

After working endless hours at low paying jobs, and sharing the low-rate apartment room, Jamie Leslie and Sara Collins were given a second chance.

Impossible, was the best word to describe the next thing that happened in their lives. Not only one, but the two of them were given scholarships to fulfill their academic needs. They celebrated simultaneously.

However, though scholarships were a beautiful thing, there was only one obstacle that lay in front of their fundamental achievements: Their friendship.

Sara was an artist; Jamie had a talent and love for teaching children.

The women knew their principles, and knew what was needed to be done in order to live a good future without the support of a family. They sent applications toward colleges that were in opposite sides of Colorado State. After so many rejections, the two were replied with letters of acceptance. Sara moved to Denver to attend Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, while Jamie moved south toward Alamosa to be nearest of Adam State College.

They kept in touch as often as they could through letters and phone calls. Of course, in the modern times email would have been less of a hassle to work with, but they both could not afford a computer at a time like this. Sara's motivation was not toward a computer, anyway. She set her sights on affording a car. It took her years before she finally had the money to afford a used black 1999 Toyota Camry. It may not have been a Corvette or a Ferrari, but it was special to her. Jamie on the other hand worked on furnishing her home rather then affording a vehicle. She was happy to use the bus; she did not need a vehicle just yet.

Jamie had told Sara that everything was now completely furnished, and she was broke once again. Sara laughed at the thought. She was broke having her house look beautiful, while Sara was broke affording a car, and her townhouse looking the exact same as when she bought it: outdated and needed of repairs. Sara had no time with working on the repairs herself. She couldn't. She was bombarded with the amount of art assignments given to her that she covered her cracked walls with painted canvases instead.

The bought vehicle was just recent and Sara waited for an opportune moment to use it to travel over to Alamosa to pay a little visit. It was three years since the last time she saw Jamie. Once school was done, Sara had a week of paid-vacation at her disposal. She decided to use three days, from Friday to Sunday to stay over Jamie's to catch up like old times. Jamie was ecstatic at the suggestion.

Andrew Evans, however, was not.

Andy and Sara had been together for more than a year now. He had been the first promising guy she had met in Denver so far. Her love life was never the greatest, especially considering she was cheated on: not once, but twice in a row. She never knew if it was her, or just the types of guys she had been choosing but she became very reluctant to begin another relationship. Andrew had become very persistent in the long run. Eventually, Sara gave him a chance. She hoped he was the one. Her hope became faith when he gave her a promise ring on their one year anniversary, a promise that she was the only one for him, that their relationship would last.

And it had since that day. They saw each other about two to three times a week, appreciating one another further when their time was spent apart. Their weekends were their together time, but Sara had to sacrifice that in order to visit Jamie. Andrew was very understanding of their friendship, along with the decision she made to leave, though it didn't mean he was in acceptance to it. He knew his opinion no longer mattered whenever Sara had made a decision. There was nothing he could say or do to change her mind. Worst of all, she made a decision to leave Friday afternoon, meaning the alone time he thought he could spend with her could no longer apply because he worked during those hours. He did all he could by helping her pack and settle things for the three hour trip to Alamosa in return.

Sara finished up her quick and easy macaroni and cheese lunch and quickly washed her dishes. Once those were complete, she was on the move again. She brought her bag down the stairs, which was heavier than it should have been. Sara didn't realize that maybe she put more than what was necessary for the weekend in there. She brought the bag outside and into the trunk of her car that stayed parked on her driveway. She ran back inside, throwing her keys and wallet into the first purse she could find. Locking up the front door, even double checking it—not that there was anything a burglar would want to steal in there—she jogged toward her car and entered inside. Sara threw her purse onto the passenger seat, buckling her seatbelt and starting up the engine. The radio turned on, playing a song that sounded way too mellow for a three hour drive.

"I can fix that."

Placing in one of her CD's, Metallica replaced the mellow music, replacing it with some wicked drumming, excellent guitar solos, and the impeccable vocals of James Hetfield. Master of the Puppets had begun playing as she reversed out of her driveway.

Her first destination would be Andy's house, before she drove toward Alamosa. Her cell phone had been left abandoned there along with her pink iPod Nano that she took everywhere—it was an exception for this one time. It was only a ten minute drive to his house when Sara pulled up at the side of the street.

Andy's house was much bigger than Sara's, considering he had parents to also help support him, not that he didn't work himself, of course. Sara rummaged through her purse to find the extra pair of keys to his house. She was out of the car once she found them. It took Sara multiple of times until she finally unlocked the door. The lock was impossible, and Andy had promised to get it fixed if anything were to happen. But he was still neglecting the chore.

In a few short minutes, Sara retrieved both her cell phone and iPod from Andy's room. She scoffed as she looked around the clutter of mess.

"And he talks about me...," she muttered under her breath.

Sara made her way toward the dresser just by Andy's bed. On the surface, a photograph that remained frameless lay under a thin stack of yellow note paper. It was a photograph of her and Andy, cheek to cheek with big grins on their faces. Her white writing was at the top left corner of the image, spelling out one year anniversary, just so he wouldn't forget. Sara remembered the memory on that day, and how romantic Andy had made the experience. She smiled at the thought and grabbed a black permanent Sharpie that lay a few inches away. She began scribbling on one of the pieces of note paper that lay over top the photograph.

Don't miss me too much!
Love you! xxx
Sara

Sara dropped the Sharpie back onto the dresser, reading over her writing before walking out of his bedroom. She made her way down the stairs and out the door, locking it after herself. As she walked toward her car, she turned on her cell phone, letting it load. Another picture of Andy and her was set as the background, a more humorous one. It was Andy's humor that Sara fell in love with more than anything else.

When she got into her car, she threw the cell phone and iPod into her purse, turning on the engine once again. Welcome Home (Sanitarium) played over the silence. She heightened the volume as she drove down the street and around the corner, toward Alamosa.