10: Breathe Again
*After Jez left the gang
Morgead wanted more than anything to breathe again. He wanted to be able to breathe in and bellow out a loud, obnoxious laugh. Like he used to- when Jez was by his side.
Or, more accurately, when he was by her side. She was the leader, after all.
He rifled through the things she had left in the drawer in the bedside table. A pair of socks, a picture of them when they had gone to a vermin theme park, a couple quarters she had been saving on the off chance she'd actually need them.
She wouldn't, though. Her family was filthy rich.
He shoved the quarters into his pocket.
-0-
The others got out of school around three o'clock, so he had an hour and a half to burn.
Usually, he spent his down time sleeping- but with Jez gone, he couldn't sleep. Not even a little bit. So, Morgead had taken to long walks in the park; something he'd never expected from himself.
Morgead passed by a fountain and spotted the glint of coins at the bottom.
Quarters.
He walked to the edge- peered in- then rocked back on his heels. Reaching into his pocket, he fingered the quarters he'd put in there earlier.
Pulling one out, he flipped it over in his palm and tossed it into the air.
Please come back, he wished.
He stood there for a moment, then, feeling like a fool, he walked away.
He shouldn't delude himself…
-0-
… but still he did. It tortured him, but he still did it. Opening the door to his apartment, he scanned the room for a wave of flaming hair. He inhaled, but only picked up the faint, leftover scent that had clung to the walls. The scent that imbedded itself after years and years of being here.
The scent of her.
Refusing to let go. Refusing to let him go.
You should have made a more reasonable wish. He thought glumly.
Hey guys! Sorry for the wait.