I woke as the bus lurched to a stop, bleary eyes looking out to see my building. I groggily gathered my purse into my arms and left the bus, stumbling down the steps in my sleep/drug-induced stupor. I was unlocking the door to my apartment before I even realized I was awake.
24B. Home sweet home.
I glanced at the couch as I entered, then the entire room, completely empty and lacking company. Kagome had taken her goddamned magazine. They'd left me a note on the coffee table.
Dear Kikyou-
Where were you last night you could have at least called to cancel out
Call me to let me know where the hell you've been
Oh and while we were here I took the rest of my shit back you know I don't live here anymore so I figured I could take back stuff
INUYASHA
I crumbled it up and tossed it carelessly into the trash, like so much heartache, blown off like all the little things he'd left behind ( now gone, seeing as he had finally retrieved them ) , gone like a syringe full of heroin. I told myself that I didn't care anymore.
I had new friends now. A new life.
The couch sat in the center of the room, waiting for me to sit down so it could wrap me up in the soft cushions, all my hurt that I was forcing myself to prematurely leave behind, and Daytime Television soap operas once again. I literally feared that couch.
It symbolized my life for the past few months. I didn't want that life now.
Instead, I sat on the floor, rubbing my arms. Scratching at the marks that marred the pale flesh. I thought of calling Naraku, but it was too early.
I'd call later. Maybe he would want to hang out with me again.
All I knew was that I needed to talk to someone. Anyone. So I fished a cigarette, the lighter InuYasha had given me, and my cell phone out of my purse, and dialed the first number that came to mind.
"Kaede," I blew out a puff of smoke and smiled as I heard her raspy voice pick up on the other end. "It's Kikyou."
"Sis," Cooed my older sister, now in her mid-thirties, "I haven't heard from you in AGES."
"I wanted to talk to someone and I thought of you."
"Awww." Kaede shuffled a bit on the other end. "So what's up?"
"You know about InuYasha and me, right?"
"Yeah. . . ."
"Well, I decided to get my life back together again. So last night I go out to this club. . ."