Of Poetry and Prose: Chapter Seven

What on earth made me think that drinking that much alcohol could make every mistake I made today fade in to oblivion? All it did was make me hate the entire situation even more. Here I am lying in bed filled with self-pity, because I let Jake down. I'm not all that upset about not being able to save the people of Collins Falls, just that I hurt Jake in the process.

I want to know why he had no problem trusting Mabel, a woman who lied to him from the moment they met, while he still has me off in a corner for wanting to live. Why was her need to live any greater than my own? From the moment we met her he was all flirt and smiles, and I just wanted to close my eyes and believe I was lost in a nightmare. Oh and the conversations in French, please just kill me now. What was it that he was so enamored with?

I guess it doesn't really matter what he saw in her since I ruined the whole thing when I told them we had to shut down the capacitor. We lost all of the 87 trapped souls of Collins Falls, and the capacitor is fried. Thankfully we were able to get Baird back, but I think I completely lost any hold I had on Jacob Stone when he lost Mabel. All of that progress we had made with all of those talks, poof, gone!

I can hear Jones walking around my apartment cleaning up the mess I made when I tried walking to the bedroom. Hopefully I'll remember to thank him tomorrow, of course I'll need to be able to function tomorrow in order to even remember to thank him. He's too nice of a friend sometimes, always listening to me babble on about how I've screwed up with Jake again. The never-ending circle that is my relationship with Jake, and there is Jones always making me see sense. How is it so often that the youngest, most immature of us is the wisest?

In need of some comfort I reach for my poetry book, which I've taken to keeping next to my bed. I've had far too much to drink to read any of it tonight so I just hold it close to my heart in hopes that the magic of the words inside will soothe my soul.

I'm surprised when I hear footsteps headed toward my bedroom when I was sure I had just heard the front door open and close. Maybe I'm hearing things, it's entirely possible thanks to the brain grape.

"Cassie, it's not your fault," his voice is gravelly, "you made the right decision. I trust you."

After he says that I can't hold back any longer. The tears that had been silently falling down my cheeks before are now rolling down with big uneven sobs.

"How can you say that now?" I asked, my voice wobbly from crying.

"Because you need to know it now more than you ever did before."

"Why are you here Jake?" I questioned finally looking up to him standing in my doorway. He looks sad, but not in the way I'm expecting. It's almost as if he's worried about me, and that his sadness has nothing to do with who he lost earlier.

"Because you need me. And because I need you too." Of course this brings about more tears. I really hope I'll remember this in the morning because I'm really starting to think I'm in a dream, maybe I should try pinching myself.

"I don't think I can do this right now. I just want to go to sleep and forget today ever happened," I admitted as a curl into myself and blankets a little more.

"Why don't I just stay here until you fall asleep then? What's that book you have there?" he questioned sitting down on the edge of my bed.

"A book the Spirit if the House of Refuge gave me. It was just sitting on my coffee table when I got home."

"How about if I read you some of it. Might help you fall asleep."

"I guess that would be okay," I said reluctantly handing over my precious book.

What was he going to think when he realizes it's an anthology of poetry? Is he going to realize that it's become a source of comfort when he's not around? I watch him read the inscription that the Spirit had written inside for me before he opens to a random page and starts reading. Somehow he opens to one of my favorite poems by Edgar Allan Poe.

I love the sound of Jake's voice. I don't even know how to describe it. I guess like the rest of the things I love about him, it's just magic. To me everything about him is magic. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I know magic is real and I see it on a daily basis working as a Librarian. But I think he'd make me believe in magic even if I didn't know it truly existed.

As he reads his voice just wraps around me like a blanket and I feel safe, and yet I'm still sad. With each line of the poem I find myself closer and closer to sleep, and have mostly drifted off to dreamland by the time he reaches the end. Somewhere in the in between sleep and awake I realize that he's kissed my forehead before he leaves. He tells me something, I'm sure he does, but his voice is so quiet I can't decipher what it is before I'm lost to the darkness of the night.

Waking up is painful. I'd try to blame the brain grape, but the memory of drinks out with Ezekiel is prominent when I slowly open my eyes. I am actually surprised I remember anything this morning, but I even remember Jake reading me poetry as I fell asleep. Though I still have no idea what it was he whispered to me before leaving.

I can hear someone milling around in my kitchen and all I can think is I hope it's not Jake. I am not ready to face him today. Last night I was too drunk to care about anything, but now I'll have to deal with his ire over my screwing up the math that led to losing Mabel. Ugh…maybe I can just hide in bed today, or forever.

"Are you alive in there?" Ezekiel asked peeking his head into my room.

"Depends on your definition of alive," I responded with a groan.

"I told you, you were drinking too much." Ugh he was smiling, I hate when he does that, especially when he does it because he knows he's right.

"I know, but I wanted to forget Collins Falls existed. Sadly it didn't work," I complained as I rubbed at the headache behind my temples.

"I told you guys we shouldn't help those body snatchers, but nobody ever listens to me," he lectured, but the smile was gone.

"I listen, but we had to try to get Baird back. Plus I have trouble saying no to Jake," I explained even though he already knows both points.

"Speaking of Stone, did he treat you okay last night?"

"He was fine. Nice even. Read me poetry so I could fall asleep."

"Well he did give me the impression that he wanted to apologize to you."

"Is that what he was doing?"

"I don't know. I didn't stay just in case of fireworks. I didn't want to get caught in the crossfire."

"Like that has ever stopped you before," I managed a small laugh.

"So are you ready to face the world? I made you some lovely toast, water, and aspirin for breakfast," he said producing a tray of said items.

"Why not. Thanks for taking care of me," I said taking the food.

"My awesomeness prevents me from acting otherwise. Plus I really wanted to see if Stone was still here." His famous mischievous smirk gracing his face with that last statement.

"Why would he still be here?" I asked, curious to what he was insinuating.

"He said he would tell you twice if need be, so I didn't know if he'd camp out on your sofa to retell you whatever you talked about last night." His explanation sounded plausible enough but at the same time I'm not sure I actually believe it.

"Oh, well I guess he decided to go home. We didn't talk much, so there wouldn't be much for him to repeat," I explained.

"Well, I'll let you get ready and we can head into the annex together. Hopefully it'll be a light day because I'd say we all need a break," he said before heading out to the front of my apartment.

"Might as well get today over with," I mumbled as I headed to my closet to pick out something to wear.

After showering and getting dressed my eyes fall on my anthology of poetry and I can't help but smile just a bit. I can still hear Jake reading to me, and I wonder if I'll ever be able to look at the book again without hearing his voice. I close my eyes as I listen to the echo of his voice, my hand slightly touching the book's cover. I know I'm smiling, and I think maybe just maybe I'll be able to get through the day if I hold on to the sound of his voice reading to me.

"You alright in there Cassandra?" Ezekiel asked from the doorway.

"I'll be okay," I said turning to face him.

"What's with the silly smile?" he questioned.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I replied looking back down to the book.

"Whatever you say. How 'bout we head out then?" he suggested holding out his elbow for me to take, which I gladly accepted.

We both stopped in our tracks the moment I opened the door, because there on my doorstep was a vase of white and yellow Tulips.


I do hope you all are still enjoying reading the story as much as I am writing it. The story has really changed from what I initally intended and I think that, that's what I love most about it. I have one more chapter left to kind of conclude this City of Light arc before I try very hard to put something together from Loom of Fate and beyond. I don't know have a set number of chapters planned. so we'll just have to see where the story takes us. Thank you all for being wonderful readers I appreciate each and every one of you! I love and appreciate hearing from you so please leave me a review so that I can in exchange hopefully write a better story for all of you.