Sell Your Soul

"Keep in touch, okay Matt?"

I turned to look at Kayla once I stepped out the front door and onto the front wooden porch. The stars and streetlights were the only sources keeping the night illuminated besides the lights from her porch.

I nodded my head and smiled. "It was nice to spend some time with you again," I looked down at my feet. "We should order in and watch a movie again sometime."

Kayla smiled and wrapped her arms around my waist. She was petit, only standing at 5'5" in height. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and squeezed her tight before pulling away. She stood up on the tip of her toes and placed a kiss on my cheek before stepping back to stand in the doorway.

I turned back around and walked to the curb in front of her house where my car was parked. I unlocked my door and waved to her before I slid in, started the ignition and began the drive back to my house.

When I pulled into my driveway all the lights were off in my house. I looked at the clock and noted that it wasn't quite eleven o'clock at night yet. I didn't think much of it, and casually made my way up to the door.

I tried the handle to find that it was locked and then shoved my key into the dead-bolt. I stepped inside and kicked off my sandals after shutting and re-locking the door.

"April?" I called out, trying to figure out if I was the only one in my home. There was only silence, so I flicked on the light for the living room and walked through to the kitchen.

I opened the fridge to grab a beer and noticed there were small amounts of light coming from my back deck. I tossed the cap from my bottle in the trash before I took a sip and walked to the patio door, seeing that the glass was open and the screen closed.

I slid the screen open and stepped out. The weather was perfect: a light constant breeze to keep you from sweating in the summer Californian heat and a fresh, clean smell. It was entirely relaxing, a great night to sit out by the beach and let your mind wander.

The lights that I noticed were about a dozen candles lit placed around the wooden deck. Every couple feet a candle was placed on the floor of the deck or on the railing, creating a nice even lighting scheme. It fit the mood of the night perfectly.

To the far right of my deck, where I always had my lawn chairs placed was April. She looked so relaxed and at peace that it made me feel sorrow inside for how I had been acting, but she wasn't the most honest person I had ever come across.

She had a black pair of my boxers and one of my white dress shirts pulled on. She was slightly reclined in the chair, just enough to lean back comfortably and look out at the ocean, with her knees pulled up and a wine glass resting in her hands that were placed in her lap. She looked so beautiful.

"Hey April," I called out softly to her. She hadn't even noticed that I was home, which in a way made me happy. I got to see a side of her that never had surfaced before.

She turned her head and I had to suck my breath in. She looked like a completely new person to me. Her face was clear of all make-up, her hair was pulled up into a loose and neat ponytail, her lips slightly pouty and her eyes that used to be so wild and energetic were dull, sad, eyes that had seen more then they should've.

Her full lips spread out into a warm smile, "hello Matt." She sat up further in her chair, pulling her legs closer to her chest. She looked so fragile, so torn up.

I took a deep breath, soaking up all the smells and the way the air smelled before I took the half-dozen or so steps it took to get to her. I sat down on the lawn chair and kept my gaze on my beer bottle that I was holding between my knees before I turned and looked at her.

Her eyes started back intently, studying me. I turned my body so I was facing her better and set my beer on the deck. I grabbed her glass of wine and set it down beside my bottle and then looked back at her for just a moment before I grabbed a hold of her around her waist and pulled her close to me, wrapping her up in a tight and warm embrace.

She let out a sigh and her muscles relaxed as she wrapped her arms around my neck in return. I felt her body melt into mine. I squeezed her tighter and pulled her onto my lap. I kept my left arm wrapped around her back and my right hand placed on her outer thigh to keep her from slipping. She kept her hands resting on my shoulders, with our foreheads pressed together, breathing simultaneously.

In that moment, it felt like we were made for one another. It felt as if we were destined to meet and go through everything we had, and then straighten each other out. Sometimes, the world worked in mysterious ways, and that's exactly what it had felt like to me. It had looked like things were really going to improve with April, and that made me feel good, made my heart hurt less, something I was more than content with.

But how long would it last, before everything came crumbling down again?