Carefully Guarded

I ran like fire. I ran until I couldn’t run anymore. I ran until I remembered I had no where to go. At that point, my breaths coming in gasps and my body covered in sweat, I had only one destination in mind. The Jolly Joe. Not the most respectable place around, but good people worked there. Good people with a bad memory when it comes to me. A dollar tip and I wouldn’t have been there. The bartender, Parker, merely nodded as I walked in.

“Hyia Parker. Do you happen to have any extra rooms?’

“Well little Miss, I suppose for a young lady such as your self, I’m sure I can find you something,” and Parker winked at me before disappearing into the back room. I sighed as I slipped on to the bar stool and I simply put my head down on the bar.

“It looks like you got lucky. There is a room, but I need a favor in return. Can you bus those tables? Our bus boy got delayed and the customers are complaining.”

“Sure thing Parker,” I said with a wink of my own as I slipped off the stool and I disappeared into the back room to get what I would need. When I came out I set to work, systematically cleaning off all of the tables. Then I went to work to scrub the tables down, making them cleaner then they have been in many years. I’m telling ya, the only thing that Parker keeps clean is his counter. Then I noticed a lack in the homey touch, and I, of course, add a few flowers I nicked from the store down the street, with a few promises that it would brighten the room when I got caught.

“Hey Flame, I like the touches,” Parker said with a smirk.

“Thanks. Only thing is that you have to keep the flowers fresh.” Parker screwed up his nose, and I laughed. “Hey, your welcome. I’m going to sleep. Don’t disturb me OK?”

“Sure thing kid, but my wake up call is 6am.” I nodded, and walked into the back room, careful to lock the door.

That night I tossed and turned, finally settling on a dream where a gypsy women was shooting me with love arrows as I screamed. When I woke with a gasp, it was to Parker banging on the door.

“FLAME! ARE YOU OK?” I gathered that I had been screaming in my sleep.

“Sorry Parker. Bad dream.” He sighed.

“Jeez kid, don’t scare me like that. It’s 2 in the morning. You sure you’re ok?” I giggled a little, Parker was like an uncle. Not there a lot, but protective when he is.

“Yeah. See you in 4 hours,” I said with a yawn lapsing back into sleep again.

Will woke up the next morning and went to check on Flame, noticing that she had been unusually quiet the night before. None of her usual transient feelings were voiced.

“Flame,” Will said in a singsong voice as he walked in her room before he froze, rooted to the spot. “Oh no, she ran.” He sank to his knees, feeling an unnamable feeling in his gut. He sat there for close to an hour before his Kelsey, who had stayed the night, found him.

“What’s wrong?”

“She left. She left me. And she won’t come back,” Will said dejectedly.

“Well you know fire needs air. Maybe she didn’t get enough here,” Kelsey said in a poorly disguised voice of jealousy.

“Kelsey, I need to go find her."

"Will, no. Please. Let's at least have some time together. I haven't seen you for three years!" but Will wasn't listening to her

"I’ll leave after lunch,” Will said in a decided voice as he made to get up.

“What! No, you can’t go. We just found you. We need you,” desperation coloring her voice.

“Well I just found her and I feel like we need each other,” and as he said those words he could see Kelsey’s heart breaking. Heck, he could practically hear it cracking, but she had gone three years without him, she could survive a little longer.

“Will,” she whimpered. “Please, don’t leave me.”

“Kelsey, I have to,” and with that said, it was Kelsey’s turn to sink to the ground crying as Will kissed her on the head with a murmured sorry before he fled to say good by to his mom and to go find Flame, the girl who had captured his heart in one way or another.