Skylines & Drivebys

I got to their apartment at a little after six am and hit the buzzer. I texted Lynne a few minutes before arriving and she replied that she was awake to let me in. I wasn’t sleep deprived since I’d slept the entire flight, but I must admit, I was slightly exhausted from the trip in and of itself.

Without answering, I assumed it was Lynne who unlocked the door from the audible click of the lock. I grabbed my bags and let myself in. I walked through the quaintly decorated lobby and made my way to the elevators. I rolled in my luggage and hit 11. Waiting for the small metal shaft to make its way up, I half-listened to the elevator music and waited patiently for the polite ding! to signify that I was at my floor. I imagined the different scenarios in which Sunny and I would see each other and smiled in excitement.

I missed her.

When the doors finally slid open, I anxiously made my way to their door. Plainly painted a navy blue, I knocked lightly. The door swung open to a smiling Lynne. I leaned in for a hug, “Lynne!” I exclaimed.

Her hug was warm, but we both knew that I was here for a reason – to save our best friend. “She’s still asleep in her room,” she said, answering my question before it had even come out of my mouth, “You can just bring your stuff into the ‘living room’. And we only have a pull-out couch – sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m used to sleeping on them. Y’know, when friends don’t want to stay at their own houses for... reasons.”

A silence crept over them as they let that sink in.

“Anyways, I gotta go to my class and she’ll probably sleep in for a while...”

“And I’ll probably raid your fridge until she wakes up,” I answered, stomach already in mind.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Lynne grinned up at me. Pulling me into a tight hug she said, “It’s really great to have you here, Jack. I know it’ll mean the world to her.”

I squeezed her back and replied, “Always glad to be here.”

I watched her tiptoe out the door and I made myself comfortable on their couch, flipping though the channels when my stomach grumbled. Airplane food isn’t always great. I hopped off the couch and scrounged around in their freezer and found what I was looking for: my icy delicacy; a frozen dinner.

I just love artificial mashed potatoes and gravy.

When I heard the faint sound of shuffling feet, I stopped the microwave mid-spin. Sunny was suddenly at the doorway, sleep still in her eyes, head down and tired. She hadn’t noticed me yet.

“Hey Lynne I thought –“

The rest of her sentence was caught in her throat as I grabbed her, picked her up and spun her around.

“Sunday!”

“Jack!”

I held her in mid-air for a while, the biggest smile on my face, squeezing the life out of her when he realized that Sunny had begun to sniffle into his shoulder and those sniffles were growing into bigger and bigger sobs.

I sat her on the counter and grabbed one of the many tissue boxes in the apartment.

“Sunny, sunny,” I cooed, wiping stray tears off her cheek and held her close to my chest.

“I’m so – I’m sorry,” she choked out.

“Shh, don’t worry about it,” I paused briefly, “You know, it was kind of my fault too.”

Her sobs burst and were harder than ever. After a few minutes of hugging and crying and tissues and sniffles, Sunny pulled away from me a little – enough so she could look up and see my face, but still so that we were in arms distance from each other.

She cracked the tiniest smile, “I always seem to end up crying into your shirt,”

I pulled her into what seemed like the millionth hug that day responding, “Just as long as you’re here for when I need to cry into yours.”