Rain Falls in Eden

The morning sunlight filtered into the room, though the bed was positioned so the earliest sunshine didn’t shine into the occupant’s eyes. Ryan’s hand was resting on my waist, fingers splayed, his head resting on the crook of his arm in a very uncomfortable-looking way.

I slid out from under his hand, pulling my legs out of the tangled blankets, and padded across the room. The wood was cold on my bare feet, but the rest of my body was tucked snugly under sweat pants and a long-sleeved shirt. I marveled at the fact I could fall asleep with so much warmth.

Nobody that I could see or hear was awake as I treaded softly down the stairs. I spotted Amanda and Hannah sleeping haphazardly on the couch. I smiled at their gaping mouths as I snatched up the keys from the coffee table.

The hallway was quiet and empty. I could hear the muffled murmur of a TV as I walked to our apartment, but that was it.

Cold air flooded out of the door as soon as I opened it, and I half expected to see the back of a refrigerator instead of an apartment. I checked the answering machine, but my hope diminished as the little robotic voice told me that no new messages had been received. Since it was no longer raining, I went around the apartment opening every single window, letting the warm summer air drift in lazily.

My room felt the warmest, seeing as how I had the most windows, therefore more sun, and the smallest of the bedrooms. But I still got goosebumps as I changed hastily, pulling on a clean pair of shorts and throwing on a blue tee. I slipped into a pair of sandals, pocketed some cash and my phone, and slipped out of the apartment and the complex.

The morning was beautiful. The city was still damp with last night’s rain and the air smelled pristine and clear. The streets were mostly empty, with the exception of a few cars and couples and individuals hunting for coffee and baked goods.

I stepped into a Starbucks not even five minutes later. It had several people sitting at the tables, mostly by themselves. A couple of customers sat away from the center, preferring to type away on their laptops. Two women were seated at another table, papers scattered around them, briefcases by their feet. One woman chatted softly on her cell phone as she stirred some sugar into her coffee. It was such a movie scene, I just had to smile.

I pulled the cash out from my back pocket and stepped up to the register, greeting the cashier politely. She didn’t seem to notice, as she was arguing with another guy. Both looked around my age, if not a year or two older.

“That’s because you, Miss Kalila, are a cruel, cruel little girl,” said a guy with blonde hair and a cute face, with a British accent.

“I don’t even like flowers!” yelled the dark girl. “Now shut up while I get her order, Sebastian.”

I hadn’t even gotten a word out, when the aforementioned Sebastian cut me off. “Excuse me, Perfect Skin,” he said to me. “But if a guy gave you flowers, and you didn’t like them, would you say that to him?”

I was a little too startled to reply off the bat. Finally I said, “Well-”

“And,” interrupted Kalila. “He was rich and he knew for a fact you didn’t like them, and you knew he was just being a cheap asshole.”

They stared at me, as though I withheld some piece of vital information.

“I’d tell him,” I said, though I wasn’t quite sure what I would do. But the girl had my coffee and pastry in her hands, and I wasn’t about to mess with her.

She stared smugly at Sebastian as she slid my sustenance over to me. “This one’s on the house,” she said approvingly. I laughed, but dropped a tip into the jar anyways.

Sebastian seemed rather unabashed, and his eyes widened as something caught his attention.

“Man candy, four o’clock,” he said, gripping Kalila’s shoulders and turning her.

“That’s nine o’clock, dumbass,” she said.

“Whatever G.I. Jane,” he said “Go scamper off while I flirt.”

She rolled her eyes, but took off her apron anyways. “You staying here?” she asked me.

I shrugged, nodding. “Sure,” I replied. She grabbed her own cup of coffee and a scone from the display cases, and we took a seat at one of the tables.

“I’m Kalila,” she said, smiling. “And that one over there,” she gestured to Sebastian who was greeting a handsome guy warmly. “Is Sebastian. He’s as straight as a circle, if you didn’t catch on.”

I laughed, introducing myself. She asked me where I was from, and what brought me here. I wondered if it was obvious I wasn’t a Seattle girl, or even a city girl. I told her about my time here, that I liked it, what my friends and I had done so far. I did not, however, mention the guys. They’d hardly had any publicity at all, and I didn’t want to change that for them.

“Ugh,” she said, when I’d mentioned the club Hannah, Amanda, and I had gone to. “Yeah that’s not a great one. It’s mostly highschoolers with fake I.D.’s getting wasted and trying to get laid. You should go to the one downtown. I think it’s called Triple Door or something.”

We turned suddenly, as Sebastian let out a loud laugh. But the other guy seemed somewhat interested, if not a little shaken.

I turned back to her. “Thanks, but I don’t think I’ll be going to one anytime soon,” I said. She laughed.

“I know what you mean,” she said.

“Man Candy” left, and Sebastian bounded over to chat with us, snatching half a donut off the plate of a deserted table. We chatted for quite some time. It was strange for me, to slide in so easily with these two, whose personalities were obviously opposites. But they seemed to get along so well, I wondered if this was how my friends and I seemed. All I understood was that Hannah and Amanda were like pieces in the puzzle that was my heart. But I knew, as I had since the darkest days of my life, that I would always be missing one piece.

I happened to look down at my phone, which I’d forgotten was on silent, just as Sebastian finished telling me of Kalila’s last boyfriend, whom had claimed to be an owner of one of the hottest clubs around. Turns out he was a janitor there.

I laughed, picking up the phone as they gave a quick summary of the confrontation scene.

“Hello?” I said when they were finished, trying to remember who it was that was calling me.

“Callie, God,” came Ryan’s relieved voice. I didn't notice the grin stretching on my face. “I feel like Greg.”

I furrowed my brow. “Why?” I asked, confused.

“I’ve been calling you. Hannah’s been nagging me. She thinks you got kidnaped.” He directed his voice to someone in the background, “Yes you did! You said that like fifty times! No...No I don’t care Hannah. I will not tell her that. Why? Because that’s mean...That’s not threatening...It’s a shoe...Okay, do it. Live the rest of your life knowing you threw a shoe at a guy because he wouldn’t-Ow!”

I heard Hannah’s high, lilting laugh in the background, and had to let out a laugh of my own. Sebastian and Kalila exchanged curious looks. I just shook my head.

“Yeah,” said Ryan. “Walk away.” He began speaking back into the phone. “Anyways,” he continued casually. “Where are you?”

“Starbucks,” I answered, amused. “You want anything?”

“I’m good, thanks,” he said. “Amanda’s aunt called back. She and Spencer are calling a maintenance person.”

“Thank God,” I stated.

He laughed. “You coming back anytime soon?”

“Yeah,” I said. “I’ll be back soon.”

“Take your time.” I smiled, ducking my head. “I’ll see you later.”

I hung up, still smiling.

“Hmmm...Seems like little Miss Callie’s got a little man candy of her own,” stated Sebastian.

I stared back, smiling, pleasantly appalled. “Seems like Miss Sebastian is wrong,” I replied, knocking a laugh out of Kalila, and an approving look from the aforementioned.

“Oh, Callie,” said Kalila. “Admit it. Whoever was on the other end was someone of the opposite sex who you definitely like.”

“Tell me,” said Sebastian, leaning forward and batting his eyes. “Love or lust?”

“God, you two!” I exclaimed, laughing. “You’ve known me for like an hour!”

“Oh come on,” said Kalila. “You can’t have that goofy smile on your face and not have a little crush.”

“It’s love,” concluded Sebastian, dramatically.

“It’s nothing,” I said, getting up.

“Well,” continued Sebastian. “You’re definitely falling for him.”

Though I knew Sebastian didn’t truly know me, and had seen a total of three minutes of my relationship with Ryan through a one-sided conversation, what he said seemed to strike a nerve, and my smile faltered a bit while I got my things together.

“See? No denial,” he said. He grabbed my hand, and took out a pen. “This here is my number, because I know you’re going to need some help from a Seattlian.”

“Seattlian?” asked Kalila.

“It’s a Sebastian word.”

“Oh.”

He scribbled his name and number on my hand, and recapped the pen.

“I’d give you mine,” said Kalila. “But we’re pretty much inseparable. Won’t make a difference.”

I laughed, still stinging from the random burst of emotion. “Well, thanks you two. I’m sure I’ll be calling you up. Sorry to leave so abruptly.”

“Psh,” said Kalila, with a wave of her hand. “You’re probably saving our asses. Our breaks ended about...twenty minutes ago.”

I laughed, said good-bye, and left. My smile slid off my face as I turned the corner.