The Wind Blows

He downed another empty bottle of whiskey, the taste bitter, and burning his throat, and insides with sour regret. He slammed the bottle down on the table, wiping the excess off his lips with the back of his hand.

He stopped to listen, the quietness too loud, and haunting to think. Photographs old, and new scattered the floor - her face on each one, as his fingers shuffled through them - each one taking him back to a specific place, and time.

But he stopped shuffling through the pile, pulling a specific 5x7 that caught his eye from the cluttered stack. It took his thoughts back to that day - that day they took a road trip out to south eastern, California. Her toes were touching the water where it met the sand - her sand colored hair blowing in the breeze, as she looked down at the water crashing over her feet.

She always said that you should catch the person in that moment - that looking at the camera would only ruin the memory, and wash away what you truly were trying to capture, which was the emotion surrounding the setting.

There was a peice of red sea glass stuck to the back of the glossy picture with a peice of tape. He pulled it off with his fingers, and made sure it fell safely into his jeans pocket.

And after a long hard gaze at girl in the picture, he threw the photograph back into the pile where it belonged. It had been like this for hours now, finding a picture that would catch his eye - that would take him back in time, to a day that would only make him smile momentarily, and then pull a frown on his lips at the sadness of how everything was all gone now.

He watched her kick the wet sand at her feet, as she bent down to pick up the colored seaglass as the water receded from the shoreline. She'd either stuff the shards of glass in her pockets, or throw it back out to sea for someone else to discover.

"Look I found a red peice." She held out the palm of her hand, with a smile on her full lips, as he took it from her hold to observe the treasure for himself.

"You know, I heard that red is the rarest color to find."

She smiled softly as she peered up at him, "You should keep it for me," she folded his fingers around the piece of smoothly cut glass, until his hand was balled into a fist.

She turned to walk away, back towards the white caps that were crashing along the west coast, but he reached out, and caught her by the wrist, pulling her back to him - her body falling flush against his. He brushed a few hairs from her baby blue eyes, as he looked down at the girl, and leaned forward just to kiss her lips barely - just enough to make the smile on her soft lips stay.

He pinched her hips through the fabric of her shorts with his calloused fingertips, causing her lips to leave his, with a squeal that left both of them laughing.

"John, stop."

She slapped at his hands that were trying to reach out, and take her away. He just smiled innocently, stepping closer as she stepped backwards, their feet sinking into the yellow grains of sand below.

"John - don't -"

He could hear the hint of laughter in her voice as she pleaded for him to stop - but why would he, when she was all he wanted?

Her squeals, and laughter were contagious as they rang out, up and down the shoreline - his feet never stopping as they hit the sand, and chased her down the beach with open arms, and a heart that was set only for her.

He combed a hand lazily through his matted brown hair that was sticking to his head, with his green eyes shut tightly, and short breaths coming from the part between his lips. He tried to shake the the remembrance of that day from his mind, but with no luck, it wasn't fading too quickly.

The soft knock on the door was almost gone unnoticed, but the silence was able to help it be heard louder than it should've. The cloud of thoughts faded from his mind as he pushed his body from the couch, and drug his feet across the floor. And when he opened the door, he didn't expect to find the lonesome girl standing so innocently behind it.

"Um, hey John," she chimed in softly.

She tucked a peice of dark hair behind her ear, and continued standing idolly with a cardboard box weighing down her small fragile arms. She watched him lean against the doorframe, with a raised brow, and arms folded over his chest.

"I uh - I'm sorry if this is a bad time, but I wanted to drop this off," she shoved the box in his face for him to take, and he seemed to take no hesitation in doing so, "It's just a few of your things we found in Anna's room that you probably want back. We'll probably find more, but for now that's all."

He began rummaging through the brown box, filled with a bunch of junk - several t-shirts, a gray beanie, an old Tom Petty and Wilco CD. It was all just a box of junk - faded memories - stupid things that would probably never matter ten years from now, but would somehow stay in his thoughts forever.

"Uh thanks Dani." He mumbled softly, before placing the box somewhere inside the door - somewhere she couldn't quite see.

He turned back to the lonely girl, who was still standing outside, with her arms hugging her body tightly as her green eyes diverted from his harsh stare that he was sending her. She wasn't sure if now was her moment to walk away - or if now was the moment to speak up, and ask him how he was doing. But in her mind that sounded to planned out - too cliche, so she decided to op for the easy way out.

"I guess I'll see you around then."

"Unless you wanna come in," he dug his fingers into the back of his neck, while his other hand remained casually tucked away in his pant pocket.

She wasn't expecting this - his invitation for her to come in - his invitation for her to stay - they only knew one another because of her sister - and they only knew one another because she had once dated his bestfriend - and even though they spent countless days and nights with one another before, she wasn't expecting this.

**

"Jesus John, how do you drink this stuff?"

Dani winced, and scrunched up her face at the bitter, sour taste that washed along her insides as she swallowed hard, and tried to ignore the sting.

He laughed softly, as he watched her place the half filled glass aside, and reached over to pull another picture from the nearby pile, "Do you remember this one?"

He let her see it, shoving it in her face before pulling it back to him, and letting his scratchy eyes settle across the happy faces in the washed out picture.

"That night was the best." He whispered softly.

She snatched the picture from his loose hold, and laughed lightly as her mind flashed back to that warm summers evening, "I'm sorry, but that night was not the best."

He rolled his heavy eyes as he pulled the half empty beer bottle back up to his sour lips to take another swig.

"You threw up all over the inside of my car John, I don't find that very fun."

He chuckled softly, "Well other than that, you've got to admit that it was pretty crazy."

"It took me weeks to get the stench of vomit out of my car." She groaned, and scrunched up her nose at the mere thought as she tossed the picture back in with the rest.

"Fine," he mumbled vaguely, and began shuffling vigorously through the stack of photographs, before finally coming across the one he'd been searching for all along, "This one."

He handed her the picture, with nothing but a soft smile on his thin lips, and a slight gleam in his sunken green eyes, "That night - that night was the best."

She studied the picture long and hard as she cradled it carefully between the tips of her fingers. Her eyes flashing back and forth from the two people who stood closely, with smiles on their faces, and an arm around the other. Two people that had too much in common, but neither would break the other to obtain the truth too quickly.

"I think Anna took this picture of us," she mumbled softly to no one, but loud enough for him to hear.

"Yeah," John spoke softly at the remembrance as he stood up from the floor, grabbing the empty beer bottles to toss in the trash, "I'm going to grab another beer - want one?"

"Yeah - sure." She mumbled softly, nodding absentmindedly as her green eyes sunk deeper into the picture at hand. Her thoughts taking her back to a year prior, when the picture was taken - when the warning signs were already there - when everything was beginning to change - and before anyone really saw this coming.

"John."

"Yeah?" His voice barely made it to her ears as he entered the room, with a bottle in each hand.

"Do you think there's a reason for what she did?"

Dani's soft green eyes traveled over to him, as he handed her the cold bottle, and placed a seat beside her on the cool hard floor.

His face suddenly became somber, as he popped the cap off the bottle he held, and took a long sip of the bitter substance at hand. And all he did was nod at the question that held more answers than one.

She could see the sadness drain over his eyes, and across his face. She could see the tears begin to build in his heavy eyes, as he pushed them back, and tried to ignore the weight of his heart pushing against his chest.

She inched a little further - a little closer till she could feel the heat from his skin radiate against hers through their clothing. And as her head fell to lie heavy on his shoulder, and she let her weary eyes close at the feeling of being so close, she found herself pulling some form of comfort from all of this.

"I wish I could've been what she wanted," his head fell just slightly, till his cheek was resting on the top of her head, and when he closed his eyes he could feel her right beside him, "Sometimes I think to myself that maybe I could've, if she'd just given me the chance."

"God, Kenny's such a babe."

Dani pulled her attention away from the guys on stage, letting her green eyes wonder over to her sister, who had a smile on her face - a smile that only made her appear as if she was forcing the happiness from inside.

"You know, Kenny and I, we aren't that perfect." She said in all seriousness.

Anna's eyes traveled over to Dani's before looking away, and down towards her feet on the ground.

"I know," she nodded her head barely, as her eyes remained looking away - somewhere else, so maybe she could hide the pain that was ready to burst, "It's just John - he's always busy with his music -"

"So is Kenny."

Anna shook her head viciously, waving the words off carelessly, as she peered up into her sister's green eyes with a hopeless expression, "No - not like John," her head turned to look at the boy walking across the stage floors, as he joked around with the crowd, like he knew what he was doing - and he very well did, "Sometimes I wonder if it's just me in his life, or if I'm just one of many. I don't know - sometimes, I feel alone, even when I'm with him - and I don't think I should."

Her voice was weak, and it faded into the chants of kids in the crowd, as the music started to shake the room, and no more was able to be said.

And for the first time Dani saw the broken spirits erupt, and withdraw from her sister - the broken spirits, and haunting demons that would begin to bear it's face, as it all would begin to surface.