Life Starts Now

She was getting ready to leave. Lexi had called in the morning asking for some sister’s time. It’s been a while since she last saw her. Her younger sister has always been a mystery for Skye. Lexi was the kind of girl to go out every night but was never tired. She was cheerful and full of energy all the time. At 23, she has travelled to Europe and Australia. But Skye was the opposite. At 26, she had a steady job as a nurse at Ste. Justine Hospital for kids in Montreal. She described herself as a boring person; she’d rather have a nice quiet evening at home than go to a bar.

Skye took her purse and her nursing clothes before leaving her apartment. Twenty minutes later, she was knocking on her sister’s door. A few seconds later, the door opened with a loud squeaking sound.

«Skye! My favorite sister in the whole world! » Lexi said with a wide smile on her face.
«Nice try but I’m your only sibling. But I’m happy to see you too. »

Lexi laughed and let her in. Her apartment was small but warm and welcoming. Skye sat on the couch and waited for her sister. She knew that this invitation wasn’t only about some sister’s time. The last few months have been a rollercoaster of emotions. And the only person to know almost everything about it was Lexi. Her sister came back with two glasses of red wine, handing one to Skye, who quickly turned down the offer.

«Can’t drink. Got to be at work at midnight. You know that. » she said.
«Ah come on Skye! One glass! And you’re not going to work until a few hours. You won’t even feel it by that time. »

Skye smiled at her sister. She was right. A single glass couldn’t hurt. She took a sip. The wine was fruity and delicious. She looked at Lexi seriously.

«You’re cheap you know? » she said with a little smile in her voice.
«Not my fault if your favorite wine is the cheapest one in the store! »

Skye laughed. Her sister was the only person in the world to be that honest with people. Lexi sat down comfortably and brought her glass to her lips slowly.

«So have you talked to Andrew yet? » Lexi asked, a little scared of her reaction.

Skye sighed and looked at her wine for a moment. She had tried so hard to forget everything that happened. Thinking about him just hurt too much to handle. She held back her tears.

«Nope. He’s still mad at me. But I guess he has every right to be, after all, I broke up with him without warning. » she answered, taking a sip of her drink.

It happened about five months ago. Skye had met someone new earlier this year. There was obliviously something between them. She didn’t like to hurt people. She was seeing that this new relationship might become more than just friendship. But she was dating Andrew for the last year. He was a nice guy. He was a farmer, working his ass off to get his business running. But life with him was too predictable. She knew that by the time of the year, she would have been living with him, then would get pregnant and live a nice little life on the farm. Skye would have embraced this future if she had never met him. Her life turned upside down afterward.

Lexi couldn’t talk. She was too involved in the second part of the story. She knew that Andrew was mad. She also knew that if Skye ever wanted to go back to him, he would have her back. She was his everything. They knew each other forever, were friend for most of their lives. One thing was sure; even though she left him, she still cared about him very much.

«I talked to Neil today. » Lexi said in a whisper.
«You did? » she answered, her heart skipping a heartbeat.
«Yeah… You mad?
«He’s your friend. Why would I be mad? »
«Well, Neil spends most of his time with You-Know-Who so…»

Skye sighed and put down her glass angrily.

«Come on! He’s not Voldemort, he has a name and even if I don’t talk to him anymore and that we hate each other, it doesn’t mean you have to avoid talking to his best friend. »

She was mad. She took her purse and got ready to leave.

«Ah come on Skye! We never talk about what happened! I’m tired of hearing Neil talk about how Adam is going! I want to tell you everything instead of seeing you repress it all inside. You have feelings»
«I do. But not for him anymore. » she answered, leaving her sister’s apartment.

She decided to walk back home. She couldn’t hold her tears anymore. The pain came back so fast it was hard for her to breath. She spent so much energy to bury everything deeply in her memory that she had never expected that it would be so easy to come back. He has been so mean to her…

She went to sleep right after she came back home. Lexi has left about ten messages on her voicemail. She ignored them and preferred to get some rest before going to work. Her job as a nurse was a huge part of her life. She loved to work with kids. At Ste. Justine’s Hospital, she was taking care of children in the hematology-oncology department. She helped them getting ready for their surgery. It was a way for her to forget everything and just think about the little ones. They were going through so much; she felt she couldn’t even complain about her life.

The night was peaceful. She had asked to change her schedule to work night shift so she could go to his show. She asked it a long time ago and she couldn’t change it. Everyone was sound asleep. At 7h30, she gave all the information about the night to the next nurse and left the hospital.

It was cold outside. Autumn was about to leave, winter was close. Skye got a chill. She told herself she had to get a new scarf, hers was too thin to protect from the wind. The sun was blocked by grey clouds. She walked toward the bus stop but something caught her eye. A dark hair man was sitting on a bench with ice on his face. She walked to him, wondering if he was okay.

«Is everything alright sir? », she asked, bending over him.

The man slowly removed the ice from his face and lifted his head to see her. His eyebrow was swollen and red with blood. The surrounding of his eye was turning black. She took a step back while he stood up in front of her.

«I thought I would see you at the show tonight. » he said in a shy whisper.

She looked at him, still shocked by his appearance. She attended every single show his band did, even 1000 miles away from Montreal. But tonight, it was too much to handle. She had made the choice to stay home. It was easier for her to let it go.

«I missed you. », he said. «Wasn’t my best performance because you weren’t there», he added with a smile.
«Bullshit. » she said. «How did you hurt yourself? », she asked, angry but worried about his condition.

He smiled and put the ice back on the wound. He could see his breath in the cold air. And he guessed that she was holding her breath, trying not to say something. He knew that was her way to keep her calm when she was getting mad.

«I guess your ex-boyfriend wasn’t happy to see me knocking on his door to find you. »

She smiled in her not-so-warm scarf. Andrew knew about him and she guessed he got really mad seeing him there.

«You deserved it Adam. », she said.
«Skye, baby, I just needed to talk to you. Lexi told Neil where you were working so I gave it a try… »

She growled a little. Lexi did everything behind her back. She promised herself that she would have a long talk with her later on. She looked back at him. He was bleeding a little. She took a few steps toward him and raised her hand to his eyebrow.

«Show me. »

He had a deep cut over his eye. She looked at it closely. He needed stitches.

«Come with me. I’ll fix you up. » she said, turning around to get inside.
«Thank you. »
«It doesn’t mean I want to talk about it. I just can’t let you leave with this wound. »

He followed her inside in silence.