Decemberunderground

She ran her hands against the black velvet bedspread as she stared up at the ceiling. He had asked her to stay over for the rest of what was considered the night and into the morning. They had been up since 3 in the morning and hadn't gotten much sleep.

She shook her head against the pillow, filtering through her thoughts. She hadn't slept at all; just stared up at the ceiling, thinking about him being in the room just down the hall. Avery sat up, looking around his room. It was spotless. Davey was dark, sure, but he was the classiest person she had ever met. His room was simple. A bed with a black velvet blanket keeping the mattress warm, a dresser on the left containing all of his clothes that he treasured so much, a few framed pictures scattered on the walls here and there, and finally, the door leading out.

In her mind, she pictured his innocent looking eyes as his lips formed each syllable and each letter of every word he spoke. The snow was falling all around him and a few flakes had been trapped in his black hair. She observed the dramatic contrast of the white against the black. She couldn't say no to him. He would be left here all alone in the dead of winter. She pitied him.

Avery refused to let pity dictate her actions. Her bare feet met the frigid wood floor. The boards creaked from the temperature and she paused, hoping she didn't wake Davey. She didn't want him to know that she was leaving.

She tip-toed past him slumbering on the couch in the living room, and shut the door to the apartment quietly. The whole building seemed to be drenched in December.

Just as she reached the front door, a hand found its way to her shoulder. She spun around to find those innocent brown eyes looking into her own.

"How could you run from me?" He asked, his voice sounding the least bit unnatural.

She broke her gaze from his brown eyes and looked down at her still bare feet, tucking a piece of her black hair behind her ear.

"No," She shook her head. "I'm not running from you, I just--" She cut herself off, trying to think of what to say next. "I just figured I should get home." She finished.

He shook his head as well. "I know you wanted to get away from me, right?" He hung his head but cast his gaze upwards at her.

The intensity of his eyes took her mere breath away. She didn't want to admit the truth to him because she didn't want him to feel any worse than he probably already seemed to feel. It was strange. It was as though she could feel the pain, suffering, and sorrow radiating off his soul.

"I remain the one to blame." He continued.

Avery caressed his shoulder, letting her hand graze his elbow and eventually find his hand. She took his cold hand in her own. "Of course not." She wanted to make sure he knew that even if he thought he had no one, he had her.

The corners of his lips turned upward slightly to form a small smile. "Come, I want to show you something."

Avery furrowed her eyebrows. "But earlier you had said to me it was too dangerous to leave because of the storm," She motioned to the violent cascade of snowflakes pelting the glass doors. "And that's why I had to stay."

"It's too dangerous to drive," He said. "But that doesn't mean we can't walk."