California Dreaming
Chapter 09
That night was another sleepless one for Alyssa. As her roommate softly snored on the other side of the curtain separating each half of the room, she looked through the half-closed blinds covering the window, moonlight dappling the ground through the leaves of the tree she’d spent so much time under in the last few weeks. She knew that on the opposite end of the building, George was lying awake as well.
She thought back to their conversation earlier in the courtyard, when he’d told her that his ex was bringing Ava to see him tomorrow. She had to admit, there was a small tinge of jealousy mixed in with the happiness she felt for the older man. George had gone through so much hell, or at least, it seemed like he had to Alyssa. For him to be finally getting a chance to reconnect with his little girl was the best thing in the world for him.
But his little girl wasn’t what Alyssa was worried about. Asia was. George hadn’t minced words when he’d told her what his ex had done to him; the awful things she’d said and the way she’d taken her daughter in the middle of the night, not leaving any trace of where they’d gone. Between her lying, cheating, and using his daughter as leverage against him, he’d fallen into a dark depression, which had kicked his occasional cocaine habit into a full-blown addiction. When cocaine no longer gave him the rush he craved, he’d turned to morphine and a cocktail of other prescription pills. It had been that addiction that had left him for dead on a back alleyway in Hollywood somewhere.
Plink.
Alyssa pulled herself out of her thoughts as the sound of something pitter against the window caught her attention. Just as she looked up, she heard it again and bit down on her bottom lip as she pushed the blankets off her legs, swinging them out onto the floor before she got up, walking over to the window.
Johnny was standing outside, hands in his pockets and hood over his head. For a moment she was worried – what was he doing outside in the middle of the night? Then, when he turned his head to the side slightly and caught sight of the grin tugging at his lips, a wave of relief hit her. He was obviously in a good mood. She signaled to him that she’d be out in just a moment before quietly slipping her shoes onto her feet. She grabbed a hoodie from the dresser on the opposite side of the wall and slowly slid out of the room, making sure to leave the door propped open just enough that it wouldn’t make a sound when she snuck back in.
Alyssa stayed as quiet as she could as she moved down the hallway. A quick check of the nurse’s station told her that the night nurse was very obviously asleep, and she couldn’t help but smile as she snuck past, making her way to the exit door. It was already propped open with a stone, and she quietly moved through before replacing the door as quietly as she was able.
Johnny had moved into the corner of the yard by the time she moved around the building to the courtyard. There were more shadows over there, she realized, and they would be less likely to be seen if one of the nurses or security guards happened to come outside for a smoke.
“It’s two in the morning, George,” she whispered to him, pulling her hood over her head, pulling her arms around her chest. It was rather chilly tonight. George shrugged, reaching into his pocket to grab his cigarettes. He offered her one and she accepted, letting him light it for her before she watched as he did his own.
“What can I say? I’m excited,” he told her with a grin. “I get to see Ava.”
His excitement was infectious, and Alyssa couldn’t keep a smile off her own face. “I keep thinking about it too,” she admitted. “I’m really happy for you, George.”
Neither of them said anything for a few moments before he reached onto the ground, pulling up a bag. She cocked her head to the side, curious as to what it was. None of the residents had been on a day trip to the mall recently, and she couldn’t think of any visitors that had come by to visit George in the last week or two, either.
“It’s for you.”
Alyssa bit down on her bottom lip as she took the bag from George, meeting his gaze again. He had a sheepish, almost nervous smile on his face, and he was shifting his weight from foot to foot. After a moment, he nodded at the bag.
“I know it’s not wrapped pretty or anything, but…it’s what I had, so…” he trailed off before clearing his throat. “Well, go on. Open it.”
The excitement was present in his voice, and Alyssa slowly untied the two knots he’d made with the handles of the sack. As she pulled them apart, she noticed a small notebook on the inside. Curious, she pulled it out of the bag, setting them on the ground before flipping the cover open.
The front page was covered in tiny hand-drawn flowers, in all different shades of white, grey, and pale blue. Her name was written in calligraphy in the center, left stark white with a small black background around it.
“George,” she murmured, her eyes meeting his as she held the book. “What is this?”
He shrugged again, taking a drag off his cigarette. “Your name comes from a Greek word for the alyssum flower. I’ve been working on this for a couple of weeks…I wrote some songs,” he nodded to the book as she flipped the page, looking down at handwritten lyrics to a beautiful song.
Tears started forming in the corners of her eyes, and she swallowed hard as she met his gaze again. “What’s this for? I haven’t—”
George cut her off by placing his lips quickly over hers, his rough fingers grazing her cheek. Time froze for Alyssa, her eyes closing, lungs ceasing for a moment as her mind went quiet. For a brief second, there was only what she could feel – George’s warm lips covering her own quivering ones, the floating feeling of a thousand butterflies creeping up from the pit of her stomach and to the top of her throat.
The kiss ended much too quickly for Alyssa’s liking, and she bit down on her bottom lip as he stepped back again, his eyes meeting hers in the darkness.
“You’ve been there for me,” he explained to her, his hand now reaching for hers.
Alyssa was speechless. She looked back down at the journal in her hand and closed it, moving a step closer to George. She realized that she didn’t need to say anything and simply wrapped her arms around his waist, her head coming to a rest on his shoulder. She didn’t know how it had happened, but in the last five weeks, George had become the entirety of her whole world. When she was with him, she didn’t think about the fact that she’d killed two people. She didn’t think of her parent’s disappointment in her, or the fact that she’d never actually had any real friends.
When she was with George, she felt happy in a way that she hadn’t felt in so long, she didn’t know if she actually ever had been. He made her heart skip beats and her lungs work harder. He made her feel strong and he made her feel brave. She didn’t need to look at him to know that she made him feel that same way. She could feel it in the way his body quivered just slightly as she ran her hands along his back and the way his fingers got tangled up in the hemline of her shirt. He didn’t need to vocalize that he felt safe with her. She just hoped that tomorrow, Asia actually showed because if she didn’t, Alyssa wasn’t sure she could make everything okay for him.
She thought back to their conversation earlier in the courtyard, when he’d told her that his ex was bringing Ava to see him tomorrow. She had to admit, there was a small tinge of jealousy mixed in with the happiness she felt for the older man. George had gone through so much hell, or at least, it seemed like he had to Alyssa. For him to be finally getting a chance to reconnect with his little girl was the best thing in the world for him.
But his little girl wasn’t what Alyssa was worried about. Asia was. George hadn’t minced words when he’d told her what his ex had done to him; the awful things she’d said and the way she’d taken her daughter in the middle of the night, not leaving any trace of where they’d gone. Between her lying, cheating, and using his daughter as leverage against him, he’d fallen into a dark depression, which had kicked his occasional cocaine habit into a full-blown addiction. When cocaine no longer gave him the rush he craved, he’d turned to morphine and a cocktail of other prescription pills. It had been that addiction that had left him for dead on a back alleyway in Hollywood somewhere.
Plink.
Alyssa pulled herself out of her thoughts as the sound of something pitter against the window caught her attention. Just as she looked up, she heard it again and bit down on her bottom lip as she pushed the blankets off her legs, swinging them out onto the floor before she got up, walking over to the window.
Johnny was standing outside, hands in his pockets and hood over his head. For a moment she was worried – what was he doing outside in the middle of the night? Then, when he turned his head to the side slightly and caught sight of the grin tugging at his lips, a wave of relief hit her. He was obviously in a good mood. She signaled to him that she’d be out in just a moment before quietly slipping her shoes onto her feet. She grabbed a hoodie from the dresser on the opposite side of the wall and slowly slid out of the room, making sure to leave the door propped open just enough that it wouldn’t make a sound when she snuck back in.
Alyssa stayed as quiet as she could as she moved down the hallway. A quick check of the nurse’s station told her that the night nurse was very obviously asleep, and she couldn’t help but smile as she snuck past, making her way to the exit door. It was already propped open with a stone, and she quietly moved through before replacing the door as quietly as she was able.
Johnny had moved into the corner of the yard by the time she moved around the building to the courtyard. There were more shadows over there, she realized, and they would be less likely to be seen if one of the nurses or security guards happened to come outside for a smoke.
“It’s two in the morning, George,” she whispered to him, pulling her hood over her head, pulling her arms around her chest. It was rather chilly tonight. George shrugged, reaching into his pocket to grab his cigarettes. He offered her one and she accepted, letting him light it for her before she watched as he did his own.
“What can I say? I’m excited,” he told her with a grin. “I get to see Ava.”
His excitement was infectious, and Alyssa couldn’t keep a smile off her own face. “I keep thinking about it too,” she admitted. “I’m really happy for you, George.”
Neither of them said anything for a few moments before he reached onto the ground, pulling up a bag. She cocked her head to the side, curious as to what it was. None of the residents had been on a day trip to the mall recently, and she couldn’t think of any visitors that had come by to visit George in the last week or two, either.
“It’s for you.”
Alyssa bit down on her bottom lip as she took the bag from George, meeting his gaze again. He had a sheepish, almost nervous smile on his face, and he was shifting his weight from foot to foot. After a moment, he nodded at the bag.
“I know it’s not wrapped pretty or anything, but…it’s what I had, so…” he trailed off before clearing his throat. “Well, go on. Open it.”
The excitement was present in his voice, and Alyssa slowly untied the two knots he’d made with the handles of the sack. As she pulled them apart, she noticed a small notebook on the inside. Curious, she pulled it out of the bag, setting them on the ground before flipping the cover open.
The front page was covered in tiny hand-drawn flowers, in all different shades of white, grey, and pale blue. Her name was written in calligraphy in the center, left stark white with a small black background around it.
“George,” she murmured, her eyes meeting his as she held the book. “What is this?”
He shrugged again, taking a drag off his cigarette. “Your name comes from a Greek word for the alyssum flower. I’ve been working on this for a couple of weeks…I wrote some songs,” he nodded to the book as she flipped the page, looking down at handwritten lyrics to a beautiful song.
Tears started forming in the corners of her eyes, and she swallowed hard as she met his gaze again. “What’s this for? I haven’t—”
George cut her off by placing his lips quickly over hers, his rough fingers grazing her cheek. Time froze for Alyssa, her eyes closing, lungs ceasing for a moment as her mind went quiet. For a brief second, there was only what she could feel – George’s warm lips covering her own quivering ones, the floating feeling of a thousand butterflies creeping up from the pit of her stomach and to the top of her throat.
The kiss ended much too quickly for Alyssa’s liking, and she bit down on her bottom lip as he stepped back again, his eyes meeting hers in the darkness.
“You’ve been there for me,” he explained to her, his hand now reaching for hers.
Alyssa was speechless. She looked back down at the journal in her hand and closed it, moving a step closer to George. She realized that she didn’t need to say anything and simply wrapped her arms around his waist, her head coming to a rest on his shoulder. She didn’t know how it had happened, but in the last five weeks, George had become the entirety of her whole world. When she was with him, she didn’t think about the fact that she’d killed two people. She didn’t think of her parent’s disappointment in her, or the fact that she’d never actually had any real friends.
When she was with George, she felt happy in a way that she hadn’t felt in so long, she didn’t know if she actually ever had been. He made her heart skip beats and her lungs work harder. He made her feel strong and he made her feel brave. She didn’t need to look at him to know that she made him feel that same way. She could feel it in the way his body quivered just slightly as she ran her hands along his back and the way his fingers got tangled up in the hemline of her shirt. He didn’t need to vocalize that he felt safe with her. She just hoped that tomorrow, Asia actually showed because if she didn’t, Alyssa wasn’t sure she could make everything okay for him.