well well well, here's chapter two. i love comments <3 *hint hint* lol
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“You go eat something, I’ll pack for you.” Nick said as he unlocked the front door to Cheyenne’s apartment. She didn’t argue, instead clunking to the refrigerator and pulling out a banana.
Inside her large room, he found her duffel bag lying openly on the foot of her bed. It always stayed there, ready to be packed and taken to the hospital. He grabbed all the clean jeans off the hangers, threw in a few tops, barreled through her dresser to find some pj’s and approximately four pairs of socks, stopping at the underwear drawer. He was a guy; he only knew how much underwear a guy needed for a weekend. But a girl? He took a minute to ponder the situation, but ended up carrying the whole months worth of underwear and stuffing it inside.
Feeling satisfied, he zipped up the duffel, grabbed her stuffed bear named Nomad and ventured out into the kitchen. “Hey,” he said tossing the stuff by the door.
“How’d it go?” Cheyenne asked out of interest, not small talk. She turned from him, not waiting for a response, pouring herself some water.
“Mission accomplished,” he laughed and grabbed himself a banana too. “Did you eat?”
“Not very much, I don’t feel very well. I had some fruit.” She said nonchalantly as a slithering noise was heard near the front door. Cheyenne moved swiftly, picking up a few envelops that had been dropped through the mail slot. “Mail time,”
Nick watched her thumb through the envelops and then open the recycling cabinet tossing them in. “Wait!” He exclaimed rising to his feet and rescuing them from the trash bin. “Look, it’s a bill, with a letter on the back from…” he struggled to make out the writing. “… a Larry Burkowitz? Who’s that?”
“The mail carrier,” She replied listlessly.
“Ooh, a love affair with the mailman? Scandalous,” Nick said raising an eyebrow as he read the little love note scribbled on the back of the rent. “Wait how old is this guy?”
“He’s fourteen, he’s and intern, I answered the door once, and I am now the object of his prepubescent affection. My life can’t get any better,” Cheyenne laughed as she once again placed them in the garbage… all but one.
“Hey, you’re laughing,” Nick smiled and picked up her bag, quickly stuffing the letter from her sister, Hollis, into the side. “Let’s keep it that way. I miss the old Chey.”
“You’re gonna get a lot of her this weekend. Are you sure you want me to come?” She grabbed her sidekick from the kitchen counter and faced him, staring him down. “I mean, you’re gonna have to take me to the hospital a lot and I’ll be awake all the time, and I—”
“You’re coming, end of discussion.” A smile warmed Nick’s face as he thought of the weekend coming up. “And the first thing we’re going to do is watch our movie,”
“My Girl,” they said in unison, locking up the apartment. Back, again, in the Eldorado, the topic of how life was when they were kids came up. From the first time they met, to the time she moved away because her mother became sick.
“Cheyenne? I can’t believe it! I didn’t know you were coming!” Joe exclaimed as Nick threw the car into park and turning it off.
“I didn’t know either. Nick invited me,” She said into his shirt as he smothered her in a hug. Joe smelled like he always had, and she even remembered the first time he started wearing cologne. The memories she had experienced with this family came flooding back until Nick spoke.
“And I don’t regret it,” he interjected. He grabbed all of her things and brought them to the hallway, dumping them there and watching Cheyenne meticulously wash her hands at the kitchen sink. It was always this way, every time she was in the kitchen, she had to wash her hands. “Some traditions never die,” Nick chortled half-heartedly.
“Or obsessions…” She trailed off, and he knew she was worried about becoming just like her mother: sick, not remembering things beside how many tiles there were in her bathroom as a child, stuck in a hospital.
“You’re not obsessed; you’re just…into hygiene. Cleanliness is next to Godliness.” He said, which was something his mother always told him as a child. Cheyenne scoffed and went off to Nick’s room, not to be seen for another hour.
“She doesn’t talk much anymore,” Joe said as he slid next to Nick on the couch. “She’s different.” They sat solemnly and gnawed on his truthful words, trying to find something to do about it.
xoxo JJ
