Page 84 of The Time It Takes
LET’S LOSE TIME. BETTER YET, LET’S BURN IT.
Ten years ago
Iwokeupwrappedin a warm comforter. It took a minute to realize that I was in Oliver’s room. I darted upright and winced when it caused my head to pound.
Right.
I drank a lot—too much. My mind raced to recall what happened last night, but I could only gather bits and pieces. I groaned as I pressed a hand to my forehead.
I stood slowly from the bed and stepped quietly into his bathroom. Not daring to turn on the lights, I blindly swiped the toothbrush I left here for emergencies from his cabinet. I brushed my teeth carefully, fighting off the urge to throw up everything I drank.
Leaving the bathroom, I grabbed a bottle of water from his mini-fridge and chugged.
Speaking of where I was, I looked over towards the bed and found him staring at me like I was a question, and he was trying to figure out the answer. At first, I thought he might be sleeping with his eyes open, but then he blinked.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Silence.
My head hurt too much to acknowledge his weirdness. I glanced over at the alarm clock on his nightstand and found that it was 4:24 AM. I massaged my temples with my fingertips at the blurry numbers before my body jolted in realization. My eyes bulged when I jerked my head back at Oliver.
“Happy birthday!” I whisper-yelled. I ran to the bed and bounced on my knees excitedly—to hell with my aching brain. It was officially the day my best friend was born.
He crossed his arms, his brows knitting together as his eyes accessed my face.
“What?” I asked. I brought my hands up to touch my hair. “Do I look crazy?” I could only imagine what my makeup looked like. I probably should have looked in the mirror.
“You have nothing else to say to me?” he asked, licking his lips.
I slowly shook my head. “I don’t think so?”
He poked out his bottom lip, narrowing his eyes. “Nothing at all?”
I shook my head again, gulping.Uh oh.
I slid off the bed and his eyes followed me as I bent down to look underneath it.
“What are you doing?”
I reached for a poorly wrapped box and slid it toward me. Once I had it, I crawled back into his bed. Oliver brought himself into a sitting position as I took the spot across from him, extending the gift.
“Happy birthday,” I stated again.
He cautiously took it out of my hand, his gaze unwavering from mine. “Do I even want to know how you managed to sneak it under my bed without me knowing?”
I smiled. “I’ll never tell.” I mimicked zipping my lips shut. His mom gave me a key to the house a while ago.
When he looked down at the present he couldn’t hold in his smile.
“Don’t get too excited. It’s kind of lame now that I think about it.” I brought my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them.
He ripped open the wrapping paper, revealing a small rectangular box. He lifted the lid off, and when he saw what was inside, he looked up at me, his lips parting slightly. It was a cassette tape sitting inside a protective plastic case. He glanced back down at the post-it note stuck to it.
Every song that makes me think of you.
-Damsel
“The soundtrack is written on the back,” I told him quietly. “I changed them a little bit, you know, like, to make them my own. I mean yours. Sorry, I’m rambling.”
