Chapter Text
The apartment was messy with recently read books, dirty worn clothes, and old takeout food lying all around. Raelle sat at her piano, positioned in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the lit-up city buildings and slowly moving cars below the night sky. She inhaled deeply, and rested her fingers on the keys, pausing for a brief moment. Her notebook sat in front of her displaying messy scribbles on pages distorted with previous drops of tears. Once more, she inhaled deeply before beginning to play.
["I Can't Breathe" by Bea Miller]
Somebody get me a hammer
Wanna break all the clocks and the mirrors
And go back to a time that was different
A time when I
Didn't feel like there was something missing
Now my body and mind are so distant
Don't know how to escape from this prison
How can I free my mind?
'Cause I can't breathe
I can't breathe
I can't breathe
I can't breathe
I can't breathe
How can I live in the moment
When my thoughts never feel like my own and
Don't know how to admit that I'm broken
How can I be alright?
'Cause I can't breathe
I can't breathe
I can't breathe
I can't breathe
I can't breathe
I can't breathe
I can't breathe
I can't breathe
I can't breathe
She dropped her hands onto her lap and let out a deep sigh, tears forming in her eyes. I miss you, mom. Raelle was just a child when her mom started teaching her how to play the piano and the guitar. She would sit in her childhood living room on top of the piano, strumming her guitar, while her mom played the keys of the piano and sang so effortlessly. Sometimes, Raelle will close her eyes and imagine her mom singing to her, trying to remember how mesmerizing it was.
Slowly inching up off the seat, she made her way to her bed pressed up against the far white wall, the sheets all jumbled and twisted. Falling backward onto the mattress, her blonde hair splayed out. Suddenly she heard her phone buzz and slid her hand under the pillow to grab it. [Tally: Can I ask you something?]
Raelle rolled her eyes in slight annoyance, typing her response. [Raelle: You're gonna ask me anyway Tal.]
[Tally: Would your mom want you wasting away all that youth and beauty all alone in your apartment?] Raelle froze for a moment, thinking about the text message she just received. Damn it, Tally. She knew she was right. Her mom constantly expressed to her how precious life was and how you have to cherish every moment of it. Raelle closed her eyes, imagining her mom's voice. Live your life to the fullest, my sweet baby Rae. You only live once. That one text from Tally flipped a switch in Raelle. Opening her eyes and sitting up on the bed, she tapped her thumbs along the screen.
[Raelle: I'll meet you and Abs at The Bottle Booth at midnight.] It was currently 11:30 pm, giving Raelle only half an hour before she had to walk out the door.
-
Getting ready was a hassle and a half not being able to find clean clothes and misplacing her trusty pair of black high-top converse. After 15 minutes of rummaging through the whole apartment like a raccoon in a dumpster, she managed to spot a clean pair of jeans ripped at the knees, a white Eagles graphic tee with the tags still on, and her converse hiding behind a stack of philosophy books on the hardwood floor. To complete the outfit, she picked up a black leather jacket resting on the back of the couch and pulled her arms through.
She stood in front of the mirror, which hung on her closet door, checking to make sure the outfit looked alright. Good enough for me. Walking past the kitchen counter, she grabbed the essentials and stuffed them in her pockets.
Before leaving the apartment, Raelle patted her jeans pockets double checking that she had everything she needed. Phone? Check. Airpods? Check. Wallet? Check. Keys? Check. Okay, let's go I guess. Raelle hesitantly exited the apartment and walked the short distance down the street to The Bottle Booth.
-
Tally noticed the short blonde enter the bar with her head drooped low staring at the ground. "Rae!" Tally cupped her mouth with her hands, yelling across the bar. Flailing her arms overhead, "Over here!" Raelle lifted her head, hearing her name being shouted, and scanned the room of sweaty drunks. Her eyes met Tally's who was standing at a table in the far corner of the bar along with Abigail. She squeezed her way through the crowd to be greeted with hugs when she arrived at the table.
"It's nice to see you shitbird," Abigail grinned, releasing Raelle from her arms.
"You too Abs." And it was. It was nice to see Abigail and Tally again. She knew it was her fault she hadn’t seen them in so long but still, she missed them so much.
Tally interrupted the reunion, slurring her words showing she was already drunk, "You want a drink, Rae?"
"It's okay Tal, I can get it. You just stay here and look pretty," Raelle teased, patting Tally's shoulder before making her way to the bar.
-
Raelle stood patiently, resting her elbows on the bar counter, hands clasped together. A woman approached, taking her place in front of Raelle. She removed her hands from the countertop, her spine instantly straightening. "What can I get you?" The woman's smile was infectious, suddenly Raelle smiled with her. Her dimples ignited a small flame in Raelle, butterflies fluttering around in her stomach. And her eyes. Whoa. She is drop-dead gorgeous. "Can I get you something?" the woman asked again politely, pulling Raelle out of her trance.
"Oh, um, yes sorry. Uh, I'll just take a beer please," she stumbled over her words, lost in thought. Holy shit, she is stunning.
The woman placed the beer on the countertop directly in front of Raelle. Gravity pulling her back down from space, she managed a simple, "Thank you."
"Any time," the woman winked. Holy shit. Raelle smiled bigger, slowly backing away from the bar before turning and heading back to the table.
-
The three friends spent two hours drinking, dancing, laughing, and catching up until it was 2:00 am, time for The Bottle Booth to close. The place was empty with the only other people there being the bartenders and a pair of insanely drunk men who were stumbling out the exit. Raelle turned her head towards the bar, having overheard the pretty bartender tell the other bartender, "Have a nice night Byron."
Raelle took a mental note that Byron was noticeably gay with the way he replied, "You too girly." She was slightly disappointed he didn't say the woman's name, wanting to know what people call her. I bet it's something beautiful, something unique. A one of a kind name.
Abigail snapped Raelle out of her daze, "Rae, hello? I said I'm gonna bring Tally home," she motioned towards Tally who was sitting on the ground leaning against the wall fast asleep. "Do you want a ride?"
Raelle replied, "No I'm good, I can walk." She looked back over at Tally, drool now dripping out of her mouth, "Do you want help carrying her to your car?"
"Um, duhhh. I can't lug her limp body out of here by myself."
"What happened to your high atlantic attitude Abs?" Raelle teased.
"Whatever, just help me." The two each grabbed one of Tally's arms, holding the redhead up, her feet dragging. Slowly they made their way out of the bar to where Abigail's black BMW was parked along the curb. Abigail and Raelle sat Tally down on the dirty curb while Abigail unlocked the passenger side door. Together, they once again lifted Tally, placing her in the vehicle. Abigail shut the car door, Tally now safe inside, and faced Raelle, "Thanks for coming out shitbird. I've missed you."
"I've missed you too. I'm sorry we haven’t hungout in a while," she apologized.
"It's alright, I'm just happy I have you back." The girls hugged, their arms wrapped around each other. "Goodnight, and you better not crawl back into hiding," Abigail pleaded while backing away towards her car.
Raelle chuckled under her breath, "Yes ma'am," saluting while Abigail got into the car. She watched as her friends drove off and then turned, starting her walk home. She grabbed her AirPods out of her back pocket, taking them out of their case and placing them in her ears. Removing her phone from her jacket pocket, she opened Spotify and hit shuffle. "Take Me Where Your Heart Is" by Q started playing as she walked with her head down, watching her every step.
-
As soon as the song ended, someone collided with Raelle's shoulder, causing her to drop her phone on the cement. "Sorry, sorry, I'm so sorry. I wasn't paying attention, I'm really sorry." She trailed off, apologizing to the stranger while bending down to grab her phone.
"It's alright," the stranger chuckled. Standing back up, Raelle noticed the woman, quickly pausing the music on her phone before the next song started to play. She didn't even notice the cracked screen. Oh my gosh. It's her. In the bar, she noticed her blue eyes but they aren't done any justice until they are seen in the moonlight. Damn. I will never forget those eyes. Those eyes are piercingly blue. "Wait. Didn't I see you at The Bottle Booth? You asked for a beer if I remember correctly. A boring choice of a drink but a reliable one."
She remembers me. "Whoa, hey now, I'm just not much of a drinker. I didn't know what else to get," she explained. It was true she wasn't much of a drinker, but still, she was well educated on the best drinks to order. Back at the bar, she didn't want a beer but when she saw the woman she couldn't think straight and it was the first thing that came to mind.
"Well come back sometime and I'll choose your drink for you," she smirked. Is she flirting with me?
Raelle chuckled, "Okay, maybe I will." I want to know her name. Raelle made an attempt to find out the woman's name. "I'm Raelle."
"I'm Scylla," she announced. Scylla. I was right, beautiful and unique. There was a brief silence, the two of them just smiling at one another.
Raelle thought of anything to ask her that would keep her there for a moment longer. “Um, so where are you headed?”
“Back to the bar. I forgot my phone.” She rolled her eyes as if to call herself an idiot for leaving her phone behind.
That reminded Raelle that just a moment before, her phone had crashed onto the pavement. She looked down at her phone, noticing the cracked screen. “Speaking of phones, I think you owe me a new one,” she teased while advertising her cracked phone to the woman.
“Hey, you walked into me cutie,” Scylla claimed. Did she just call me cute? I think she just called me cute. “You shouldn’t stare at your feet while you walk cause you might miss something beautiful.”
“Miss something beautiful?” Raelle questioned her.
Scylla looked up and pointed at something in the sky, “Yeah, you might miss something like that.” The moon was full, shining so bright, resting right there in the middle of the dark black sky. Even though it was surrounded by never-ending darkness, it still shined bright, refusing to lose its glow. There was something so effortless and uncomplicated about the moon. It hovered above everyone, seeming to relish in its simple and trouble-free life
“Wow,” was all Raelle could manage. She stood there captivated by both the woman who stood a few feet in front of her and the moon which sat in the sky over two hundred thousand miles away.
"Well, I should get going, have a nice night Raelle." She said my name. Hearing her name come from the brunette's mouth made all the butterflies start fluttering in her stomach again. Her voice was so soothing, like taking a hot bath at night when it's raining, listening to every drop hit the glass windows.
She didn't want the woman to walk away just yet, “Wait-,” but it was too late. She had already taken off, walking back to The Bottle Booth.
-
Continuing her walk back home, Raelle couldn't stop thinking about the brunette. Her smile. Her dimples. Her hair. Her eyes. Those fucking eyes. She tapped the screen of her phone, again opening Spotify, but this time searching for one song in particular. "Ocean Eyes" by Billie Eilish began playing through her AirPods, Raelle grinning. She thought about what the woman had told her. You shouldn’t stare at your feet while you walk cause you might miss something beautiful. For the short walk home, she kept her eyes glued on the moon, soaking in every ounce of its beauty.