*****

"There will come a day when i will forger even your name, your memories will cease to exist and in that moment i will be happy. But that day isn't today. And I'm still missing you."

*****

"Do you think she is okay?" Nelson asked while whispering to his wife.

The two were by Sharleen's door. They had knocked severally but they were always answered by total silence.

The distant sounds of complaining sheets as she continuously turned in the bed was the only evidence that she was still alive in the room.

"Of course she is not okay! She didn't even come out for breakfast and its now noon!" Maggy whisper yelled at her husband for asking such a stupid question. If he were someone else she would have rolled her eyes at him or worse smacked the back of his head.

"Do you think she..." Nelson could not finish his words. He looked... embarrassed?

"She what?" His wife asked, clearly unaware of his discomfort.

"Do you think she is on one of those days? You know, women days?" Nelson asked, his face turning a shade of red with each second.

That was the best explanation Nelson could come up with. Why else would she lock herself up anyway?

"Nelson! Why in the heavens would you think the reason is that my daughter is on her periods?" Maggy asked clearly shocked by her husband ridiculous assumption.

"Well... You also behave the same if not worse. Or do you forget easily?" Nelson asked playfully and winked at his wife.

With her mouth ajar and her face covered with a full blown blush, Maggy could not believe her ears. She just shook her head furiously and went away, stomping her feet loudly as she walked, a clear message to her husband that she was angry.

Men will always be men! She thought. Even in a serious situation they always manage to fix something ridiculous in.

Unknown to the two, Sharleen was wide awake on the bed and heard every word of their bickering.

She really wanted to get up and go to them and ease their worries that she is fine. She hated when she was the cause of worries in her parents eyes and frowns on their faces.

But she could not.

Not that she had bot tried anyway.

It seemed as if her whole body had shut down. No part of her body would respond to any command she tried to pass through.

Her eyes would not close, her tears would not stop flowing, her legs were too weak to bend let alone carry her body, and her hands? Her hands were just there.

It was a miracle really how she managed to walk from the park the previous day after she napped under the tree.

With puffy red eyes, teared face and messy hair, she sure looked like a zombie. Her feet wobbled on the road as she tried her best not to fall with every step she took towards home. When she reached home, she headed straight to her room, not coming out for supper nor breakfast.

Right now the only thing she was able to do was blink. The movement of her eyes shutting up and opening continuously made her to at least forget about a certain someone.

"Sharleen, would you please open this door?" Nicole's pleading voice brought a halt to the boring blinking game that Sharleen was engrossed in.

But she did not move.

"Sharleen if you don't open this damn door i am gonna match to your mum and tell her about your intolerable drinking habits!" Nicole swore after some minutes of silence.

The threat did it. Sharleen bolted out of the bed with unexplainable energy heading to the door. Her chest was panting furiously and her breath was harsh.

Since when am i an intolerable drinker? Is Nicole nuts?

Even though all those were lies Sharleen was very sure her maniac friend did not give empty threats. God knows what her mum would do if she heard the lies!

She would definitely faint.

Sharleen opened the door with so much force that her friend on the other side could not help it but reflexively stumble back a step.

"What do you want Nicole?" Sharleen asked nonchalantly. She really wanted to be alone but no one seemed to get the message.

"Hello to you too my best and only friend. I am doing good, how about you?" Nicole smiled sarcastically and rolled her eyes at her friend who was now glaring daggers at her.

"I really am not in the moods for chit chats today. How about i call you when my moods get back?" Sharleen asked sweetly.

Too sweetly.

"Lucky for you i am in my hyper mood. I will chat for the two of us no worries, your work will just be to listen. Now shoosh..." Nicole waved her hand signaling her friend to make some space so she can enter the bedroom since Sharleen was occupying the whole doorway.

Sharleen sighed and returned back to her bed with Nicole right after her whistling some tunes that Sharleen was not sure existed.

So much for not wanting to be disturbed!

Nicole unceremoniously jumped on the bed earning herself a glare from her friend who now sat on a chair just near her. Nicole just shrugged her friend off and made herself comfortable on the bed.

"So, what got your panties in a twist today?" Nicole asked after finding a comfortable position on the bed.

Sharleen just glared at her friend.

"Your glares won't make me melt, you my friend will just have to suck it up." Nicole said rolling her eyes.

Sharleen continued glaring.

"Sharleen you are really freaking me out. This may turn out like some horror movie where your anger escalates making you psycho and then you torture me to death." Nicole continued.

Sharleen really really felt like rolling her eyes at her friend's stupidity, but she could not. The act alone will give Nicole the needed encouragement to poke her more. She could not risk that.

Instead Sharleen just continued to glare at her friend hoping that maybe she would get the message and let her be in peace.

"Would you at least hear what i came here for?" Nicole begged.

Sharleen sighed loudly making her shoulders drop and stopped glaring at her friend. After all she knew Nicole will not leave before getting what she came for.

"Have you heard from Devlin? He has not called or texted me since i gave him your number." Nicole asked her friend.

The name alone made her insides clench painfully and her heart skipping a bit.

"Who?" Sharleen found herself asking lowly.

Of course she knew who the person was. How could she not? But even the mention of his name did unspeakable things to her body.

"Devlin. The sexy, hot, handsome, lickable specimen of a man whom i gave your number to. Rings a bell?" Nicole asked in a duh tone.

"Oh." Was all Sharleen could say. What more could she say anyways? Was she supposed to beat the shit out of her friend for giving her man awful descriptions?

Hold on a second... He is not my man, he is someone else's man.

"Are you even listening to me? Sharleen you are my friend but i swear to God sometimes i feel i would gladly exchange you for a cup of tea." Nicole rumbled clearly frustrated.

"But you don't drink tea, you drink coffee." Sharleen pointed out.

"Clearly my point!"

"So you are saying that i am as useless to you as  a cup of tea?"

"Wow! I never thought you would figure it out. You, my friend, are a genius!"

"You do realise that you called me useless right?"

"Did i or did you? Besides, you have called me much worse. Should i remind you of when you called me a pig of all the animal fucking kingdom?"

"That's because you eat like one."

"What?! You know what... I will be the mature one and assume you said nothing." Nicole said causing Sharleen to now roll her eyes.

"Back to the point. Have you heard from him?" Nicole asked again.

Yes. "Nope" Sharleen lied smoothly.

"Fuck this. Why are the good ones always slipping from my fingers? I really need to start going to church and repent or else at this rate i will die a fucking spinster." Nicole mumbled angrily.

"Don't worry, you have your fingers you know?" Sharleen said winking at her friend.

Nicole's face palled and her mouth opened in shock at her friend's lewd comment. "Who are you and what have you done to my friend?" Nicole asked still shocked.

"Your friend is in the bathroom. You know... using her fingers." Sharleen continued teasing her friend clearly enjoying her discomfort. "I think you should join her."

The horrified look on Nicole made Sharleen to burst out laughing like a possessed mad man. Well... woman. She had never seen her friend lost of words but today was the first.

Serves you right for not leaving me alone.

"I can't believe my friend is laughing at my discomfort!" Nicole mumbled to herself angrily but the words reached Sharleen's ears fueling her laughter even more.

"You know what? I am out of here. I came to ask about Devlin but now i have this itch to punch your nose, so let me do the right thing and get out of here. I have heard stories that prison is not the nicest place especially for a murderer." Nicole rambled angrily.

The mention of his name once again made her laughter automatically stop and her face stoic. She was not worried about Nicole's anger. No. They were best friends and they had angered each other as much as they had made each other happy.

"Good idea. I think you should go too." Sharleen said sweetly making Nicole to look at her suspiciously.

"For all this awful treatment, the next time you come over to my place you will cook supper and wash the dishes." Nicole informed her friend of her punishment while pointing at her.

"Okay." Sharleen agreed quickly.

"And you will prepare breakfast too." Nicole continued.

"Okay."

"And you will wash those dishes too."

"Okay."

"Stop agreeing so simply you... you..." Nicole was frustrated and still angry. When she saw Sharleen winking at her again, Nicole groaned in an unladylike manner and left the room just as Sharleen wanted.

Once again as if someone was flipping a switch, the all familiar pain returned as Sharleen sat all alone in the now quiet room.

Although she was hurting, Sharleen held to the hope that she will soon go back to her old self. Devlin will be forgotten and so will the love.

The only question was how soon?

Her wedding was fast approaching and it would not be fair being with one man while the heart yearns for another.

No.

She needed to woman up and start making efforts on her relationship with her soon to be husband. She needed to break out of the shell that she was in.

Picking up her phone, she called Kevin and the phone was picked after the second ring.

"I was just thinking about you." Kevin's cheerful voice on the other side greeted her.

"Really?" Sharleen asked smiling. See? You can do it. You can love him.

"Of course. I can't wait to have you as my wife." Kevin said proudly.

"I can't wait to be your wife too." Sharleen said. She was going to give Kevin a chance. She had decided.

"Good. So how is your day going?" Kevin asked.

"I am good. Just resting at home. You?" Sharleen answered smoothly and then asked.

"I am good too. I am just worried about my best friend though. He looked... sad." Kevin said on the other side and sighed loudly.

"Am sorry about that. Just give him some time, he would probably open up to you later. You are best friends after all." Sharleen tried making him feel better.

"We are best friends, but Devlin is never one to share his problems. He just suffers alone and i am really worried about him." Kevin spills his worries.

The mention of the name again made her almost drop the phone she was holding. Sharleen thought that she did not hear the name well and her ears were playing tricks on her.

Did Kevin know about Devlin too? Were they friends?

"Devlin." She found herself uttering that name for the first time since waking up.

"Yes. Devlin is my best friend that i was telling you about. He was in the military and came back a couple of days ago for our wedding. He is my best man." Kevin explained excitedly.

How the phone left her hand and fell on the floor she could not explain. Her mind was replaying the information she had just received.

With tears flowing down her cheeks, Sharleen cursed the day she met Devlin, she cursed the day she met Kevin, she cursed the day her family became bankrupt and most of all she cursed the day she was born.

My life is really fucked up.

******