A rock sailed through the window, causing a shower of glass to fall from its usual place to the cracked, grass-ridden sidewalk down below. A medium-length mop of dark coily hair poked out of the broken frame, staring at the shards on the dusty sidewalk below.

"Hey!" she said, while pulling her head back inside. "This is the third window you've shattered." She turned around and faced the culprit across the room. "Cyprus, if you do that again, I'll throw you out the freaking window. What are you doing? I know the general store is old but..."

Cyprus' expression was nearly vacant. Their voice was low. "Checking how high the drop is to see if it's worth it."

"I know that voice," she walked over to Cyprus slowly, taking each step on the rotting floor carefully. The smell wasn't much to write home about either.

"Chel, I'm fine," he brushed the dirty blonde strands of hair from his field of view. "There's nowhere here higher than two floors, anyway."

"Cyprus, that's not funny!"

He laughed to himself quietly as she continued traversing the ruined planks. Each creak rang loudly in their ears, reminding both of them how much they needed to pay attention to their surroundings. The floor could give out at any moment.

"Hey, let's...get out of here as soon as possible," Cyprus watched as the decaying floor started cracking under Chelsea's weight.

She didn't look down; the noise was enough. She began walking a little faster, with Cyprus following suit. The stairwell wasn't much further away. The cracking noise got louder, causing Chelsea to gasp and break into a sprint. Cyprus turned and watched her pass them at a frantic pace.

With each step she took, the wood cracked under the stress, like a person under interrogation. Cyprus took notice and began running as well, trying to make sure he didn't run out of luck as the floor threatened to steal their safety. Soon enough, Chelsea made it to the stairwell, which was concrete. Those wouldn't be rotting anytime soon.

"C'mon, Cyprus!" she called out to them. They were almost there, but a few feet before their goal, they felt their foot sink into the floor. It was collapsing.

"Shit!" Cyprus tried jumping as his foot met the brittle floor, but he couldn't get enough lift. He felt himself start falling and desperately tried to grab onto anything around him. There was nothing.

Just then, he felt Chelsea grab his wrist and start pulling him up. Her eyes were scrunched together, and her arms trembled with his weight. As Cyprus looked down, a cold feeling washed over his eyes as he witnessed the distance to the ground below him.

An average floor height is about ten feet or three meters. That's not enough.

"Cyprus!" Chelsea's voice was strained. Muffled. Cyprus' vision unblurred and he grasped the weak ledge with his other hand. The ancient varnish splintered under it, making his eyes shoot open further as he pulled himself up to meet Chelsea. Her eyes glistened slightly and her bottom lip was quivering, but the rest of her body was rigid.

"Chel..." Cyprus grabbed her hand and slowly led her down the cold, hard stairs. Once the two got to the bottom of the general store, he pulled her into an embrace. Her arms shook like branches in the wind as they wrapped around him.

"Chel," he whispered again. "I'm sorry. I know how much you hated the idea of this building. I pushed you to do it. We can go back. The abandoned city was a bad idea today."

Chelsea picked her head up and looked at him with her bloodshot eyes. They seemed glassy. "I'm fine."

"It's okay to cry, Chelsea."

She let go of them and turned away. The sunrise painted a faint shadow of the metal cash register on her face. "We should go."

Cyprus opened their mouth, then closed it again. Silence crawled into the room, save for the crumbling noise coming from the roof. The air was like a thick cloud as he reached his arm out to Chelsea's shoulder to comfort her. Once he made contact, she pulled away and started for the exit.

He sighed and put his hands in his pockets before following her out of the doorframe, which was missing its doors entirely. A sudden gust of wind cut through his shirt, making him shiver.

"You remember the way to the car, right?" Cyprus asked Chelsea. She didn't answer and kept walking in the same direction, then left down a thin alley. Cyprus shook their head.

At least she's walking the right way.

He walked a bit faster, kicking up dust; slowly making up the distance between them. Once they'd left the old general store, Cyprus got a chance to see the town in the dark once again. The dilapidated storefronts and old brownstones made it feel more tense this early. Silence took hold of everything. Just the echoes of their footsteps.

After a few minutes, Cyprus matched her paces. "Hey, I'm sorry, okay? Please, talk to me."

They walked a few more minutes. "I forgive you." The car was coming up over the hill.

Chelsea walked around to the driver side and got in. Cyprus followed suit on the passenger side. "I'm sorry, Chelsea."

"I forgive you."

She turned on the engine, which stalled a bit before blazing to life.

The world seemed pale and gray.

"I'm sorry, Chel."

"I forgive you."

She began their twenty-five minute drive back to the main city. Cyprus' eyes attempted to look in her direction, but they couldn't.

"I'm really sorry."

Chelsea sharply pulled over to the side of the highway, and braked on the shoulder. Once the car rolled to a stop, she took her hands off the wheel and faced Cyprus. He tried meeting her gaze, but his eyes darted away.

"Cy," she said slowly. "I'm a little shaken up. But I am okay. I promise.

"You don't have to keep apologizing," she put her hands firmly on his shoulders. "It's not your fault. The building's just old. I don't hate you. Okay?"

Cyprus' eyes slowly tracked up to meet Chelsea's. Her eyes were soft. Welcoming. Like pools of warm water. Tears still glistened in them.

She hates me.

He nodded timidly. "Okay."

She forced a smile and turned the car. "Cool."

The ride was only twenty more minutes, but Cyprus laid their head on the door and slipped off to sleep.