Chapter 1: ~ Every last moment counts ~

Rhea's POV.

“God, El! I can’t breathe!” I gasp sharply, sitting up from my former lying stance, rendering Eileen speechless and drop the tortilla she was nibbling on with a thud. Her eyes broadened and it appeared as if her eyeballs would have burst right out of her sockets. She leaped up from my desk within a mere second and approached me with instantaneous strides. 

Uh-oh, I forgot about her outcome! I guess I didn't process this thoroughly.

She didn’t delay a minute before bestowing her entire body on me, positioning her ear on my chest without my permission to check my heartbeat which I’m pretty sure is regular and sensible unlike hers which sounds like they would explode right out of her chest. I had to let out a grunt but she still didn’t budge. This girl! 

Well, in addition to my acting skills, I had to form my lips into a thin line to stop myself from laughing. 

“Why? Is it because of the chicken liver you ate today? I knew it would trigger your damn allergies! Hell R, why do you never listen to me?” she hisses, darting her eyes around the room though I have no notion what was she looking for.

 “Oh my god, get off me, El! I just warned you I can’t breathe and your response was to suffocate your weight on me? Seriously? What if I died?” I cough out, propelling her away from me. 

When I was at a comfortable distance from her, I let out a relieving sigh. I gave her a stink eye while she glared at me with annoyance writing into her features. Uh-oh. She is really concerned. I feel a bit bad not but mostly she deserves it for leaving me tomorrow. 

“Why can’t you breathe? Your pulse seems normal.” Her eyes furrowed in concern, piercing me with her gaze. She appeared anxious as she surveyed my every motion. Look at her being a mother bear. Okay, here goes!
I smirk internally... What! It's fun jumping on her nerves.

“Uh, you are leaving me tomorrow, El! Did it occur to you that maybe you could be the reason I breathe or perhaps seem sane?” I frown, rolling my eyes while caressing my toes.

One…. Two…… Three…. I start counting.

 Eileen paused her movements entirely as she blinked once, and then a few times. Then, she peered up at the ceiling while I remained watching her. I'm sure she is praying to God to provide her strength to deal with me. As I stopped at five, she sent a straight punch to my gut, scowling at me. I had to double over with pain plus the amusement. She surely punches like a man for a petite form.

“The hell, R!” Are you trying to kill me?” she glower and I tried to cease my laugh. It was clear as the sky, she didn’t like it. I snorted twice.

“It’s not funny.” She huffs, looking at her abandoned tortilla on the floor. Knowing her, she is probably thinking how she wasted a good tortilla on a crazy best friend. 

“Oh El, calm down, will you? I was just trying to diffuse the sorrow surrounding us.” I grin, which earned me another eye roll. 

“Yea? I swear R, your form of amusement will kill me one day.” she shakes her head, giving me the stink eye. I laughed again. “And, you are buying me the tortilla first thing in the morning.”

“Sure, sure if the restaurant, five miles from here keep themselves open at five in the morning, just for your tortilla.” I shrug, “besides, I’m more important than your stupid tortilla.” I complain.

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.” Eileen mocks, her lips twisting into a smile.

After a lapse of comfortable silence and when my laugh finally halted, I realized how heavy the situation is. How she will be leaving me tomorrow and all those plans we had dissolves in a millisecond. Life’s not fair, huh? She and I have been really close, like two peas in a pod or whatever you name it for all our life.

 “Okay seriously, I don’t think I can do it without you, El.” I say, sobering up in a moment, feeling really vulnerable and trust me when I say, I don’t have a single vulnerable bone in my body. I don’t know why it feels like someone's ripping my soul apart. 

Giving it a thought, I loathe worrying about her departing tomorrow. Being inseparable for all our lives, it stings that her college is what splitting up both of us when we formulated plans to explore together. Now, everything's tarnished.

I hate it!

Eileen passes me a sad smile and scoots closer to me. 

Draping an arm around me, she kisses my forehead. “If I know any person who could make life stoop itself to a shadow, it’s you, R.” she speaks in a delicate tone while I bathe in it. “When does Rhea Kingsley ever give up on life?” she asks, brushing my arms and passing me a look. 

“Like never?” I muttered. 

“Exactly! That’s my girl! You will do it without me. If anyone can, it’s you, R. I’m always with you, not only as your best friend, or your sister by choice. Complete my words, R” She urges, grinning like a child. I narrow my eyes at her. She always gets the chance to make me say the sappiest words ever. When I don’t make a move, she nudges me, “C’mon R, do it.” 

“We are sisters with our souls fastened to each other and we have our portraits imprinted on our hearts. Today, we are two as one and we shall remain as one, forever.” I preach the words with integrity and virtue. Although, I cringed hard, I still maintained my voice. I’m killing her next time she makes me say that. She smiles with triumph, hugging me tightly and I follow. 

She was the one who suggested we need to have a special sort of promise, although I thought otherwise.

"Best friends need to have something special, R" she used to say that everytime I complained. I mean, we could have kept each other's special possession with us instead of words. Ugh! Things I would do for her.

After a minute, I shove her away, “Okay, don’t get all sappy on me.” I grumble. 

Eileen lets out a laugh, shaking her head and lying down beside me. I switch off the table lamp and move closer to her while she pulls the velvety duvet on us. Her solace was always what I craved if you eliminate my mother’s and my brother’s. 

“El” I call out in the dark. 

“Yea R?” 

“You will call me every day, won’t you? If you don’t, I promise I will drag your ass all the way from London and keep you prisoned in my closet.” I blurt, holding out my pinkie as a pledge. 

It’s frightening to realize that she won't be there beside me tomorrow. 

Eileen chuckles, holding my hand under the duvet while she laces our pinkies together with her other hand. “I promise to call you every day. But you do realize that Kyle would snatch the phone away from me at one point, right?” 

“To hell with that inhuman! He doesn’t have a say in your life where I’m concerned. I don’t know from which dirty ditch you brought him up but I’m warning you, if he acts like your dictator, I’m stitching his mouth, for real this time.” I threaten, huffing as I pick my phone. 

“Woah, go easy on my guy, R. He owns half my heart too.” I’m sure she’s grinning. 

“Well, he needs to accept my existence in your life, El! Besides, you can always get a new boyfriend. Just leave that asshole.” I say grumpily, "Can I at least dump boiling water on him tomorrow?" I smirk at the mental image. 

Kyle Rogers and I aren’t in what you call good terms. We uncover ways to strangle each other while Eileen practically has to drink a bottle of beer to deal with both of us in the same room. While Kyle manages to piss me off by declaring me a bad influence on Eileen, I manage to tick him off with my physical deeds that entails, denting his car, placing a water bowl at my entrance whenever he comes to get Eileen. Since he’s always a nincompoop, he always falls for it. Maybe, I will plummet him to the soil one day. That’s too tempting.

“Tone down on the threats, R. It’s two in a day.” She chuckles. “Kyle just wants me more focused on my studies.”

 “I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have the hold of your life.” I scoff, rolling my eyes. “He just wants you away from me.”

 “Okay enough about Kyle, I need to get up early.” Eileen yawns, and I nod even though it’s not visible in the dark. She creeps off to a serene slumber with a last smile while I stare at the ceiling with a weird sensation in my chest. I don’t want her gone. I hate to see her move away from me.

 Tomorrow is another day. I sigh.

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