a moment of weakness,

i was nervous just standing with ya. You were glowing in the dark------

he had gotten the call in the middle of the night and was on a train that morning. it was not a long trip from the hustle and bustle of the city to the rural community of pearl river where diyva was. he knew she was there, he had hired someone to find her. an action such as hiring a person to find her could be misread as ‘creepy’ or ‘wrong’ but elijah could not see it that way. he was not going to be a wanted face, she was probably going to just shut the door on him but he had to try and keep trying until she said stop. he knew deep down in his heart that she still felt something for him. she had to. she left with such a boom but she left a trail without knowing it. jobs, education, all of it was just breadcrumbs to where she was and elijah followed it. he needed to know if this was it. if this was done, if she was finished with him. he had been holding onto her since they were twenty. he did not even get to say goodbye to her, eli never got closure and dammit—he wanted it. the train run was met with his thoughts matching the clank of the steel wheels on the tracks, ”big mistake” repeated round and round in his head. it had been six long years and it was all about to be left behind by a thirty five minute train ride to her apartment complex. his hands were growing sweaty and though he had brought work him, as not to fall behind on both business and the new exhibit that was opening up, he found his mind unable to focus on anything but the last time that he had saw her. eli could not even remember the words that were exchanged but they had been sweet. how could she have thought that he wanted her to go? leaning his head back into his seat, his eyes slid close for the reminder of the ride as each stop that they made brought him closer to the truth.

hailing a cab only minutes after getting off the train, eli took a quick look around the small rural community which was able to be seen with just an eyeful. it was quite small compared to the hamptons or the city, there was such little car movement and more people walking or biking around him. it was like pleasantville. shaking his head, eli broke the standard as to get to her faster and got a stalled cab’s attention, sliding into the backseat and giving the address. he assumed that the cab driver had knowledge of the town as eli already felt that he knew everything there was to know about this place with just a glance. the cab ride was short and before he knew it, her apartment building came into view. he had nothing written down, all of it was memorized from the one phone call that he had gotten the previous night which left eli with very little sleep and some heavy bags under his eyes. but adrenaline pushed him forward, the anticipation of seeing the beautiful girl that stole his heart at seventeen years old was what kept him going. someone was coming out of the building while he had been looking for her buzzer number and eli quickly took the door from the woman, holding it open for her before slipping in. after a short elevator ride, he was in front of her door. it was painted blue, matching every single other door in the hallway and contrasted, but still complimented, against the chipped white painted walls. the colour became more off white with each passing second that eli used to stall. he tried to pick a name for the colour of the wall before shaking his head and curling his hand into a fist. the doorknocker was there but that felt impersonal, he had to be the one making the noise alerting her of his presence. giving a quick three and then two knock, as he used to do when he snuck into the servant house to see her, he stepped back and brushed his hair to lay flat (just incase there were any fly aways), he adjusted his tie and he looked down at his shoes. he had no idea why he did it, that stuff never mattered to divya but he felt he needed to look his best. when he saw the crack in the door appear, he opened his mouth to speak but discovered that his tongue was not heavy with words. he was speechless. she was actually standing there and all that eli could muster was a breathless, ”hi..”.

DIVYA ROWAN TATE, 799 , he's determined.

Divya never expected to find a former love of her life at the door of her apartment. Then again, she didn’t really know how she, herself had gotten here. This was a sleepy town that wasn’t anything like the places that she loved. It was just like any other day. Well, except that she didn’t take the train to work today. She liked to take a day or two every month to work in the apartment instead of in the city. Her roommate always made herself invisible during those days cause she was usually always on the phone with perturbed and annoying authors. Today, she had gotten a new and wonderful “L” shaped desk that took up a good portion of her bedroom, but she was in love with this furniture. After her morning run with Charlie and Pearl, she showered and made herself breakfast before her phone started ringing. Of course her clients knew when and what times she got to and was in her office, she was glad they didn’t waste any time when she wasn’t there. Al day it was back and forth with four or five of her clients, then at least ten new people that wanted her to publish their books. She tried to explain that she didn’t decide who to publish, she just helped and edited books the publisher wanted to publish, but they just didn’t get it. It wasn’t until lunch time that she put her phone to link back to her office phone. She needed the rest of the day to set up her room the way she liked it. She was thrilled when it fit her laptop, manuscripts, filing system, and room for all the other things that she loved to have in her office. Plus, this got her out of the living room, when she worked at home, all her stuff exploded over, everywhere. She did love that she didn’t have to ride the train for almost an hour each way. She was taking a break.. well.. from her bedroom she had her current manuscript out and reading it, she had a cup of coffee in her hand. That’s when she heard it, that all too familiar knock. She almost dropped her coffee cup. She put her stuff on the coffee table, suddenly she felt very anxious. Maybe it was her roommate, maybe she had forgotten her keys. She had known him in college. Charlie and Pearl were already on alert, growling. She looked at the door, worried. She walked over slowly and opened the door just a crack, enough for the chain lock to strain a little. His voice was breathless, but exactly how it had been six years ago when she had last seen him. She gasped quietly, surprised that he was there. Why was he here? She closed the door and unlocked the chain before opening it, but only a slight bit more than it had when it was locked. She had enough time to focus and gather herself. ”Eli…” her voice was just as breathless. She didn’t bother to look him over, her brown eyes just stayed on his blues. There were so many different his she could do; she could run the very short distance between them and jump into his arms, she could slam the door in his face, she could just stare and look at him. She chose the latter… well.. she was still trying to function correctly. Why was he here? They were over. He cheated.. he picked someone else over her, someone who was exactly what his family wanted for him. Suddenly her eyes flicked to his left hand before they went back to his face. ”What are you doing here?” she questioned him, her voice quiet. The second question came back to her. ”how did you find me… how did you get in the building? You have to be buzzed in…” she hadn’t see him in years, in so long... She had forgotten how handsome he was… how.. beautiful he was… he was perfect just like when she left. She stood there, wanting to slam the door on him, he shouldn’t be there. He was the one that cheated, he was the one that strayed. She was the one that left, she wasn’t going to be used that way. 619 words for tagged whoever want it! outfit,  Charlie Pearl

tippy of caution.

i was nervous just standing with ya. You were glowing in the dark------

i am an idiot....

STUPID STUPID ERIN

Here he was, at her door, looking perfect as he did back all those years before. He used their code, she had a sinking feeling that it was him before she could even get to the door. She didn’t want it to be him, or maybe she did.. she didn’t know.. But, what she did know that that knock brought her back to her younger days, the days when he could sneak over to her house, which happened to be a staff house on his family’s property. When she did finally see him, she was all different shades of conflicted, seeing him and hearing him explain his answers to her questions, why he was there, how he had gotten inside the building. She didn’t understand why a man who had cheated on her, would have been looking for her for a long time. Why would he take that effort to find her? She had been gone for so long and, she wasn’t even really home. As much as she hated it, his home, the staff quarters was the only home she had ever known. She loved all of the places she had been, and this town was sleepy compared to the cities she had lived in. She almost didn’t catch the rest of what he was saying, he slipped in the door, and she knew it sounded crazy and had stalker-like qualities, but knowing him and how he had been back years ago it was supposed to be endearing. If she wasn’t so thrown off by his gesture, maybe it would have been endearing….romantic… But then she remembered, he cheated on her. If he had been looking for her for so long, why had he gotten engaged so quickly? Why did he move on so quickly if it was always just the two of them forever? It was supposed to be the two of them against the world. And he stopped that. She had just left before she could get hurt even more… he cheated and he used her… she didn’t understand why he would do that, then again she knew his family. They used people. They were experts on giving insults that sound nice, like; ”I love that dress… it’s surprisingly good quality for the price…” they had always been good at giving her nasty looks without him even being aware… maybe that was all an act. She suddenly got nervous maybe her had an ulterior motive for being here. Her mind was reeling, why was he really here? Was he really here to ask her out for coffee or a walk? Just two people catching up. She didn’t know the point, he knew what he had done…. She knew what he had done… She shook her head. She had to look down though, looking at her feet for the moment, so she could break eye contact and break the tension that was billowing up around them. She realized she had on one of the shirts she had borrowed from him so long ago. She attempted to take the shirt off casually, maybe it would seem like it would be too hot for an over shirt in her apartment. Maybe not the best thing to do, since she had a tank top on underneath it… ”I’m actually working from home today… and I have to get through this manuscript before this author drives me insane….” she said, it wasn’t a lie, she could take a break but she didn’t want to put herself through whatever happened if she did go. It probably wouldn’t go too well. 597  words for ELIJAH DEVON FOSTER want it! outfit,  Charlie Pearl

tippy of caution.

i was nervous just standing with ya. You were glowing in the dark------

what they had created in their younger years was not something that could be simply recreated. it was hard to think that everything that had could be just torn apart by simple words slipping from a vindictive mouth. he would never forgive the maternal figure in his life for the part that she played and he had not uttered two words to his sister since the discovery was made. after everything was uncovered, elijah hunted for divya. he looked far and wide for her, calling in his resources, using his own pocket money to locate this woman and not that he found her—he didn’t want to let her slip through his fingers. she was standing before him, fresh faced and looking just a little more mature than he had last seen her. she still had those dark, curious eyes that were staring into his with nothing but confusion for his current presence. he had not one clue of how he could begin to explain this to her. technically, in her mind, according to the story that his mother gave, he had left her for someone else while eli had been told that she had just left, randomly. she had just packed up a bag and took off for a better life, which admittedly, she was probably having without him. he had been selfish to just appear like this but the need for that final bit of closure had been what pushed him to locate her and now, he just wanted her. closure was the last thing on his mind. the shaking of her head made his brows crinkle, a concerned look upon his face. had he just been silently rejected? he could see it happening and he understood why she would be saying no. she had every single right too actually but he had hoped that she would just agree to a simple, innocent walk and talk.

things were so jumbled between them that eli felt his feet shuffle again, nodding in reply to her shaking head. he understood. it stung, it really was cutting him quite deeply but eli accepted her decision. however, as his eyes dropped, they caught sight of a familiar view. she was wearing his shirt, something that he had hit from the maternal section of his house—sister and mother—because he did not want it to get thrown out. they had snuck out in the middle of the night off the grounds and he had been wearing that shirt. his mother always said that it made him look husky, so she never allowed him to wear it. divya had told him that it made his eyes pop, so he gave it to her to wear and hide. he had never expected to see it again, it had actually slipped his mind completely. a gentle smile came to his lips, ”remember that night? my mother hated that shirt…it always looked good on you though.”, he asked, trying to a different tactic to get her to talk to him. but she had started to take it off and eli felt like the reason was not because it was hot in the apartment. reminiscing seemed like a double edged sword right now but it was really all that they had in common anymore. maybe they could find common ground by working backward and making their way to the present. but she rejected him again, this time it was verbal. he nodded again, ”yes, well, i understand the importance of working. i hope your sanity can be salvaged. really div…a simple walk, a simple explanation. our story can’t just end like it did. they are not even written in the same way..”, because they each had a different idea as to what happened. there had to be some understanding, ”so not today…but tomorrow or the next day…i’m not going anywhere any time soon div..”.

DIVYA ROWAN TATE, 650 , fdafda he's tryng!

divya couldn’t help but feel the pang of guilt as she rejected him. no, she had to do it. she had to reject him. nothing good had come from their last relationship… okay that was a lie, everything amazing in her teen and early twenties had come from just being with him; however that all came to a crashing halt when her parents basically disowned her after they got fired because of their relationship. he had left her, cheated him her, broke her heart. she never really thought about what he would think or felt, but it didn’t matter did it? he was the one who chose what to do, she just left before he could hurt her more. she was confused why he would be here though, and the way he looked with just the simple shake of her head, hurt her. she did always have a problem telling him no. she wasn’t expecting him to take a quick trip to yester-year. she had to force herself from smiling even at the thought of where he was going with that memory. she had always been a good daughter, but when they snuck around she got somewhat of a thrill from it. she knew how much his mother had hated her, hell she probably still hated her and his sister had been the same way. that’s probably why they were all too thrilled to give her the new that he had been seeing someone else. even though her attempts were strong, the slightest quiver of a smile came to her lips then vanished, she got the shirt off, tossing it to the side. she didn’t want to say anything, she knew that speaking too much would give some sort of signal, and she didn’t want that. but she couldn’t stop herself. ”that shirt isn’t the only thing your mother wished you would have gotten rid of.” she said a little frostily. ”i know she would have taken that shirt over me any day.” she added. "But she won.. me and that shirt are gone now." she was never a fan of his mother, though she was always respectful to her, but it had always been a mutual hate. she didn’t know what she thought of him giving her a compliment at them end, she had always snagged clothes of his, she liked wearing men’s clothes, they were roomier and came in more than a few basic frilly colors. it was always a shock to people when she did wear something that was form fitting and girly. ”you should take it back… I’m sure it still brings out your eyes.” she mumbled quietly. she didn’t know why she had to have that shirt on today. she knew him, or the old him, and knew the old him would run with that little snag. maybe if he thought she didn’t want it anymore, he would leave. divya was trying to keep herself in check. she knew he was stubborn, he was always determined and got what he wanted. but, she was stubborn too, she knew how to work for what she wanted. her eyebrow rose slightly, was he really going to try and use a book analogy on her. if he knew how to find her and track her down, she was certain he knew where or what she did for a living now. ”eli… our story ended a long time ago…” she said softly. ”and I’ve read enough books to know that the ending is usually always the same.. it might have different meanings to each person, but it’s still the same works written down.” she said, feeling proud of what she said. she doubted it would work and his works didn’t shock her. she knew he wasn’t lying to her, he would wait. he was stubborn. when he set his eyes on something, he got it. she also knew what he was saying was true. he knew where she lived. he probably knew where she worked, the train schedule she took to get into the city everyday, where she went for her coffee or where she went for her work-outs. but, she was still stubborn and wouldn’t give up or give into him quite yet. ”Well… make sure you go to the burger place down on main street, they have amazing food… and the bakery is to die for…. the café on Broadway has good coffee.” she said, basically challenging him. he could say he was going to stay around until she decided to give into him. she just had to show that she wouldn’t give up either. sooner or later she knew one of them would have to give up.. and she had the sinking feeling that it would be her.. she did have to leave her apartment eventually and he would probably be there when she did. 810  words for ELIJAH DEVON FOSTER want it! outfit,  Charlie Pearl

tippy of caution.