The Last 30 Days [Inactive]

Isabelle felt her phone in her pocket as she walked home. It showed that Blake had texted her. Apprehension filled her thoughts, should she even respond?


Her thumbs hovered carefully over a blank message. Not today. She wasn't feeling well.


I'm sorry. Not today. I want to be alone.
 
Apparently 25 was a better number.


Upon reading the text Blake wanted to smack himself, he felt so bad. Why on earth had he listened to the good side of him. With a sigh he pushed up from the couch, throwing his phone behind him and not bothering to see if it actually hit the couch.
 
Not even the last movie of the Lord of the Rings trilogy could hold the girl's attention. She turned off the television and crept up to her room.


She wasn't tired, or hungry. Isabelle was tired. Tired of waiting. Trying to keep up relationships, studies, and her happy demeanor was impossible. No more. If she could just lay down, and forget everything. If the light would disappear and she could be anyone else, she would.


It's just so tiring. She thought.
 
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He went to the kitchen and fixed himself a ceasar salad, grateful that Isabelle had suggested getting lettuce. Blake's head was starting to hurt, and he took a pill. He didn't know what to do anymore, there was nothing to do. He had no classes, Isabelle didn't want to talk to him, he couldn't clean his already spotless apartment.


He was dialling the phone and before he even knew what he was going to say, the familiar voice of his mother was cheerfully greeting him. "Yeah, hi mom... I'm fine. Yeah, I should visit sometime."
 
Judith came home and found Isabelle staring blankly at the tv, and assumed the girl was watching tv. She wordlessly brought her a few Tylenol and a full glass of water. Isabelle thanked her, in a dull, uninterested manner, without breaking her stare from the tv.


For most of the night, Isabelle sat on the couch, arms wrapped around her knees, thinking of how much time she had left. Twenty six days, and what could she do in that time? Nothing important. Her phone buzzed on the table, an email notification, she assumed it was junk, but picked up her phone anyways. There, hidden in a small note on her phone, was her short bucket list. Most of the items were really things she'd been meaning to do over the years. Some were more important than others.

  1. See Jaws
  2. See Titanic
  3. Read LOTR and see the movies
  4. Sleep under the stars
  5. Go to the ocean, and watch the sun rise
  6. Send a message in a bottle
  7. Learn to dance
  8. Learn to play the piano
  9. Drive a car
  10. Participate in a marathon, or do a color run
  11. Be in love
  12. Kiss in the rain
  13. Dance in the rain
  14. Volunteer my time somewhere
  15. Feed birds with Mrs. Harrison
  16. Bake something for someone
  17. Go bowling


It wasn't as if she could travel very far, and she didn't have much money so things like skydiving or scuba diving were out of the question. A few items were crossed off, some deleted as they sat in the note for too long. These 17 things were the last things Isabelle could think of doing. At 19 years old, a bucket list is not a first priority.


Her finger hovered over her phone, debating whether or not she should delete the whole thing.
 
Blake walked around the house while he chatted with his mother, shrugging and nodding while he spoke. "Okay, sure I'll come down. I can manage to take a few days off. Tomorrow? Well sure."


A few days off would be a great way to get his mind off everything so of course he agreed. He'd be gone for the rest of the week, and it would give him and Isabelle time to think things through.
 
She couldn't delete it. Isabelle threw her phone to the end of the couch and sunk deeper into the fading fabric, pouting slightly.


"Your father called, Izzy." Judith said calmly from the kitchen. It didn't warrant a response out of Isabelle. He called sometimes, and Judith would tell her. However, he never asked to talk to Isabelle.


"He wants to know if you want to go to dinner with him." She said, equally as calm as before. This perked Isabelle's attention some, but not a great amount.


"When?" Isabelle asked.


"Tomorrow." So that was that. Her father actually wanted to see her for once. Isabelle nodded her head in response, forgetting Judith couldn't see her from the kitchen. Hopefully, all would go well.
 
Blake figured he'd leave tomorrow morning so he went to his room and started packing a duffel bag, putting three changes of clothes and a pair of pyjamas in there.


It had been a few months since last time he saw his family, Christmas it must have been. He wondered what had changed in their life, what his sister's grades were like. Hopefully they were good, meaning that he wouldn't need to do her homework.
 
Isabelle skipped most of dinner, instead choosing some cheese and crackers over having to cook. She tiptoed upstairs, not wanting to disturb Judith in her office, and returned to her room. At the foot of her bed she sat on the floor, and crossed her legs. She searched on her laptop for a movie, anything, and decided on Titanic.


I've never seen it before. May as well watch it alone. I'll probably cry.





People told her she would cry, and they were right. By the end of the movie Isabelle was heartbroken over the pair of lovers who would never get to be, all because of that damn iceberg. It was all so weird, how the two of them fell for each other in such a short time, but she couldn't really make fun of the two. Hadn't she and Blake just done the same thing? Minus the parties, nudity, and sinking.


It was some time later when she finally crawled into bed and promptly fell asleep.
 
He had finished his salad in his office, reading the entirety of Lord of the Flies. He had read it in school, but always liked to read it again whenever he got bored. He occasionally got bored of classics and bought new books, like Hunger Games and City of Bones. Even so, returning to old books was still comforting.
 
-time skip-


Wednesday, April 22nd:


"You're going, there's no choice in it." Judith said sternly to Isabelle, who stood angrily at the base of the staircase.


"You never said my mother would be coming." Isabelle yelled back, furious Judith had left out that one detail. "She hates me, she thinks God put a tumor in my brain because I'm not praying enough, or some bullshit like that. She's insane!"


The one thing Isabelle had hidden from everyone, save Judith, was how horribly her mother took the news about her daughter. She couldn't cope, and simply broke down, blaming Isabelle's unworthiness of God and all things alike. The reason was never the same, but the message was clear. Her mother was angry and completely gone. She rambled, insane things, about her daughter. Isabelle couldn't take it. She didn't know how to manage the stress her mother put on her.


Judith slapped Isabelle across the face, leaving a fresh red mark on her cheek. "Isabelle, don't you every talk like that!" Her aunt warned.


Isabelle stormed from the house and headed to the only place that felt comforting, the small coffee shop where she had first met Blake. There was no where else to go, exactly, so she went there, ordered a drink, and sat fuming by the window.
 
Blake had fallen asleep in his office chair and his whole body ached as he walked around the house, making sure he had everything he needed for his trip to his parent's house. He took his bag to the truck, ready to leave. Before he left though he'd get a coffee to really wake him up.


He walked into the coffee shop and the first thing he noticed was Isabelle sitting by the window. It was hard to not look at her as he stood in line and ordered his coffee. He'd get it and leave as soon as possible, no conversation and no attempt at making amends.
 
Isabelle turned her head and saw Blake ordering something. She panicked and quickly turned the other way. With as much stealth as she could manage, she picked up her drink and headed for the door. She hadn't decided if she really wanted to see him again or not. On the way out, she nearly bumped into another woman, but excused her self and hurried down the street.


This is stupid. She thought. We were getting along so well, and you blew it. Nice going Isabelle.





She argued with the different sides of thought in her head. On the one hand, it was best for Blake. He wouldn't have to deal with the worry of having her around. On the other hand? Well. Isabelle was miserable again.
 
When Blake turned around he stopped dead, noticing how Isabelle was gone. He could see through the window that she was walking down the street as quickly as she could. With a sigh, he also left the coffee shop and walked the short distance to his apartment. He got into his truck and started it, and right before he left he took his phone out.


Going to parents house for a few days. Thought you should know just in case you change your mind and want to see me. I would have told you in person but you left awfully quickly. The text sounded cold, but he was slightly angry and it was the best wording he could come up with.
 
I'm sorry.





It was the best she could do. There wasn't a response formulated in her head, she didn't realize she had been spotted. Isabelle didn't want to go home, Judith would only force her to dinner. She couldn't go to Blake's, they were fighting. With no where to go for a while, she just kept going down the same street. Past Blake's apartment, and further into the city. As she got closer, it only got louder, but it served to distract her from where she should be.
 
Blake shook his head, staring at the text message. What a lame response, it wasn't at all what he was expecting. He put his phone away and started driving, soon passing by Isabelle. He honked once as a sort of hello. It was a start, if she didn't try to fix things, he would. Whether they stayed as friends or got together again, it didn't matter.
 
At the sound of a horn Isabelle jumped. A truck whizzed past her, but she couldn't tell if it was the same car who'd made the noise.


It was night, and Isabelle found herself inside of a bar. She shouldn't have been there, but she stayed tucked in the back, sipping on a Coke. Minutes, hours, she wasn't keeping track of how much time she spent watching people flow in and out of the doors. She watched as men and women left with someone else, whether they'd come in together was another story. A game of pool started every so often to her left. So far, no one left the table happy.


She should go home, she told herself, it was no place to spend a night. Judith was probably worried about her, but she just didn't want to leave.
 
An hour later Blake arrived at his childhood home and he got out of the truck, feeling nostalgic just like very other time he came for a visit. With his bags slung over his shoulder he walked up the front steps. He could hear classic rock playing through the open kitchen window. His aunts must have came by too.


Walking it, he was surprised to see most of his family gathered in the kitchen. They were all socializing, a few dancing. Only Blake's little sister, Willow, saw him walk in.
 
Isabelle snuck back into her aunt's house. There, her aunt, mother, and father were waiting in the living room. Her mother and father sat together on the couch. They looked tired, but the moment her mother locked eyes with her daughter, they lit up with fire.


"Hi, mom, dad, Judy.." Isabelle shut the door behind her and pressed her back against the wooden surface.


"We missed you at dinner, Isabelle." Her father, Nathaniel, sighed and pushed a thin pair of glasses up on his face.


Before the girl had a chance to respond, her mother, Catherine, charged up from the couch and grabbed her daughter by the braid. She yanked it once towards her, Isabelle yelped under her grasp, hands pulling on her hair to get free.


"What's wrong with you! I come to visit my daughter, and instead she's out, god knows where doing god knows what. Disrespectful daughter of mine, it's unacceptable." Catherine screamed profanities at her daughter. Judith and Nathaniel wrestled the pair free. Judith took Isabelle in her arms.


"Catherine, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Judith stroked her niece's hair, "How can you still be so cruel to your own child."


The sisters argued back and forth until Judith kicked her sister out. Nathaniel left after her, wordless in his exit.


Catherine was a lost cause. Whatever notions she had about Isabelle were stuck in her mind. It hardly made sense, the way she acted. Loss makes people crazy.
 
"Why's everyone here?" he asked Willow, putting his bags near the doorway. He walked further into the kitchen, hugging relatives when they noticed him.


"It's Aunt Laura and Uncle Hal's anniversary and they wanted a party to celebrate," she answered, shrugging her shoulder while she followed Blake.


All together there were almost 15 people, including Blake. It rarely got this busy, except for Christmas and Thanksgiving. It seemed like such an odd gathering for such a simple think like an anniversary, but then he remembered that Aunt Laura and Uncle Hal had decided to move to England after a few years together.
 
For a brief moment Isabelle thought to text Blake. She was scared of her own mother, and he'd recently been the best source of comfort, but she didn't know what to say. Oh, hi Blake, just wanted to let you know my mom was being slightly abusive today, but I'm great! No, there really wasn't anything she could say that wouldn't sound as if she were asking for his comfort.


Her aunt had hugged her close for a while, shushing Isabelle's awkward cries and confusions. Isabelle wasn't sure why her mother hated her so much, but it still hurt her all the same.
 
Someone passed him a beer bottle with the top already popped off. Blake looked down at the drink in his hand, a small smile lifting his mood as he thought of the party with Isabelle. How many days ago was that? It seemed like so long but in reality they haven't known each other long.


That was probably a factor in their fighting, they jumped in too fast and weren't expecting what they got hit with. They barely knew each other, didn't even know if their personalities were compatible. Blake was fairly certain they would have been good together, but convincing Isabelle of that was a completely different story.
 
Isabelle gave in to her temptations and hurried to dial Blake's number. A part of her hoped it would go to voicemail, the other part, well. She just didn't want him to be angry. It rang once, twice, and then she quickly hung up. She was crying again thinking about her mom, and didn't want him to hear it.


Judith had gone to bed some time ago, she had work. That meant Isabelle was alone, and she felt it through each and every bone. From the kitchen she could hear the dull noise of the fan spinning on the ceiling. In front of her, the tv was on, but the voices were just meaningless noise.


She wanted to talk to Blake, she really did, but she had to convince herself it would be bad. It wasn't fair for him.
 
Blake grabbed his phone as soon as it vibrating, but just as quickly as it rang, it stopped. He was slightly disappointing, looking at the caller ID and seeing that it was the one person he really needed to talk to. Why she had hung up so quickly, he had no idea but he guessed it was something to do with not fully wanting to talk to him yet.
 
Isabelle hooked her phone up to charge and threw herself onto her bed, sighing dramatically. Had she stayed on the phone, she wouldn't have been so nervous. Now, she thought, Blake had known she called but hung up.


She decided sleep might be the best course of action at this point. Seeing as another day put between them may help to deal with the stress from the small fight they'd had. That, and how frustrated Isabelle was with her mother.
 
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