Just like the saying, you can only make your dreams but you can't control them.
In his dreams, he saw her as usual but this time, as he stretched his arms to take her in, his arms just went right through her body. And it looked like she just vanished into thin air. He couldn't see her.
And then he heard a voice like hers, a cackling sound. A hand then shot out of nowhere and pulled his outstretched arms. He was pulled into a place that looked like a dark tunnel.
He pulled back his arm forcefully and the action shook him awake. He broke into a cold sweat.
He'd slept in an awkward position and his right arm ached.
A rooster was also crowing somewhere on the outside and that explained the cackling laughter in his dream.
He sighed in relief and looked at his alarm clock. It was 6 AM and the alarm went off immediately.
"Right on time" he mumbled
His head was pounding as he stepped down from the bed and stretched his long limbs.
"Coffee" he whispered and headed to the kitchen bare-footed. The floors felt cold under his feet and made him shiver. Slightly.
He brewed a pot of coffee and made himself comfortable on the kitchen counter, breaking one of Crystal's favorite ceramic plates in the process.
"shit!" He whispered fiercely and got down to work immediately. He had to clean up the mess before Crystal comes in and sees.
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Crystal awoke to the sound of crashing plates from the kitchen. She threw the covers off immediately and jumped off the bed.
That was one hell of a mistake.
"Ouch!" She screamed silently and held her head in both hands as she gently lay back on the bed and shut her eyes.
Her head was pounding and the whole room spun whenever she opened her eyes.
"Oh God, no..." She groaned.
She was thirsty, weak, and nauseous. Her stomach ached and growled as well. The tiny ray of sunlight coming from the slightly parted curtain wasn't helping at all.
"Jason" she called.
When no response came, she tried to be loud.
"Jason!" Another mistake. But it was worth it. She could hear his footsteps approaching the bedroom.
Her head fought back as she lay still for a few seconds before the urge hit her. She flew off the bed, ignoring the headache, as she ran to the toilet.
And as she bent over the toilet bowl, she threw up in groans. The odor made her vomit more, violently.
She shivered and whimpered as she tried to call for Jason again. But she couldn't because another wave hit her so hard she lost her balance and almost fell to the ground.
Just then, she felt a hand on her back and another on her head, soothing her.
"Jason..." she whispered, almost in tears.
"I'm here, pretty. Just pour it all out" he said, rubbing her back and pulling her hair away from the mess.
When she was done, he handed her a cup of water and then used a towel to wipe her face. Flushed the toilet too. Then he picked her up, bridal style, and went back to the bedroom.
"Feeling better?" He asked as he set her down on the bed.
"I guess so" she replied, rubbing her face.
"I brewed some coffee" he handed her a cup of coffee which she gulped.
"Thanks"
"It's hot, be careful," he said, chuckling.
"What was that sound in the kitchen?" She asked.
"Uhm... Well... I... I might have broken a few plates..."
"A few plates? Oh, this should be good" she replied, setting down the cup on the bedside table and placing her hands akimbo.
"Oh, my God! There is a murderous glint in your eyes!"
"Really? Well, I'm ready to beat you to a pulp if I find out you've broken my favorite China plates" She walked out of the room so gallantly that he began to wonder if she faked her vomit and pale looks.
"She's a damn good actor!" He whispered fiercely and ran after her to the kitchen.
He stopped at the door, too scared to go in and then he heard her let a shrill cry which also included his name.
"Oh God, I'm dead," he said and walked into the kitchen.
He saw her kneeling on the floor and gathering the pieces of broken china he had missed while hastily picking the harmful pieces.
"What did you do? They were so expensive and I loved them... Why did you even take them out of the cabinet!"
"I am so sorry" he began.
"No, sorry don't put the broken pieces together! Sorry don't buy a new set of china"
"But we used them for dinner two days ago. Remember? And when I tried to return it to the cabinet, you asked me not to worry because you wanted to clean them properly!" He began to defend himself when he realized that he was heading nowhere with apologies.
"Yes, I remember quite well. And I also recall wiping them properly and asking you to help me put them back in because I was scared of getting on a stool with a stack of fragile plates!" She whinnied like a tiny horse.
"Oh... I forgot!" He grinned apologetically.
"What am I supposed to do with the china cups without plates to match?!" She was on the verge of tears.
"I'll get you a new one. I'm sorry"
He went to her and engulfed her in a reassuring hug.
"No, it's fine. I'll get over it" she smiled and went to get the broom to sweep the floor.
"Huh? That's all? Women are weird"
"Careful," he said when she picked up a tiny piece of the broken plate.
"Too late," she said as she felt a stab of pain in her palm. She opened her fingers to see a cut, slightly deep.
Blood! She hated blood.
Seeing this, Jason rushed to her immediately and turned on the tap. He washed the cut and tried to use his fingers to apply pressure on it, to stop the blood.
He could see that she was panicking.
"Just close your eyes. Don't look at it" he said, reassuring her. His voice was soothing, like a healing balm.
He got the first aid kit when the blood had stopped and properly dressed the wound.
"There you go" he patted it.
"Ouch!"
"Oh sorry" he grunted.
"Sorry for my outburst"
"It's fine. I deserve a spanking actually" he smiled and when she looked at him, he held her gaze for a few seconds before looking away.
"How drunk was I last night? Everything I remember is a blur..."
"Well, you forced me to carry you on my back and we almost fell in a trench. The woman who sells vegetables blew me a kiss"
She laughed.
"What about Ashley?"
"We broke up" he replied flatly.
"You what? Oh my God... I'm so sorry Jason. I didn't know. Are you fine?"
"Honestly, I'm fine. I was supposed to break up with her, remember?"
"Shut up, please. We both know you don't have the guts. And you love her... Almost to the core!"
"Yea, well she beat me to it"
"Wait, why did she break up with you? I thought you two were going to work things out?"
"Trust me, Crystal, you do not wanna know"
"Yes, I do. Tell me"
"Okay. You asked for it. We were supposed to go see a movie... Or is it a game? I can't remember. But then I had to celebrate your good news with you. I lost track of time and also completely forgot"
Crystal was speechless.
Was he really serious or is he just stupid?
"Are you serious?" She was finally able to ask.
"Yes I am"
"So, I'm one of the forces that broke you up?!"
"No, don't look at it that way. Come on. We were already growing apart and we both knew that sooner or later, one person had to do it" he replied nonchalantly.
Crystal put her hands over her face and groaned in frustration. He had a low IQ when it came to relationships and emotions.
"She's going to hate me forever! She might even gang people up against me and they're going to beat me up on the street!"
"Crystal..." He called but she didn't want to listen to him.
"No... No... You have to win her back, Jason. You have to. I'll help you"
"Crystal..." He called again.
"No Jason. Listen to me. We'll make a plan..."
"I don't want her back" he cut her short.
"No, you do. You just don't realize it. Do you want me dead?!"
"Do you want me to be happy?!" He raised his voice.
"I'm sorry" she blinked, suddenly calm and realizing that she wasn't even thinking about how he was feeling.
"She was seeing someone else" he pulled a stool and sank weakly onto it.
"I walked in on the two of them about three weeks ago. In her bedroom. They were..."
"That's okay. Don't go into details" she went to him and pulled his head to her bosom.
"She said she was sorry. She begged me to stay and I listened. You know, I thought I was in love but..."
"Shhhh you don't have to talk if you don't want to" she ran her hand up and down his back.
He sniffed and she realized he was crying. That was the first time she'd seen a grown man cry and it led her to tears.
"Last night, she said she was unhappy... I can't make a woman happy"
"Yes, you can. You make me happy"
He was in so much pain and there was nothing she could do to make him feel better.
"Don't ever leave me" he sobbed harder.
"I won't, I promise" she replied. And she meant every word.