How Lost Souls Love

Morning people

Maisie POV

Noah was right. It was easy to get used to Dax. They say I’ve met him before but I can’t pull up the memory. Another curse. Some of the best memories now tainted or forgotten by just this one. 

Dax ended up leaving and going to the shop with Noah to finish up cars they were working on while my dad took me shopping for new clothes. Most of the shorts and shirts in my dresser had been long outgrown. 

After browsing most of the shops at the store front and the mall that was an hour away we finally made it back home. I felt a bit guilty for all the things I bought, even though I tried my best to stick to the essentials. I apologized again as my dad dropped all 10 bags on my bedroom floor. 

“Don’t worry about it kiddo. You need clothes. And you definitely needed more jeans. Do me a favor. Burn the ones you're wearing. They’re too tight.” He says fixing me with the dad stare and a pointed finger. 

“Sorry. It was the only thing that came close to buttoning. It was this or a mini plaid skirt.” I said playing it out like it’s still an option. My dad looks less than amused so I laugh and put my hands up in surrender. “I’ll set the bonfire.” I say laughing. 

“On second thought, Rose's daughter has been in need of some more clothes. Maybe if you don’t mind parting with a bit we can take them down to her place sometime this week?”

“Sounds good. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen aunt Rose and Eliza.” The last time I saw my aunt she was walking around the beach with a toddler on her hip, and I’ve only ever seen pictures of them since. 

“Maisie! Dad! We’re  back.” Noah yells as he comes in the door. 

Dad walks out of my room to greet the boys and I start ripping tags off my new clothes. I take everything out of my drawers and put them on top, noting that after Dax spent 20 minutes banging and screwing things inside, the top drawer opens like a charm now. He’s pretty handy. 

I put the new clothes away and put the old ones in the bags. Then I move them to my closet until we take them to my aunt later that week. I feel exhausted. I walk over and roll across my bed. 

“Hey. Feel like food? We brought back a pizza?” Noah says smiling in my doorway. 

I glance at the alarm clock next to me. It’s only 6:30 but I feel like it’s midnight. 

“Honestly I think I need a nap. I’m still off on my time zones and it’s been a long day.” I say scooting up and falling into my fluffy pillows. 

“Suit yourself. Can’t promise I’ll leave you any though..” he warns. 

“It’s cool. I’ll find something if I manage to wake up before dawn. Tell dad I said goodnight?” 

“Sure things Maiz. Night.” He says shutting the door right behind him. 

I yawn and rub at my eyes. “Alright sleep. Let’s try this again. I’m exhausted. So just do me a favor, and knock out at the 10th sheep ok?” I say talking to the ceiling. 

I pull off my pants and decide to sleep in my underwear and shirt. Unhooking my bra I give a little sigh as the contraption falls to the floor. I tuck into my blankets and decide the sheep could have a day off. I don’t think I’d need it. 

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I locked the door behind me and turned into the darkness. That was strange.. mom always had the lights on for me. I stopped and started pulling the earbuds out when I caught my foot on something and stumbled. What the hell? I blinked through the darkness, fumbling for the lamp that I knew was in the corner of the doorway and pulled the chain to click it on. It wasn't there. Instead I heard my boots crunching against broken glass. A breeze swept across my face..

It was freezing in here. Mom must be crazy to have a window open. And for god's sake where is the lamp?!

I stumble around a bit more annoyed. I can still hear the crunching sounds under my feet. What the hell am I stepping on? 

“Mom?!” I call out. “Mom aren't you home?” I call again feeling my way to the kitchen instead. At least in there there’s a light switch that will light up most of the apartment. 

I hear a weird sound. What is that? Then a small chuckle. 

********************************************

I bolt upright, Slapping my hand over my mouth in shock it helps to keep me from screaming. After a few minutes of hyperventilating I manage to calm myself down. 

“Breathe Maisie. It’s over… it’s over… never again.” I say over and over to myself. I fall back on the bed still feeling the exhaustion all over me but I know my brain won’t let me sleep. I hate it.  I hate being me and being stuck in my own mind. I drag my nails through my hair and down my face. The pain helps to keep me from crying. I just need to get out of this bed for a bit. 

I fold my covers back and go to my dresser to pull on some PJ shorts I had bought at the mall and glance at the time. It’s 2am. 

“At least I got some sleep.” I say rolling my eyes and opening my bedroom door. I stop short when I see the kitchen light on and the light hymn of the television. Hoping it’s Noah I walk to the kitchen. But I don’t know what to say when it’s Dax I find sprawled out on the couch wide awake. He looks up at me and scrambles to sit up. 

“Sorry. Is the tv keeping you up?” He asks. 

“No. I couldn’t even hear it. I just couldn’t sleep.” I say pulling a glass down from the cabinet and getting myself some water. 

“Yeah. I don’t sleep much either.” He says, almost annoyed. 

I look at him. I’m used to people asking me why not.  Why can’t you sleep? Or maybe offering up a dumb lavender recipe or a sleeping pill. No one has ever just understood. 

“Whatcha watching?” I ask. I moved to sit where his feet were on the couch. 

“Flipping through cartoons. Not much on. I think it’s on Tom and Jerry.” He hands me the remote and I start flipping through channels. I stopped at a movie, one I watched with my mom. Pride and Prejudice. I looked at Dax and he shrugged. Clearly he didn’t care what we watched. We sat in silence and watched the movie until the credits started to roll. 

“Bingley's sister was a complete knob.” Dax says stretching and getting up from the couch to get a drink. He points to my glass to see if I want some too and I hand it to him.  

“Dad bought some Oreos. Get milk and we can share.” 

“Cool. Where are they?” He asks, putting our cups down and looking around. 

“I think he put them on the fridge.” I say turning and looking back at him. 

He does a dramatic 360 and looks up at the fridge. It makes me laugh. What a dork. He smiles and pulls them down before opening the fridge for the milk. A few seconds later he was back on the couch handing me my cup. He sits the Oreos between us and peels open the plastic. My nose filling with its sweet deliciousness. 

“I can finish a whole family pack of these things in an hour.” I say grabbing a cookie from the row in the middle. 

“Same. But only if there’s milk. If there’s no milk I’d pass.” He says biting the cookie and then taking a drink. I watch him and laugh a bit. “What?” He asks 

“Why don’t you dunk your Oreo like a normal person?” I laugh pulling the cookie out of the milk and slipping it into my mouth. “See? Normal?” I say through the cookie. 

“Yeah but now your fingers are gross”

I roll my eyes and grab another.  We finish the rest of the pack in silence. My dad will probably be mad that he didn’t even get one cookie out of it. They are his favorite too. I make a mental note to try and control myself next time but I know better than to make any promises. 

I drink the last of my crumby milk and relax against the back of the sofa. I don’t even know what’s on the tv anymore. Dax moves back and tosses half of his blanket over me, then gets up to take our glasses to the sink. I thought he’d just drop them. 

To my surprise he turns on the water and starts doing the little amount of dishes in the sink. I pull the blanket up to my chin and listen to the water slosh around. It’s as peaceful as listening to waves crash against the rocks. 

Dax POV

When I finished the dishes I sat on the farthest part of the couch and sprawled my arms out. Maisie had fallen asleep sitting up and she seemed to be in a peaceful sleep. Probably the first she’s had in awhile. I didn’t want to wake her. So I left her be and eventually dozed off myself. 

When I woke up the sun was just breaking through the window. Wow. That was the first time I’ve slept more than 4 hours without pills in months. I pull my arm up to stretch and realize I can’t. I open my eyes groggily and see Maisie tucked in beside me. Her head is laying over my left arm and her hands are curled in tight between us, safely tucked in my blanket. With me. 

Shit. If Noah came out and saw me like this he’d have my balls. Maisie sighed softly and started to stretch so I took it as my chance to slip out from under her. Like a coward I ran to the bathroom and shut it lightly behind me. That was close. 

I rub my arm as the tingles of it being asleep start to run through my arm like television static. It made me wonder how long she had been on me. Tucked into my arm. Was Maisie the reason I had such a good sleep? 

Naw it couldn’t be. 

I heard a door open and close in the hallway. Then another. I took it as my hint that someone else was gonna need the bathroom so I hurried up and finished my business and got out. 

I walked out of the bathroom and rubbed at my eyes as the new intruding sunlight graced us with her presence. I glance at the couch and see that Maisie is no longer there. Thank god.“we need some better curtains.” I complained. 

Noah was in the kitchen looking in the fridge. He swings toward me and smiles. Noah is a morning person. I am not. 

“Rising with the sun is the best part of a day! Look at that sunrise.” He says pulling the curtain back even farther. I shield my eyes and groan annoyed.  

“How is it we became best friends again?” I say throwing the dish towel from the counter at his face. He catches it no problem before he starts pulling items from the fridge. 

“You're just as bad as Maisie.” He laughs. 

As if summoned, Maisie appears beside us hopping on the bar stool next to mine and the counter. “Who turned on the sun?” She asked squinting away from the window. 

Our eyes meet for just a second and I can see a flicker of shy and nervous show in them. I smile nicely. She has nothing to fear if she is worried about me saying anything to Noah. 

I want to live. 

But I do have to admit. Waking up with her was a lot easier than waking up in a cold sweat and nightmares. I didn’t mind it. 

“Embrace the sunlight little sister!” Noah yelled and pulled the curtain back again. Both Maisie and I shielded our eyes and turned away. 

“How are we related?!” She yells in annoyance. 

Noah just laughs. “Seriously. You and Dax are terrible morning people.” 

“Morning kids.” 

Everyone turns and waves their good mornings to Lotto. He’s a good man. Better dad. I couldn’t have asked for a better role model in my life. 

“You comin in with us today Dax?” He asks as he moves and kisses the top of Maisies head. She smiles and relaxes as he sits beside her. 

“No. I’m off today.”

“Wanna come in and cover Drew’s car? He was working on that green Pinto.”  

“Sure. I don’t mind. I gotta swing by my place first though and feed Beast.”

“You have a dog?” Maisie asks, looking at me in surprise. The corner of her lips turned up slightly like she’s laughing at the thought. 

“HA! No! He has a Demon!!” Noah yells as he starts mixing a flour concoction in a bowl. 

Maisie looks over in shock as Lotto starts laughing. 

“I have a cat. It’s not really mine. It literally showed up on my doorstep and never left. And somehow after a few days it ended up in my apartment and hasn’t left since.” I shrug. I reach over and steal some chocolate chips. 

Maisie tried to steal some too but Noah swats her hand away. Maisie glares, looking like she’s about to launch herself across the counter to get to the chocolate. I laugh and hand her some of mine. 

“Thanks.” She says popping them in her mouth and then sticking her tongue out at her brother. “So why do you hate this beauty demon kitty?” She asks her brother. 

“The first time he tried to pet him the cat freaked out and chomped him on the finger.”

“Bruh! We said we’d never tell anyone!” Noah complained. 

I tried to apologize but it was too late. Maisie was making all kinds of cat jokes and got up from her chair to poke fun at Noah. I just sat there while Lotto and I watched amused as hell.