Out of My Body

It was a hard day at the precinct, Taylor wanted to breathe some fresh air. His brother told him that they were going to that old popular pub downtown, and he thought it was a good idea. He grabbed his black leather jacket and drove there, but it was a street with many restaurants and bars, so he didn't notice that instead of the place where his brother was, he went inside the bar next door looking for him, as it was crowded, he thought he would take a while finding him. Suddenly the lights went off, the silence started spreading around, and then it hit him... He heard that voice... That sweet voice... it was really unlikely that he could hear that voice again... and perhaps he thought that it was less likely that he could remember it with such clarity and neatness. It was buried in his memories, many years have passed since the last time he heard that voice. He hasn't even aware of his head turning around when he saw her.. his memories didn't do any justice to what he saw. Not a doubt, it was her... all of a sudden he remembered what it was like being near her at school... Taylor and Charlie were twin brothers, physically they were identical, and even though both were smart and active teenagers, their interests and personalities were widely different. Charlie was methodical and disciplined, he loved science and math, while his brother Taylor was a free spirit, he loved sports and music, cars and girls, but despite their differences they had a deep bond that had been reinforced by tragedy since they lost their father a year after finishing their first junior high year, both promised that they will make their best efforts to support and take care of their mother, an odd promise if we assumed that is usually the mother who would be concerned about her children’s well-being, but this pair of teens had shown to be especially mature despite their age, maybe because their father was a model of kindness, and commitment, or maybe because he managed to teach them the importance of loving and supporting their mother unconditionally. Taylor has always been popular and good looking, while his brother Charlie was more concerned about ecology and justice than by fitting in society, he always kept a brilliant record of grades, and hanging out with girls was a waste of time for him. He was used to seeing his brother getting along with pretty girls but never had felt interested by any of them. One day Taylor was at his football practice and his brother was working at the lab on a project, it was time to go, so he went to look for his brother, he knew that if he didn’t go for him, he could stay for many more hours at the lab immersed in his experiments, so he came into the building, but he couldn’t remember exactly where was the lab, he came in and heard a distant voice, he followed the track of the sounds, walked through the hall until he reached the final door at the end of it, he has never been there before, it was some sort of rehearsal room for the choir club, there was only one person inside, a girl, playing her guitar while singing completely immersed in her music, he had seen her before at school, he remembered seeing her with his brother a few times, maybe there were classmates or maybe she was one of his Science club friends, but he hasn't seen anybody in that group like her, her casual style made her look relaxed and charming at the same time, her sneakers contrasted with her simple but pretty dress, her curly brown hair fell naturally, below her shoulders, he thought that she was a weird girl at first, she seemed to be always dreaming awake, like in parallel world, something that he once thought was funny and somehow cute, but obviously, she wasn’t the kind of girl he was used to feeling attracted to, though this time he couldn’t help staring at her at the time he enjoyed the song for a while before she noticed his presence and stopped playing. "Ah hi, there!" said Taylor stammering a little bit as he greeted her. "Hello stranger," she said before she continued playing softly her guitar. “Isn’t it a little late to rehearse?” asked Taylor intrigued by her. "I don’t know what time is it, and I don’t care" replied the girl. "Don’t you have parents or a family?” he asked again. "I'm rehearsing for the play premiere, they know how long do I have to practice... mhh you look a lot like someone I know, " she added. “Do you know my brother Charlie?” that was unexpected for him. "Does he have a brother? No way!! I thought you were a clone of him!" laughed the girl at his response. "We actually are, did you know that identical twins are clones of one another? It's a single fertilized cell that divides into halves, each half grows and becomes two different individuals, that’s what my brother says every time that someone tells us how identical we are”, replied Taylor trying to impress her. "Wow! That sounds interesting! I wonder if you can feel what your brother feels..." said her intrigued. "Well we're close but I can't communicate telepathically with him if that's what you mean", was Taylor’s response, “how do you know him?” "We're working on a recycling project, the school has agreed to launch it next month, the money raised will be used to support scholarships and school supplies for the students in need” "Sounds really cool.. so you guys are some sort of environmental activists?”, asked Taylor trying to figure out what kind of relationship do his brother and this atypical girl had. "I think you can put it that way. Your brother is the mastermind that studies and creates the projects, and I just support and promote them...by the way, I'm Lea,", added the girl "and you are..?" "Taylor, Charlie's brother, I was actually gonna fetch him at the lab" responded him offering his hand. “He left an hour ago, I was with him," responded her. “I could swear that he was staying late today!... he usually stays a lot... I don’t know, maybe he was too tired today," sighed Taylor, “Are you staying longer, or do you feel like going home now, I could give you a ride…" asked him, who just wanted to talk a little more with that sweet and interesting girl... "Mhhh, I don’t want to go now, but I think it would be a good idea to seize the opportunity of a ride if I leave with you," she responded. They had a great talk all the way home, he has never talked that easily to a girl before, she was easy going, funny and smart, and he realized that she was very different from the rest of the girls he has known. Since that day they became good friends, and a weird feeling arose inside Taylor, something that he couldn't even describe, but his brother knew him well and he noticed that something was going on, so he encouraged him to reach her and tell her how special she was to him, but after years of friendship when he was a step ahead of doing it, she disappeared, like a silhouette in the fog, and he bore that heavy burden of regret for all the things he didn't say then... The time stopped during her performance, Taylor got lost among memories, that face, and that voice... He didn't know how many songs she sang, or how much time passed, he even forgot about his brother, which was the actual reason why he was there. He forgot about everything... but her. Lights changed again, music changed, and he knew that it was now or never! He reached her when she was coming downstairs from the stage, she was carrying what it seemed to be a heavy guitar case as he stepped right in front of her... "May I help you?" asked he, pointing to the guitar case to help her carry it. "What the... Taylor? Wow!! I can't believe it!!! It's you!!! What are you doing here?", responded her surprised about seeing him in front of her. "I guess it's me who should have asked that question... You went away for a long time, I've lived here since I was born! But you... you left!! You left without saying a word! What happened?? Where have you been all this time?" he inquired. "It's a long story", she answered. "Well, I want to hear it all", Taylor insisted. "Mhh I don't think this noisy pub is the perfect place for chatting". “You're right, but maybe I can take you somewhere else to have dinner... any time..." “That'll be great, thanks, I haven't seen anybody from school for years”, she answered, while waving her hand to call on a waiter, “Parker, please may I have today’s special?” requested her. Taylor noticed that she was ordering a dish and asked her: “What about right now?” “Don't you think is too early to leave?" “If you want to stay it'll be fine for me too. But if you're really hungry and you don't mind going out with someone you met a long time ago, I could invite you to have the best burgers in town...” Lea hadn’t eaten since three o'clock, she was in a hurry rehearsing with the band all evening and they couldn't have dinner before work, so she was starving, maybe another girl would have thought that it was a bad idea going out with a friend that she hasn't seen in a long, long time, that she has just met in a bar, but she was too hungry to analyze the situation, besides, she has always done what her heart dictated, usually her brain was not very related to her decision-making process. “I'm starving, I'm actually was gonna order a snack, I... "Say no more! I know the perfect spot! ...and is not far from here!" She just thought about it for a couple of seconds and she finally answered: "Let me just go get my purse" she said as she crossed the bar to pick a black purse up that was hidden behind. "Hey Lea!! Are you leaving so early?" the girl across the bar, asked while serving drinks. "You know Hanna, I can't refuse to have dinner with an old friend!" said she as her cheeks blushed, "...and far more if he's as sexy as a pop star" muttered Hanna with a wink. "All right, I suppose you can't... see you tomorrow then, take good care of her, old friend!" said Hanna with a stern look. "I'll do" said Taylor, he thought that it seemed as if he was asking for permission to take her out, and maybe it was true. Lea kissed Hanna's cheek and gave her some directions about somethings that she had to do with the band instruments. Taylor finally looked at his phone, his brother Charlie had sent him a dozen of text messages, "where r u bro? We're at Mason's, haven't you entered a different bar, have you??", "r u coming? the girls are asking for you", "Henry is stealing all the fun from you hahaha, c'mon!", he took a deep breath and typed quickly "I'm sorry bro, I won't make it", the answer arrived right away "is everything ok?", "everything is more than ok" a few seconds have passed before he got the next message: "is it about a girl?", Taylor took a deep breath and typed: "is not just about one, it's about THE girl", he has just finished typing that last message when he got an emoticon with the phrase "hahaha go ahead bro, see u at home..." Taylor opened the door for her and she felt a cold breeze that gently hit her face, it was really cold outside, but she was so happy that she didn't complain about it, so she kept walking grabbing his arm closer to hide from the wind, he noticed that and did what any gentleman would have done at that point, he offered his jacket to her, and she couldn't refuse to get it. The car was parked almost in front of the little restaurant they were heading to, just a couple of blocks ahead so they just kept talking about the weather forecast, whether they like or not the cold among other less relevant topics on their way there. "You should definitely try the classic burger it's awesome and it also has homemade-style french fries, it will go great to open the memories box tonight- said Taylor just after coming inside the shop. "You sound like an expert about this place!" "I sometimes come here with my brother and some friends from work, and no matter how late we were out, this place is always open". "That's great because I could eat a whole deer right now!" said Lea with a childish smile on her face. Taylor talked to the waiter and ordered burgers for both of them. "I can remember how great your appetite was", answered Taylor amused by the girl's comment. "Looks like somethings never change", replied her, Taylor tried to hide his eager interest in her, trying to conceal his enthusiasm by chatting carelessly about anything that came to his mind, luckily for him, talking to Lea was as easy as swimming to a fish, she always had something nice or even funny to say, this just triggered his memories of those long evening talks by her side, "somethings never change" these words were echoing in his head, she was the same simple and joyful girl he met long ago, but with a more mature beauty, which flew effortlessly, and that made her even more remarkable. "Like your music talent," slipped out of Taylor's mouth. "Well, I've always loved music, but by the time I met you I wasn't really good... C'mon, you can tell!!..you were there!! My first performances sucked!! I've got to admit that getting a scholarship to study at music school, actually improved what I thought was a 'natural thing'," she laughed noisily. Taylor thought that it was better not to emphasize his admiration for her at that young age, even though he has considered himself as her biggest fan since the first times she performed, no matter if it was at the rehearsal room or the school theatre, she was always magnificent to him. "Was that the reason for your early disappearance?? I mean you even weren't at the prom, you left a couple of months before finishing the school year!" "Mhh not really, it was something not as pleasant as that. "What happened then? I thought that Charlie and I were your friends, If you were facing hard times we would have helped you!" "I'm sure you would, but the truth is that I had health issues that were so embarrassing and traumatic for me, that I didn't want any of my school friends to know about it. My parents took me on a long trip looking for answers, treatments, and therapies that were expensive and exhausting, and to be honest, I don't want to go deeper into that," said her in a more serious and dry tone. "Don't worry you don't have to. I suppose you feel better now, you look great" he said, when he realized how bad has that sounded he tried to explain his reasons "I mean, healthy and happy, I bet that's the reason why you came back, isn't it?" "Not exactly, three years ago my parents died in a car accident and since then I've been working and trying to make a living with what they left me, an old guitar and a classic car, Hanna the girl at the bar is my roomie and my best friend, we've shared our place for years. It's your turn now, what have you been doing all this time?" "Not much. I became a policeman, two years ago I started my detective career at the precinct. It's a hard job, but I like it. Every day is a challenge and I'm always busy," answered Taylor trying to sound appealing. "How's Charly doing? I remember you both were very close." "We still are. He's a forensic researcher, he works with me too." "Wow! You are coworkers now!! "You surely must know that after my mom passed away, he became my whole family, we just have each other now, and that's ok, I've never imagined that I was gonna see him at work every day too! "Yeah, I remember him, you were good at Math, and sports, and he was really good at Science, I can't think of a better profession for him than that... You know, I think we can say that our families are alike now, Hanna is like my sister too, we just have one another, we met at college, when she lost her mom, by then she was looking for someone to share the expenses with, we helped each other to face the odds, after finishing school when I lost my parents she supported me and helped me to move on, she's been like a sister to me, a month ago she inherited an apartment and the bar where you saw us, so she invited me to move in with her, and we've been working there since then.” "It sounds like you have had hard times, I would've liked to keep in touch with you, we'd have shown you our support too, my whole family loved you, my parents, my brother... I can't understand why did you cut connections with family and friends like that, we asked your relatives and people around about you but nobody could tell us a damn thing," he said couldn't hide his disappointment at it. Lea swallowed and looked at the kitchen looking for a distraction, which appeared just in time: "...mhh I think our snack is ready!! Let's see how good is this!" They kept talking for a while, time flew away eating, laughing, and telling stories until a cellphone rang, it was Lea's... "Haaanna, Hannaaaa, I told you! your keys were on the table!... yeah I guess you didn't hear me since you were on the phone with that jerk!.. Ok, ok I'm leaving now. See you there in twenty minutes," said Lea while talking on her phone. "I'm really sorry, Hanna forgot her keys, I got to go now... " said Lea giving back his leather jacket to its owner. "Wait!" said Taylor making a signal to the waiter "I can take you there!" this was a great opportunity that Taylor wouldn't miss. "Well, thanks that will save me ten more minutes," she answered showing her relief. After two hours at the restaurant, they haven't noticed that outside the rain began falling, Lea tried to hide again behind Taylor's arm to protect herself from the wind. This time he saw her trembling and thought that the jacket was not going to be enough, so he opened it, and hugged her, sharing both his jacket and body warmth with her "I'm sorry girl, I know that maybe you barely remember me, but I didn't want you to freeze out before we get in the car," said Taylor trying to explain his actions while stretching his arms around her. She didn't answer, she just couldn't resist that warm embrace and closed her eyes with a smile as she whispered: "I'm glad that you did it," gosh, it felt really well! They got in the car, she gave him directions of how to get to her apartment building, and as she planned they parked in front of it, almost ten minutes before the time she said Hanna will take. "Thanks for everything. I had a great time," said Lea smiling. "I'd like to see you again, can we have a coffee someday?" asked Taylor. "I'd rather like a beer if you don't mind," she said with a wink. "Mhh I'm not used to drinking beer with famous singers, but I could do an exception for you," he said grinning at her. "See that's the part in which you're wrong, I'm not famous," she corrected him. "But you'll be soon," he replied. "Hahaha I'd like to have your confidence... ok, then," she said searching for something in her purse until she took out a pen and looked around for a couple of seconds when she saw the restaurant ticket and wrote something on it, then she put it in his jacket pocket as she told him "I hope you don't take a lot of time, I might get anxious..." Then she opened the car door and blew a kiss from outside of it, he was so amazed that he just could smile back before he saw her opening the building door and coming inside, he then took out the paper from his pocket, it had a phone number written on it. It was 2:00 am, and a pair of female voices continued disrupting the silence of a nice apartment in the same building where Lea was dropped off an hour ago. Let me see if I got it, you met him at school, you were his brother's friend and now you found him at the pub and you're just taken by him... "Hahaha, that's not what I said!!! I just said that I felt something..." "Hahahaha Leeaaa, I know you!.. if you could see your face right now, you'll know what I'm talking about... "I know he's handsome" she sighed "and kind, and funny, but is not just that... I remember him from high school, any girl will give anything to go out with him. He's had a few girlfriends by then, but they were the classic glamorous cheerleaders or the súper cool ball queen, but I was the weird, nerdy one, I wasn't fancy at all, I'm far from being the kind of girl he liked. I've never thought that I could go on a date with him... forget it! I don't know what I'm saying, I don't even know if what we had was a date, maybe I'm getting things wrong... maybe I just felt so happy tonight that I'm maybe confusing a friendship with something else." "What I can say, is that I haven't seen you as enthusiastic about a guy as you are now," said Hanna. "I know!... My gosh! I think I should slow down, we don't know what tomorrow holds... the higher I fly, the harder I'll crash..." "You're right, I've been there, men are not always who they pretend to be. Sometimes are losers performing the role of heroes in a play. I've had plenty of those- said Hanna with a smirk, a mixture of anger and sadness. "It's not your fault! You're a wonderful girl! There's nothing wrong with you... well, maybe there's only one thing: your choices of men..." said Lea trying to cheer up her friend. "Hahahaha, that's true!! I have a terrible taste for men. Looks like the candidates must have that bad boy profile so that I can include them in my list of assholes," finalized Hanna. Waves of laughter continued for while, as the girl's talk extended for an hour more before they fell asleep. At the same time but in a different zip code, Taylor was in bed, but he couldn't sleep, either, his brother was wheezing already a few meters away, beer bottles were all around the living room, he couldn't believe what had just happened. It was even funny to think that his teenage crush appeared again!... They talked and laughed together!... He hugged her!! It was too much for one night!! He would have wanted more, but she was too special to mess it up by hastening things, he wanted her, but she deserved more than just a fun night, and he absolutely wanted her for much more than that.