Leaving Me

by ScurryBelle

6 - Awkward Recovery

I wake up at the hospital. I hear lots of beeping. I look to my left, a window, flowers, and a machine that is turned off. I look to my right to see Octavia sitting there waiting for me.

"Good afternoon Vinyl." She says.

"Thank god your Okay. I thought your injuries were worse than mine."

"They were." She says, glancing down sadly.

I lean to look, my ribs hurt. I glance down, and see she is in a cast and wheelchair. I look at my wounds, all patched up, but still hurts.

"I will be like this for a while until my leg heals. I should be glad it wasn't my hand or anything above my chest. If it were, I probably wouldn't be able to play cello anymore. I ask the doctor about you though, he says that you are doing fantastic, and that your broken rib has been mended. We are both getting out today, which I'm also happy about."

"What is today?" I ask.

"Wednesday"

"Ha-haha, very funny. Seriously."

"I'm being serious." She says.

"So I've missed three days?" I say shocked. "But that means I missed three gigs! I cant have missed those, those were really important!"

"Vinyl, you need to worry about us more than your music." Octavia sighs. "I don't know how I will play cello for a while when I cant stand nicely, but that is not the biggest concern."

"Whatever." I reply.

The doctor walks in, he helps me sit up.

"Good afternoon Vinyl. You are good to go, we hope the two men that robbed you didn't take to much." The doctor says.

"That is not what I'm worried about." Octavia says.

"I'm more worried about our lives, not our stuff." I point out.

We sit there for a minute, then Octavia says something terribly shocking.

"I don't think I can do this anymore." Octavia randomly slurs out to me.

"Do what?" I ask.

"We cant be together. Its just not working. I need my space."

"Tavi!" I plead. "Don't leave! Please tell my why you are leaving?!"

"No, I'm sorry. Its over. Goodbye Vinyl." Tavi wheels away.

"Come back!" I yell back to her.

This can't be happening. She is already rolling down the hallway. The doctor lets me leave and I run after her. Ouch! Bad Idea. I walk fast towards her. Once I get close she turns a corner and disappears. I searching for her, and head back to the apartment a few hours later. Lyra gave me a ride and I explained everything to her, and she can't help but feel sad. I enter the apartment. Everything of her's is gone. Her mug, her sheets, her... everything. Its all gone. I carefully lie on the bed and begin to cry. The only thing she left was the case on my phone that she gave to me as a present. She designed it herself, and I love the treble clef.

I can't do this. I can't live without her. I get up in pain and walk to the kitchen. The decaf is gone, so I grab my regular, and make a new batch. For the next few weeks I mourn over Octavia. I want to drink away my sorrows, but I know better. Maybe drugs would help, and then again, I know better. I end up going to Lyra's apartment and get taken care of there. I still go do my gigs, but their not as fun without Tavi in the crowd cheering me on. I try to text her, but I can never get the nerve to try and talk to her, not in my current state. After a month I finally get the nerve to talk to her. So I send a simple text.

'Tavi?'

I wait for a while, and receive a return text.

'The number you are trying to reach is no longer available. Please contact technical support if you think this is an error.(Broken-Heart Emoji)'

I know better than Verizon sending an automated message with an emoji.

'Tavi, please. I'm not that stupid, I know your there. Please talk to me.'

'Vinyl, I really don't want to talk. I'm busy for a recital. You obviously don't know this because of your ignorance.'

I do know, I have been keeping track of her performances, and she doesn't have one for two weeks, so she is trying to get out of talking.. But I wont tell her I payed that much attention while she's gone.

'Oh, alright. I just wanted to see what you have been doing after you left.'

She doesn't reply afterwards. My heart breaks more and more as the minutes go by waiting for an an answer. Hours go by, then days, than weeks. Nothing. I continue to live life vindictively. Lyra ends up getting one of her friends, who goes by Dr. Ocker, to help me get over my sadness. He asks me some questions. 'Why do you feel this way? How does Octavia make you feel like this? Is there anyway I can help you get through this?'. None of it works. The next day I wake up under Lyra on the couch.
WHAT HAPPENED?!

I lay there, confused and furious and all the other emotions or feelings I can possibly have are combining themselves together. She is half dressed and drooling on the floor. I poke Lyra in the forehead, and surprisingly that wakes her up.

"Whuh?" She blubbers out, her lips slide along mine as she stirs. "Wait.. WOAH! WHAT?"

She rolls off of me and hits the floor, confused.

"What happened last night?" I ask her.

"Uh, ...that's not important." She puts her hand on the back of her neck and looks at me. "Last night you felt worse than usual, so I sat next to you as you went to sleep. I just have fell on you or something."

"Alright, I drank last night didn't I?"

She points to the box wine I bought. Yep. I decide to get up and get ready for today. I have another gig today, and I would like everything to be perfect, because this is a big one. I stretch, my ribs were fully healed a week ago. I go back to the kitchen and Lyra is cleaning the counters.

"I'm going to have a huge gig today, you coming?" I ask.

"Probably not, I need to clean around the house, you have made my expenses and apartment twice as bad as they were." She walks around cleaning the kitchen.

"I'm sorry." I apologize.

"I know." She reassures me.

"Well I'm heading out now, I'll text you if I need anything."

"Alright." She says as I walk out the door.

The cool winter air is here, and it gives me chills, so I head back in to grab a coat. I throw it in the back of the Beetle. I make sure all my equipment is strapped down on a trailer attached to the back. I head off too the gig. According to Google Earth, Its a large stadium, and I'm playing for a jetpack flying group called the Wonder Bolts. I have connections for these types of gigs. On the way I see a woman walking by with a cello, which throws me for a loop, and I have to do a double take. Bright pink hair, and a punk style outfit. She seems strangely familiar, but you end up seeing everything in Manehattan.

I make a quick pit stop at the Kitamu cafe, and get out of the car. The air is colder than earlier. I check my phone and it says there will be a record low temperature with a great chance of a snowstorm. This was a bad day to do this. I enter Kitamu and sit down at a table. The woman with the cello I saw earlier is sitting across from me, looking at her phone. The waitress comes over.

"Good morning, how may I help you?" She asks. The cello woman looks up, glances at the waitress and looks back at her phone.

"I would like a mocha please. No whipped cream, lots of sugar, and soy creamer please." I tell her.

"Alright, and what is your name?" She says as she walks away.

"Vinyl." I shout back to her.

In my peripheral vision, the cello woman looks up, and glances back down before I turn my head to look at her.

"Hello? Nice to meet you." I tell her, holding out my hand.

She doesn't look up at me but shakes my hand, then resumes what she was doing on her phone. I check the weather again, it says about 3 degrees colder than it was. I look back up to the cello woman.

"How are you?" I ask her.

She doesn't say anything, but the waitress comes back with my mocha.

"Here you go, enjoy!"

"Thank you!" I say, and give her a five bit tip.

The waitress leaves, and the cello woman speaks.

"Nice to see you again, Vinyl." She says, not looking up from her phone.

"Tavi? Is that you?" I sputter out.

"I'm the only other cellist in Manehattan that has this hair style." She says. "I stay at Mr. Wrench's home; you have met him correct?"

"Y-yes?" I have a loss of words. I wasn't expecting to see her here. "W-why do you look like this?"

"They said I should. It was going to help me blend in, so you wouldn't notice me. It worked until you saw me on the road, and sat at my table, and I talked to you." She stops for a moment. "What has been happening with you?

"I have, um, been doing my usual gigs." I say. "I am at Lyra's place. It is the only close friend I could think of."

Tavi looks at me, then back at her phone. Her face goes white. She places ten bits on the table, and leaves. Confused, I pick up her bits. I pay for both drinks, and take my mocha with me. I run after her.

"I payed for both bills, take your ten bits!"

She continues running. I never realized she could run so fast, especially with her healed leg. I stop and head back to the car, and place the ten bits in the glove compartment. I need Tavi back. I must find a way.