College Vamp

The Morning After (EDITED)

The morning sky was clear. The sun shined, making the chilly day seem warm for this late in the year. Shelly stood in the foyer of her old home. A packed suitcase next to her. She looked from the hallway to the kitchen to the living room doorway, taking everything in one last time. A collage of memories permeated her mind - some good, though most overwhelmingly traumatic.

Outside by the street, Damon hoisted a suitcase into the bed of his truck, pushing it to the front. Shelly stepped out the front door with her case, locked the door and slipped the key under the doormat.

"Got everything?" asked Damon, stepping onto the sidewalk.

"Everything I want to remember." Shelly stepped off the porch and walked to the truck, lifting her suitcase into the bed. "How's my old room?"

"Still the way you left it."

Shelly raised an eyebrow at him. "Uh-huh. So, I can expect about four or five boxes of DVDs in there?"

"Oh, ha ha. I'll have you know I've built a nice shelving unit to store them on."

"Oh really?

"Yeah really. I've got the main shelf by the couch." Damon used his hands to demonstrate the layout. "Then, along the walls, I've got two planks mounted with enough space to double stack the DVDs."

"Have you watched them all yet?"

"Eh, about halfway there?" He admitted, leaning against the truck. The keys in his hand. "Haven't really kept track."

Shelly chuckled, shaking her head. "I find that very hard to believe."

"Maybe I have seen them all. I watch at least one every day and I've been doing it since-"

"Since Dad and you started doing it?"

"Yeah, sounds about right," Damon murmured, looking at the ground. However, he shot her a small smile. "You know what the first movie was?"

"What was it?

He smirked. "The Blob. With Steven McQueeeeeeen."

Shelly playfully punched Damon's shoulder. "Oh shut up."

"It's true. It's true."

"Well, that's the first thing we're watching when we get there."

"Ok then.

"And importantly," Shelly snatched the keys and jingled them in his face. "I'm driving."

"Hey!" Damon shouted, watching her stick her tongue out and run to the driver door and get in. He let out an overly dramatic sigh, crossing his arms. "Fine then." He chuckled and hopped into the passenger seat.

Buckling up, Shelly turned the ignition, roaring the truck to life. Putting it in gear, she stepped on the gas and pulled from the curb, leaving the house and the neighborhood in the dust. Leaving the memories to rest in the walls of that home.

-----------------------------

"You heard what the doctor said."

Rob Gibbets tied the handles of the trash bag and pulled the bag of spoiled food and junk out of the kitchen bin. He turned around to address his worried wife, Jude. She blocked his way, standing in a pink shirt and white pants in the middle of their small kitchen. The sunflower yellow walls were decorated in vintage 60s/70s rock and roll memorabilia. Most of it for the Beatles with a little love given to the Monkees. A pile of groceries laid on their wooden table with the last two bags in Jude's hands.

"Honey, I'm fine. I feel fit as a fiddle." A faint crick in his neck begged to differ. Even his attire did little to assuage his wife's concern. His shirt bore a motorcycle pun and he wore an old gray pair of sweatpants. He still had bed head from that morning. "Plus, he said I needed to get some fresh air as well. And this here is the perfect excuse."