Hey =] So here's my March CIA contest entry. I wasn't going to enter, but then my imagination struck whilst I was at work so I decided to give it a go. I know it isn't quite right just yet so reviews and comments would be really helpful. Hope you enjoy it!
Nervously, I glanced over to where Toby was perched on the end of his bed. The duvet lay crumpled and messy, but what seven year old makes their own bed? I allowed myself a meek smile. You couldn’t even see the carpet when we’d played pirates a couple of weeks ago. The smile vanished. It had all been so simple then. I sighed audibly, gaining Toby’s attention. I felt my stomach clench and the uneasy feeling return. His eyes were still the same shade of green that they had been when I’d first met him. They didn’t shine today though. Instead, they looked clouded and unseeing.
I wound my left hand around my right wrist. My heart jolted once I had found what I was searching for. The thin braid of rope was frayed and dirty, but it still brought back the delicate smile to my face. My breath caught as Toby shifted in his seat. Biting my lip, I wondered if he had seen my smile. His gaze was strained as if he was looking through a veil to see me. It wasn’t his fault though; he was just growing up. I felt a lone tear slide down my pale cheek and Toby frowned.
“What’s wrong Alice?” His voice was full of concern and my mind reeled at how right my gut instinct had been. He was getting older and I was helpless to stop it.
“Nothing,” I soothed, blinking back another set of tears.
“But you’re crying.”
“How was school?” I interjected, plastering a smile on my face and hoping it would distract him. His gaze seemed to falter before he shrugged.
“Was okay I suppose.” I watched sadly as he bowed his head and began picking at the scab that was just visible under the right leg of his shorts.
“Did Dustin push you over again?” I asked.
He fidgeted, creasing the pale blue sheets underneath him. “No.”
“You can’t let him push you around,” I sighed.
He looked up at me then, his eyes still foggy and I knew I was the only one who could see it. The only one to notice the mist taking over his sight, but then that made sense. I was the one he was growing blind to. I felt another pang of guilt spread through me. What sort of friend was I? I flinched as my mind answered for me and cringed as the internal fight started up inside me again. I knew I was being selfish, but I wasn’t ready to let him go. I realised the time would eventually come when he didn’t need me anymore, but surely it wasn’t now. He was still having problems with Dustin and I couldn’t help the overwhelming need to watch over him. To look out for him like friends should. Nevertheless, the signs were all there. The clouded eyes were unmistakable. Not long left now. I’d first noticed it last week, when we’d been playing in the garden and then again a couple of days after that. Playing hide and seek, there had been a brief moment when it had seemed like he’d seen straight through me, but I’d lied to myself. I’d lied to keep myself from believing the truth.
“But he didn’t push me,” Toby said.
“Oh,” I mouthed, as he stood up. He seemed so much taller now and the locks of brown hair framing his boyish face seemed longer.
“I fell over playing tag with Billy.”
I nodded and the pain shot through my chest. I should have known. Making true friends was always how it started. What use would he have for me when he could have someone real.
“Billy in your class?” I asked. He’d talked about Billy before. Why hadn’t I seen it coming?
“Yes,” Toby replied, a smile lighting up his face. I loved that grin; cheeky and mischievous. He’d always used it to get himself out of trouble. It was his equivalent of a puppy dog face and his Mum was a sucker for it. I had always been too. Another sharp stab to my heart. “He’s coming over to play today.”
I nodded, urging my smile to appear genuine as realisation dawned.
“Did you know that Billy has a dog?”
“No,” I replied, glad that my false smile had fooled him.
“Well he has and one day Billy says I can meet him. Won’t that be cool Alice?”
“Very cool.” I was surprised at how calm my voice was, when inside I was near hysterical. Two years I’ve known Toby. Two whole years of memories. I stroked the bracelet around my wrist again, letting small flashbacks play in the foreground of my mind. Last year at the park when we’d chased all of the pigeons away so that they wouldn‘t steal the bread from the ducks. Camping in the back garden. His first day of school when I’d had to help him tie the laces on his shiny, black school shoes. The day he’d given me the friendship bracelet - that had been my favourite day of all. I swallowed the sobs that were building up in my throat. I had to stay strong. I didn’t want him to have to remember me that way; sad and crying. I wanted his last memory of me to be happy, just like it had always been when we’d been together.
A sharp knock brought my attention back to Toby’s bright blue bedroom. My eyes fell upon half finished jigsaws and abandoned toys strewn across the carpet, before they rested on the door. There was another knock before Toby’s voice rang out across my jumbled thoughts.
“Come in.”
The door slowly opened to reveal Toby’s Mum, a smile on her friendly face. A face I’d seen so many times without her ever seeing mine in return. She’d never believed enough to see me.
“Billy’s here,” she said, glancing down to where Toby was standing by his bed.
“Okay,” he beamed and I watched as she left the room without another word.
The atmosphere in the room grew cold, but Toby didn’t seem to notice. I sat motionless as he pulled on his favourite green fleece, the one we had chosen together on holiday last April. The olive green fleece reminded me of his eyes...
Before I knew it, he was at the door and my mind screamed at me to cry out to him. To call him back to me. But I knew that would be wrong. This was how it was supposed to end. It had to end. It had to stop so he could move on, grow up. He had Billy now. There was no need for me anymore.
I finally let the pent up sadness free, burying my face in my shaking hands.
“Alice?” His voice was so soft yet it still made me jump. I gazed over at him quickly, forgetting to hide the tears from him. His face fell and he took a step back towards me, squinting in my direction.
“Don’t cry Alice,” he pleaded, shoving his hands into the pockets of his shorts. “I’ll be back soon.”
I nodded, not trusting my voice. It was meant to happen and there was no use fighting it, but it didn’t mean that I wasn’t hurting. Our friendship was never going to last forever. It wasn’t supposed to. It was as if I could feel my heart shattering into pieces and I watched through wide, blurry eyes as he gazed at me for what I knew would be the last time. His eyes were almost completely glazed over, a milky haze shadowing the olive green. I felt the hollowness creep into my chest as he left the room, leaving me behind.
I knew that that had been the last time he’d see me. It was time for me to give him up. My job as an imaginary friend was done.
Thanks for reading!
Cut back on some of those long lists of emotion and make them into shorter sentences so they have more punch. ^_^
I will point out what I can but I warn you it will mostly be opinions as I think this stories already brilliant 
Have you ever seen drop dead Fred? Its a film on an imaginary friend, really brilliant one 
First of all, you're starting paragraph is good. You have drawn in my attention, but I don't know what Toby is. Is he seven? you state that he is, but somehow I get the impression that he isn't.
