A/N: aaaa my first one-shot on here! please feel free to leave constructive criticism and/or send a request for an imagine. While this isn’t necessarily an imagine, i hope y’all enjoy it! (i drafted this on docs so the format is a little weird, sorry)
Warnings: allusions to d*ath / Angst, and just a little bit of fluff.
I open my eyes to the rumbling thunder sounding outside my window, jolting me awake. The trees shook viciously outside, throwing brittle, warm toned leaves to the ground and splattered drops of rain onto the glass. I stared at the clear glass vase on my nightstand with wilting white and yellow flowers caught in my line of sight. The nightstand filled with fallen, dried up petals, dirty tissues, not allowing whatever thank you note accompanying the arrangement to see the light of day.
I rolled my eyes and shifted over to lay on my backside. Now facing the ceiling, I’m met with assorted helium balloons. The helium-filled foil clinging to the ceiling lets me know mom must have brought them in while asleep. “Get Well Soon” I scoffed reading the decorative balloons, not finding any purpose in them -- other than being a pollutant.
Sighing, I sat up and pulled the comforter off the top half of my body. Wincing at the pressure burning in my left side, I lean over, reaching for my phone. I let out a deep breath as the pain drifted away when I sat back up. I turn my screen over to check the time, the bright screen reading 2:47 p.m.
It hasn’t occurred to me to change my lockscreen picture to avoid fighting back tears every time I glance at my phone. It was set to a picture that animated on command. I pressed down on the bottom corner of the phone to bring the screen to life.
The video began with Chris moving away from the propped up phone, running back over to where I was standing with his skateboard. He ran up, putting a hand on my shoulder, the other reaching for the end of the board closest to the concrete
“Acuéstalo.” I leaned down, placing the opposite end of the board on the ground. I looked back up for further instructions, only to be met with Chris holding his arm out. I took it, and we exchanged a smile, followed by a light-hearted giggle from Chris.
“Ahora, sube este pie” he nudged my foot with his own, and I placed my left foot onto the board.
“Okay, vas a subir el otro pie y te apoyes aquí en mi brazo” he steps to stand in front of me and the board with both his arms out for me to grab onto. Looking up at Chris for his approval, with the bounce of his swooped highlighted hair from a nod, I brought myself onto the board and balanced myself with his forearms.
“You’re a skater girl!” Chris shouted with a wide smile, startling nearby park-goers.
“I’m a skater girl!” I mimicked him. A strong gust of wind blew our way, sending chills down my spine. I brought my hand up to my face to move my hair that was now scattered in front of my eyes. With another blast of wind, I lost my balance and in the blink of an eye I went down, bringing Chris with me, the skateboard rolling off to the side.
Chris landed on my lap and we both burtsed out into a loud, uncontrollable laughter
Wiping away the trail of fallen tears, I place the phone back on the nightstand and turn over, back into the dip that has formed in my bed over the past month. Just as I begin to close my eyes, my door flies open. I look up and see Mila standing in the doorway, arms crossed and a small frown on her face.
“Jess” she drags off looking around the room and scrunching her nose. Mila sighs, putting her purse on the dresser nearest to the door, coming over my way, sitting on a clear space on the bed, by my side. Dreading the conversation I know is coming, I groan and pull my comforter over my head.
“Jess, don’t start.” Mila yanks the covers back down and puts a hand on my shoulder. “Hun, i know you’re in pain right now, but you can’t just stay in here forever. I know you’re hurting and I'm sorry that I don’t know what to say to make it hurt less. What I can do is take you out of here and remind you that there’s still a whole world out there waiting for you to go out and keep moving forward.”
“No there isn’t!” i shoot up, “You don’t understand, it’s as if i were in the car with him, i’m crushed. Except I'm still here, and I have to live with the fact, the pain, knowing he’s not here anymore. Knowing there’s nothing I can do to make it stop hurting. To bring him back. It should have been me.”
I shove Mila’s arm away from my shoulder. Hot, uncontrollable tears streaming down my face, “It should have been me! He should be here! He had a future waiting for him. College, a job; he was supposed to have signed the lease for his first apartment last Tuesday. He was the only thing I had.”, I choked out a sob, “And now he’s gone.”
Bringing my forearm to my face, I wiped away tears and stray hairs. Mila has never been the best at consoling, yet she pulls me into an embrace, letting my ragged breathing disappear into her washed-out rolling stones t-shirt.
We stay like this for what seems like hours until I've calmed down. Mila pulls away, her now soggy curls removing themselves from my flushed cheeks. I keep my eyes down, gliding my hands in my lap, and trying to contain the sniffles still in my system.
“I think,” Mila breaks the silence, ”we should talk about this a little more, relieve you of a bit from all that you’re keeping in. What do you say?” I nodded, pulling my sleeve over my fist and rubbing my eyes. “Alright, how about we go down to Judy’s for some coffee and we can just talk about whatever you feel comfortable with?” I nod again, remembering the strong scent of coffee and toast, mixed with the cool air in our local diner. Mila gets up from the bed and walks back over to the dresser by the door.
“Take your time to get ready, i'll wait for you downstairs, then we’ll head out” Mila gives a gentle smile, grabbing her purse and walking out of the room, closing the door behind her. I get out from under the duvet and swing my legs over the side of the bed, my feet grazing dirty tissues scattered on the carpet. I refrain from thinking too much about the outing and instead stand up, stepping into the slides on the floor by my bed.
I pulled on a random sweatshirt from the edge of my bed along with my phone, reaching for the doorknob. Before I went out the door, I paused to look at the framed picture of Chris and I, looking into the same brown eyes I know would want me to take this step on. With a deep exhale and a nod, I continued forward.