She sat there sobbing to herself; the pain was all too much. Unimaginable possibilities gave her hope, but only one could fill in the blanks. The sound of screeching tires, the repetitious honking of a car; it was all too late when his voice disappeared abruptly. Serenity knew the only realistic scenario; He’d been hit.
The instant realization and regret that hit her was slowly becoming unbearable. Only minutes before, she’d been shouting into the phone, the conversation lively. Their fight was about something terribly minor, yet she could not control her anger. Serenity could only imagine what it would’ve been like if her thoughts had been clear and she did not lash out at him. She instantly snapped back to reality at the sound of a nearing ambulance on the other end of the line, which reminded her otherwise.
She frantically tried to remember where he was when the fight had just begun. She threw away all the details of the pointless argument and found the location buried in her mind. Serenity could think of nothing else but him, because nothing else mattered. She ran to her car in her polka dotted pajamas and messy hair; time seeming to run too fast. Her heart beat pounded in loud in her ears, she knew that each minute that ticked by was crucial.
When she reached the hospital Serenity found the room immediately. Serenity stood in front of the door, afraid to see what stood on the other side. Serenity gathered all her courage and pushed open the door. There he was, she’d finally found him, yet it wasn’t him at all. “Who is that man?” she asked the nurse bewilderedly. “That’s him, Charlie Matsuri.”
Tears fogged her vision involuntarily. “That’s not Charlie, it can’t be him. It can’t be.” She muttered to herself almost as if she had lost all sanity. Cuts were everywhere, a white bandaged wrapped securely around his head; nothing was unscathed on his body. The scene was all too unreal, she half expected Charlie to wake up and tell her in his sweet melodic voice, “I’m fine. This was all a joke. Happy birthday babe, I love you.” This could not be real, this could not be Charlie, she thought to herself.
Serenity ran her fingers across his face, and sure enough the little scar was there, at the corner of his right eye. This was not the Charlie she’d met a year ago. This was the Charlie that she had created; the Charlie that she ruined with her cold harsh words.
The bits and pieces of the last words they spoke to each other replayed; the last words that they shared. “No, I really don’t want to listen to some silly song right now! I have other things to do, it’s not going to cheer me up!” she’d said. “Just listen to me, you’re gonna love it. You’ll feel a lot better.” Charlie was a pianist and a composer while I was a lyricist and singer. Everyone believed we were the perfect couple, something straight out of a fairytale. They’d see that Charlie was a pure gentleman while I was a considerate woman with all the charming qualities. But they never knew about the fights behind the curtains. Even Charlie, always so calm, gentle, and patient could not always handle the pressure that I put on him.
From when we were first stranger, to when we inched together for our first kiss, and now as a comfortable pair; I’d slowly learn to put all my weight on him. Whenever I had anything to stress about, in my career, in my family, or even my friends, he’d always been there for me and soon I was just too dependent on him. Towards the beginning of the relationship, I would always cave in to his sweet words. He’d always pull me to the piano and play my favorite songs. We’d entered the musical world together, only wishing for the happiness of other. We performed on the streets at whim, laughing and smiling when the crowd applauded and complimented our love together. But as time went by I became more and more conscious of my work, striving to always be the best. Soon, I was signed into a music company. Even then he would be considerate and record songs for me on my iPod. He’d always preserve the most important detail to a musical piece; enjoyment.
Today was the day before my debut would be released and it seemed as if millions of things were going wrong. Yet he kept me going, letting me lean on him every step of the way. But I took advantage of him, I took my anger out on him; anger that he didn’t deserve. After the death of her parents, Charlie has taken her in, saving Serenity from her darkest fear; being alone. He never thought about the ways she hindered him, only the different ways to make her smile. Why had she not thought about this when she was being so cold to him? She never had the chance to thank him or tell him how much she always needed him. It’s all too late to regret.
“Charlie, is this how you’re going to propose to me? You didn’t even get to hear my answer. Baby, don’t leave me hanging. You never got to put the ring on my finger.” she sobbed. She imagined Charlie’s hair glistening in the sun, one knee on the pavement sheepishly pulling out the ring from his pocket. He’d tell her that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her; the rest of eternity with her. Then he would ask her to marry him.
Serenity sat at the nearby chair, sobbing into his arms, hoping that he could wake up.
“Serenity! Serenity!! WAKE UP. Honey it’s your birthday and I have a special surprise for you! I can’t believe you stayed up all night watching that drama. What’s so great about the story anyway? It’s a typical girl who gets punished for not loving her boyfriend enough.” Serenity got up and rubbed the sleep off of her eyes.
“Charlie?” she asked.
“Yes honey?”
Serenity opened her eyes wider to stare at the figure that stood before her. Charlie wore an argyle sweater, her favorite. There he stood, perfectly balancing a cake in the air and a bouquet of roses in the other. It was all a nightmare and she now knew better than to take this many for granted. Serenity threw off her covers and immediately ran to Charlie knocking over the cake in his hands; she didn’t care about anything else but him. No matter how much there was to be handled, and they’d always be together.
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