always // a oneshot

Entered for a contest. Everything's in the description box. Hope you enjoy.

//

"Have a chocolate covered strawberry."

"I don't like chocolate covered strawberries." She turns her face into the hammock, facing away from him, trying to breathe. She knows he's upset, knows what he wants.

The selfish part of heart just doesn't want to give it to him.

"Everyone likes chocolate covered strawberries." He holds one out for her inspection and finally she caves, snatching it from his hand and devouring it greedily.

Her eyes meet his, brown, wary, "How are you doing?"

He shrugs, pushes the hammock a little so it will swing back and forth, "I had a dream about her last night."

She knots her hair together with sticky red fingers on the top of her head and tells herself to breathe.

"What did you dream about?" She hopes her voice doesn't sound hoarse, like she's wasted it yelling, trying not to cry. Becuase if her voice does sound hoarse, he's going to ask questions, and she'll have to lie -

-again.

He rocks on the balls of his feet, "I was standing there, and she walked up to me. She hugged me as tight as she could and told me that she was sorry for everything she'd done, that she loved me so much. She held my hand, and we just talked. And then -"

"Then?" She's staring at the ground, the hard ground with grass dying from this summer's drought. The grass carries a toughness of sorts with it, something she wishes she could absorb through her fingertips.

"Then she walked away." He leans against the old oak tree the top of the hammock is tied to and looks around her backyard. Her gaze follows his instinctually, and she takes note of all the leaves lying on the earth, letting her know that summer is almost over.

"I'm sorry." She touches his hand and watches him flinch.

"Don't be," he says, knotting his hands together. She watches his lips tremble. "I was so damn close to crying when I woke up. I didn't want to get out of bed; didn't have the will."

She shrugs, "Then cry. There's nothing wrong with it." She'll be crying when he leaves next week, even after he leaves today, because it will be an everpresent reminder that he has bigger and better things in his future than her.

"I haven't cried since eighth grade."

She bites her lip and turns away once more, because the words are right on the tip of her tongue and she doesn't want to say them. They're unselfish, the right thing to do, but it might mean losing him to this other girl, and she doesn't know if she's strong enough to deal with that. Tears build.

"Maybe you should talk to her."

"She won't talk to me," he says, bitterly, running a hand through his hair.

"Well," she begins, sitting up and listening to the crunch of leaves under her shoes. They're whispering that summer is coming to a close, along with simple times. "How long has it been since you've talked to her?"

"Eighteen months."

"Then maybe it's time to try again," she suggests, hating the words. "Maybe she's had time to process it."

"I asked her out and she abandoned our friendship! She was my best friend," he snaps, quickly taking a breath and running a hand over his face. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap. It's just - I'll be damned if she ever answers me."

//

She gets the text as she's just falling asleep, counting down the days until summer is over, counting down the days until he leaves for college.

"She replied," she reads in a whisper. "Thank you for returning my miracle to me."

Tears begin to flood her eyes and spill onto the pillows before she can control them.

"I h-hope you're happy," she whimpers. "I love you, but I'll never be your miracle."

And thus, as summer ended, she knew things would never be the same. But the saddest part of all was that if he ever came running back to her, if he ever needed her again, she'd be right here waiting.

Forever waiting, remembering that summer.

- the end -

//

Not my best work, but emotionally, I'm with every word.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• always
• oneshot
• contest
• 2011
• romance
• unrequited
• love
• sad
• song
• waiting
• for
• you
• yt:stretch=16:9