VENGEANCE

Sun Bleached Forget-Me-Nots

*flash back*
I was in a field full of flowers I ask " what's this one mama?" "That's an aster, Sofia. it's a beautiful buttery yellow flower that looks like a daisy, but more droopy. Mi Too used to say that it was the flower for heartbreak.". " And this one?" "That one is called Queen Anne's lace. It's clustered group of delicate white buds. When I was a young girl. I'd braid them into my hair and pretend I was a Princess.". " What about... That one?". "that's a Forget-Me-Not. They fit the fields with their vibrant blue petals, beckoning people like us to pick them. They are the flowers of true love when you give them to people. You are saying that you will never forget them, that you will love them for all eternity." My beautiful mama bends down and policies the Forget-Me-Not that I had pointed to, snapping the thin stem with ease. And she says "I'll press this one for you, that way you can keep it forever.". " Gracias mama! (Thank you mama!)" " Anything for mi florecita ( my little flower)"

*Present*
I call out " Cole?". "Sofia!" "Are you alright? You just l, and we were worried, so I came to find you and-" "I'm fine. You didn't need to leave the party." "Cole... Dean told me what happened to Mason." "He has no right to do that." "He just wanted to help, Cole, so do I." "None of u understand! To be so in control, but so out of it at the same time! It was my fault that he's gone. All my fault... There's a joke in my heart, Sofia and no one can fill it. No one but my mind, an innocent little brother who grew up on the streets but still did a damn good job of staying positive." "Cole-" "No! Don't try to tell me that is alright because it isn't and it's never going to be alright because I can't get him back." "Just-" "maybe I could have healed him myself? If only I had just called up Ace or something... But I doubt he even knows that I don't have Mason anymore..." "Just listen to me, Cole!" His head bolts up as I yell at him, and good tired eyes land on my face, desperately searching for some sort of comfort as the 'if only's ' assault his mind." he'd be eleven tomorrow Sofia. Eleven, that gives years without me..." I look into the child's dead eyes, and start to speak as Cole starts sobbing "I know what you're going through right now. If you didn't read my file, I lost my parents at a young age. I didn't understand how to get through the pain. For a while, I couldn't think anything but the past. Trying to imagine the future without my mama and papa, whom I friend on, seemed impossible." I swallow hard, trying to compose m in order to keep talking. "Forgetting, pretending, lying to myself... It all seemed easier than accepting the truth that my parents were really and truly gone. That my mama wouldn't be there to help me out on makeup for the first time. Or that I wouldn't heart her tinkling laugh as I tried on ridiculous prom dresses in order to find the perfect one." Tears start to fall from my eyes no matter how hard I try to keep them in
And through my watery gaze, I think I see Cole s tremble. " T-that my P-papa wouldn't be there to c-c-cross his arms and scowl as a nervous b-boy took me on my f-first date. Or that he wouldn't be able to walk me down the aisle at my w-wedding..." Sobbing freely now, I wore away the years and try to keep talking. "T-that instead o-of having my b-boyfriend meet t-them in an h-homey cafe, he'd have to k-kneel d-d-down and t-touch their h-headstones... I-in a d-dingy graveyard where the only t-two g-graves that are clean are the t-two with the l-last name Martinez." The cool night air feels good on my hot cheeks. I take in a shaky breath to compose myself, wiping away tears and brushing away strands of hair that had stuck to my face. "What I'm saying is, I know what loss feels like. I can understand everything you're going through right now. I know that Mason, wherever he is, would want you to be happy. He wants you to live a life where you can imagine the future. Not just a dark, uncertain area r is filled with nothing but broken dreams. You're chained to the ground by your 'could've beens'... Forced to watch everyone else walk as you struggle to take a step. You need to cut the chains. I know you can do it because I've done it too... Once you accept that you're not going to get the life you could've, you can live the life you've been given." I swallow hard and glance nervously at Cole, the breeze gently rustling TV he leaves of the trees above me as I quietly sniffle in the moonlight. Suddenly, I'm engulfed in warmth as comes arms wrap around me and squeeze me into a tight hug. " I-in sorry Sofia. That you had to go through... That." The initial shock rubbing off, I return comes hug and bury my face into his suit jacket, making my reply muffled but still clear enough that the child could hear it and chuckle lightly. "Ditto " he let's go and asks " how did your parents d Sofia? If you don't mind me asking, that is." "No, it's fine. My mama passed away when I was four due to lung cancer. And my Papa..." I trail off, realizing that I can't tell Cole that actual reason he died without blowing my v or at least riding suspicion." he... I'm s-sorry, I can't." "That's alright, I understand." "Do you want to go back to the party, it stays out here?" "I don't want to face Dean and Alec. I'll stay here, but you can go back." "I'll stay here with you."
Cole does down on the pavement and leans against he was gesturing to the spot next to him. I sit down and stare at the stars, resting my head on Cole's broad shoulders. The moonlight pools around me as if it's a puddle of silk, weighing on my eyelids and causing them to droop. I fall asleep cuddled up to come, dreaming of braiding a crown of Sun Bleached forget-me-not buds and placing be it on my pattern on their graves.