Our Escape in the Stars

The End

I can't breathe. My mind is racing a million miles per hour. He was going to the hill. Our hill. That's why he was there. He was going to go see me. But I wasn't there.

"Miss, are you still there?" I hear the lady say, but she sounds far away, even though she is speaking directly in my ear. The world had stopped. The blaring music from the house had become nothing more than a buzzing. I couldn't process anything. I didn't want to.

"Miss?" I hear again. In an instant, I hang up the phone. Everything is blurred, I can't see straight and I feel like the world has suddenly run out of oxygen. But I need to get there. I need to see him.

I run back into the house. Ignoring everything around me, I find Zoe. She sees my face and immediately stops laughing. Her smile replaced by concern.

"Can I please have your car keys?" I ask quickly.

"Are you okay? Did something happen?" she questions, but I don't have time for it.

"Please. I need your car!" I beg.

"Okay, of course. Where are you going? Do you need me to come with?" she asks while fishing her car keys out of her purse. As soon as she hands them to me, I turn on my heels.

"No, it's fine. Have fun," I manage before I run for the door.

I run in the car and drive. I drive to the hospital. And I don't allow myself to cry. Keep strong. For him.

I burst through the doors of the hospital. I run to the counter, immediately grabbing the attention of the lady.

"Which room is Ethan in?" I ask frantically, basically screaming.

"Ethan who?" she replies calmly.

"Ethan..." Dammit, I don't know his last name. "I don't know, but he was hit by a drunk driver a few minutes ago."

"He's in here," I hear a voice from beside me. I look up and see a lady, I'm guessing it's the lady I talked to on the phone. She points to a door beside her and I run to it.

I open the door. I see him. Ethan is laying on the hospital bed with his eyes closed, covered in blood, and connected to all kinds of machines. I rush to his side.

I take his hand in mine kneeling beside him. His eyes slowly open at the sudden contact and he looks at me. A light turns on in his eyes.

"Hi," he says with a crooked smile on his face.

"Hi," I respond, holding back tears with all my strength. "Don't worry, it's going to be okay. You'll be okay." I say trying to sound as calm and convincing as possible, even though it's not true. I need to be strong for him.

"Don't worry, I know, and I'm ready," he replies, with a knowing look.

I feel a tear drop down my cheek. No, this can't be it.

"I am so sorry," I start, "I was invited to a party and I accepted for once, so I spent the whole day with Zoe getting ready for it and I had completely forgotten to tell you about it. I am so so-"

"How was the party?" he asks with a smile on his face.

I'm a bit taken aback, but I answer truthfully. "I actually really enjoyed it. I danced a lot," I say with a small smile.

"That's really good. I'm really proud of you," he says smiling like he really means it. "You look really good," he says with a sly smirk and that makes me laugh a bit.

We don't say anything for a little bit. I look at him and see all the blood on him and the pain in his eyes. No. My heart breaks seeing him like this. He is my happiness, he can't leave. Not now. Not ever.

I put my head on his shoulder. "I can't live without you. Please don't leave," I say, tears pouring down my face. "I need you."

He lifts his hand up to my face and carefully lifts my head back up so my eyes meet his. He brushes off my tears with his thumb. A gentle smile on his face.

"You have to live. You've got a whole life ahead of you and so many good things awaiting you," he caresses my face and I lean into his hand.

"But you're my good thing," I protest.

He gives a weak laugh. "There are so many other good things, I promise," he says looking into my eyes. "You make your own light, remember?"

I try to look like I believe it and so I give him a small smile, but the tears keep flowing.

"I like your laugh a lot more than your crying," he says with a small smirk.

I laugh lightly and he smiles a bright smile in response. He is so perfect, I think.

He slightly shifts and I can tell he's getting slower and weaker by the second. My heart burns. He isn't going to be here for much longer. I can tell it's getting harder for him to keep his eyes open.

I lift my face up to his and kiss him. I kiss him like it's the last time I will ever kiss him. I want him to know how much he means to me. I want to repay him for everything that he has done for me. He is the best thing that has ever happened to me and I want him to know that.

He kisses me back, with all the strength he has left. And the kiss is magical. I could kiss him for eternity. It's so perfect and so right, and it breaks my heart even more because I know it's our last.

We pull apart, both a bit out of breath but my heart is on fire. My eyes meet his captivating forest-green eyes that I love so much and we stare at each other.

"I love you," I say. "So much."

He smiles weakly. "I love you too, so much."

And I see his eyes close. A tear falls from my eye. I lay my head on his shoulder, tears slowly falling down my cheeks and onto him. I hold onto his hand so tightly and I feel him slightly squeeze it, holding it tightly. Then, I feel his grip loosen. His tense body relaxes. And his shallow breathing stops. And the heart monitor's slowing beeps turn into one constant and long beep.

I lay there. Tears falling. Heart breaking. But I don't let go. I stay there for a while. I don't move. His hand in mine and my head on his shoulder, I wait for whatever kind of movement from him, hoping this is all just a nightmare.

I feel a hand on my shoulder and look up. The nurse is looking down at me with sympathy on her face. And I start sobbing, knowing this is all real. Too real.

I stay there, kneeling by the bed, holding his hand, and sobbing into his shoulder with the nurse's hand comforting me on my shoulder for what feels like hours.

When I have no more tears left in me, I slowly stand up, my knees burning from sitting on them for so long. I look at Ethan one last time. His face is completely relaxed. Eyes closed. The most peaceful expression lays upon his face. I look at the creases by his mouth and his eyes, a sign he has laughed and smiled a lot in his life. A mark left on him by happiness. A beautiful imprint. A blessing.

I bend down, closing my eyes, and kiss his forehead one last time. Slowly, I lift back up and the nurse guides me out of the room, leaving him behind. I walk. No knowledge of where or how. But I walk. Completely numb.

I get to the doors of the hospital and push them open, stepping into the night air. I look up at the sky. Shining down on me, on the hospital, are the five stars of Cassiopeia. Bright as can be.

I think back to the night he told me the constellation's story, about Perseus and Andromeda's love story. I think about how strong and powerful their love was that they deserved their own constellations. And I know that even though mine and Ethan's love story didn't end in a 'happily ever after', our love was just as strong and our souls will belong to the sky for eternity. He will have his own constellation in the sky, even though he deserves the whole universe.