The Long, Winding Road

8.

Parts of the following may be sensitive
Please read with care <3

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Buzzing. Buzzing. Buzzing.

I swallow hard, too exhausted to move.

Buzzing. Buzzing. Buzzing.

My eyelids are heavy, and I know I'm going to die if I don't fight the urge. The sorrow is going to rip through my chest and kill me.

Instead, my trembling hands unclasp from around my knees and reach for the phone sitting in my back pocket.

William sighs. "Ella? Are you there?" His voice is concerned as I try to steady the phone to my ear. "I need you to tell me where you are." He pauses. "I shouldn't have let you go."

"I'm cold," I say, weakly. "Just leave me here."

"Goddamn it." There's a rustling on the other end, and I imagine him roughly rubbing his face. "Ella, sweetheart, where are you?" There's a pause. Sniffling. Heavy breathing. "Please," his voice cracks.

"It doesn't matter," I take in a sharp breath, shivering from the pool of rain water submerging me. "No one wants me."

"I DO," William cries out. His breathing is heavy. "Do you hear me? I do."

I shake my head, taking in a crying breath, "You don't mean it."

"Sweetheart," he sounds out of breath. "Of course I mean it. I've never meant anything more."

Guilt lies heavy in my chest at the thought of William panicking. But in my last moments of consciousness, I'm not thinking about him—I think about my parents. They won. All they ever wanted was to beat me down to nothing to lift themselves up, and they won. I imagine their smug faces, and I can hear the heartless, mocking laugher. They've got me to the point they wanted all along.

I lie looking out at the city, starting to feel my eyes lids weigh down with every passing second. I drop my arm to the ground and the phone slides out of my palm.

I can hear William talking on the other end, but it's muffled in my ears. Then there's nothing at all.

It's all static.

It's quiet.

It's cold.

It's dark.

Tears escape from my eyes, rolling down the bridge of my nose.

There's so much noise in my head. I try to block the sound, but it's so much louder now.

There's lights. It's so bright in my eyes as it reflects in the water below me. It shines so beautifully. The colours sparkle, and I know it must be close.

I can hear my name. The sound of the rain muffles the call, but my name echoes through. It's faint, but I know it's my name.

Everything is much closer now.

There's splashing all around me, and I'm too exhausted to understand why.

"Ella!" The sound is loud, and desperate.

I feel a light touch at my cheek, and my eyes flutter.

My heart skips a beat. "W-William?" I say faintly, trying to reason with myself that I must be hallucinating.

I reach out with my trembling hand, and my heart quickens at the feeling of his presence.

He falls to his knees, gently pulling me into him. It's instantly warm, and my breathing slows while my body melts into his arms. They remind my body, brain, and soul that he's with me, and the pain that is tight inside starts to slowly fade.