After the End

Chapter 2

March 22nd 1994. 12:34pm Eastern Standard Time.

"SPEEAAK" Mark awoke to his voicemail commanding. He didn't remember what time he fell asleep. He didn't sleep very well, he had nightmares. He'd had them every night since Roger died. He forced himself to get out of bed, thinking it might be Benny that was calling. As he walked into the living room, he realized it was a debt collector. They could never get off his back, he was up to date on all his payments, and they still hunted him down....
Rolling his eyes, he went to get dressed. He put on his red and blue sweater he wore at the life cafe after Maureen's protest so many years ago, a pair of jeans, his brown jacket and of course his scarf. He headed out the door, he hadn't been out in a few days and still had a few hours before Life Support. He ran back in and grabbed his camera and his bag--he couldn't forget those, and ran down the stairs into the streets of New York City. He hadn't been there in a year or so, so he went to Central Park.
He got down to the subway just as the train to Central Park left. He decided to film the people of the subways. He hoped his crappy camera would capture what he saw, people trying to make a living performing in the subway. There was a saxophonist playing some sort of ballad that vaguely reminded him of jazz. Taking his eye away from the lens, he noticed someone walking towards him. He blinked and realized it was a girl with black hair, wearing a Syracuse University hoodie and jeans.
"Hey, are you a film major?" She approached him, smiling. Her eyes lit up in the dark subway.
"No, I used to be about five or six years ago. I dropped out my senior year. I didn't like it, I wanted to shoot my own film." He told her.
"Well I was. I went to SU, as you probably guessed from my hoodie. Graduated last year. The name's Beth," she offered her hand, "and you are?"
"I'm Mark." He introduced himself- taking her hand and shaking it. Just then, he felt the wind of the train approaching. "Where are you headed?"
"Nowhere in particular... You?"
"I was going to kill time at Central Park for a few hours"
"Mind if I join you?"
Eh, why not. They could talk about filming and he wouldn't be alone, which he needed somebody. "Sure, why not?" He smiled at her. She smiled back, and he couldn't help but notice her beauty. She was shorter than him, but only by a few inches or two. Her black hair and blue eyes gleamed in the low light.
They talked the entire time on the train. When they got to Central Park, the first thing Mark saw was a hot dog stand. He looked at it longingly, he left what little money he had at home and he hadn't eaten since yesterday. Beth must've seen this, and he wished she hadn't cause she offered to buy him lunch. He was going to decline before his stomach growled, speaking for him. He just met her and didn't want to inconvenience her. But he needed to eat...
They shared their hotdogs on a park bench facing a pond. He thanked her for the food, and she said he looked like he hadn't seen food in years. Which was sorta true. He told her about how it's been hard, he's had barely any money and it's been hard since, well, his friend left.
"Your friend left you when you were broke?? What a dick!" She said.
He looked down, and forced himself to tell her. "He didn't leave me, he died. He had AIDS. Pretty much all of my friends did.. And I always knew I'd be the one to survive, and to eventually be alone, but I loved them. I loved him, his name was Roger, he was the last one to go. He died a week ago.. I couldn't leave them. Even though I would end up like this, with no one and nothing but my camera. That's what I'm filming actually. The homeless with AIDS. I want to document real life..." He said, avoiding her eye and trying to not let his voice break.
She held his hand, which sent shivers and goosebumps up his spine. It seemed the air was filled with electricity. He could feel his cheeks start to blush and he didn't want her to notice, so he looked away. Despite this, he started to cry. He couldn't stop the tears-they just started flowing. He wiped his eyes, and with a heavy heart, smiled at Beth. It must not have been convincing enough because she leaned into him and put her arm around him.
"It's okay to cry" she reassured him. And he did. This was one of the few times the filmmaker had cried in front of someone. And he just met her, but yet, he felt closer to her than he had to anyone else in a long time. Near the end of Roger's shortened life, Mark felt them getting more and more distant. From his best friend friend, who was there for him since they were five, from the man he loved. He did love Roger, yet he never told him his feelings. Maybe it was because he was a coward, or he felt the feelings weren't going to be reciprocated. But whatever the reason, he regretted it.
Gathering himself, he sat up. He could feel where the tears ran down his face. After wiping his eyes and fixing his askew glasses, he checked the time. It was almost 3 o'clock. "I'm going to be late for life support!" He practically announced.
"Life support?" Beth asked quizzically.
"Yeah it's for people with AIDS." He saw her concerned look and added "No, I don't have AIDS, but my friends used to bring me with them when they would go... I don't know why I go anymore to be honest. Do you wanna come with-I mean if you have nothing better to do..." He invited, not wanting to her to leave him.
Surprisingly, she agreed.