Eclipse By Love

Chapter 7:The Weight of Grief

The days after Blair’s conversation with Mrs. Harper were still hard, but they weren’t quite as suffocating as before. A tiny spark of hope had been lit within him, even if it flickered weakly. He began to force himself out of bed each morning, though it still felt like he was walking through a fog. Everything around him reminded him of Angel, the park where they spent afternoons talking, the café where they shared hot chocolate, even the school hallways where her laughter had once echoed.

Each memory was like a knife to the heart, but there was a sense of quiet resilience growing inside him. He had made a promise to Angel, and he wanted to honor it. Still, the idea of moving forward seemed impossible. How could life go on without her?

School became a blur. Blair returned, though he felt like a ghost, drifting from class to class without much thought. His teachers were kind, offering extensions on assignments, and his friends tried to be supportive, but they didn’t understand. No one really did. Not even his best friend, Nick, who had been there since childhood.

“You need to get out of your head, man,”Nick said one afternoon as they sat on the bleachers near the soccer field, watching the team practice without Angel. The sight of her empty spot on the field tugged at Blair’s heart, and he tried to avoid looking in that direction.

“I’m trying,”Blair replied quietly, his voice hollow. “It’s just…everything feels empty.”

Nick sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I know it’s hard. But Angel wouldn’t want you to stay stuck in this. She’d want you to live your life. You’ve still got a future ahead of you.”

Blair nodded, but his eyes remained fixed on the ground. He knew Nick was right, but knowing it didn’t make the pain go away. He appreciated the concern, but no one could tell him how to stop missing her. No one could explain how he was supposed to fill the void Angel had left behind.

A few weeks later, something shifted. One evening, Blair sat in his room, staring at the blank pages of his sketchbook. He hadn’t touched it since the accident, afraid that drawing would only bring the memories crashing back harder. But Mrs. Harper’s words echoed in his mind, “Angel loved your art. It’s what she would have wanted.”

With a deep breath, he picked up his pencil, his hand trembling slightly. At first, he didn’t know what to draw. The silence in the room was overwhelming, but slowly, the pencil began to move, almost on its own.

At first, it was just shapes,lines and curves that didn’t make sense. But as he drew, the image began to take form. His hand moved with more certainty, and soon, Angel’s face appeared on the page, as clear as if she were standing right in front of him. Her eyes sparkled with the same warmth he remembered, and her smile was as bright as the summer sun.

Blair’s chest tightened as he stared at the drawing.

To be Continued...