erik menendez // if you love me..don't let go

chapter twenty-six

Strange - Celeste

Scarlett's POV

It was the first day back at school after my mini vacation. In the halls, I felt someone's presence. It was so strong. It came crashing down on me so unexpectedly. I knew that presence belonged to a stranger. But what's weird is that I knew everything about that stranger. I knew their deepest darkest secrets. I knew what side of the bed they slept on. I knew their favorite movie and favorite color. I knew everything. Yet at the same time, I felt like I knew nothing about them. At one point, I thought I uncovered what was hiding behind their mask, but then a new mask was formed. And now, that mask was like a brick. I just wasn't able to knock it down. It was too late. When I heard this stranger's name right before mine in the attendance, my heart picked up a beat. But why? I didn't know this person. They weren't anything to me. But for some reason, my mind couldn't get this stranger out of it. It felt glued to me. Glued to my heart. During lab, this stranger was my partner. I got deja vu from early September. My pulse quickened when the stranger would reach over for something on my side of the table. All of a sudden, I could feel heat creeping up on the different parts of my bodies where I knew I once felt this strangers hands on. Why? I kept asking myself that question every day. This person was a complete stranger, so why did I have such strong emotions towards them?
Why did I have to feel their presence so strongly?

Erik's POV

I love her.

I love her.

I love her. I love her. I love her.

I never knew people could feel emotions in such a way. In such a way that it physically hurt, not just mentally. It felt like a hand ripped through my chest, grabbed my heart, and squeezed it with all of their strength. Anger was an emotion I was all too familiar with. I knew how that felt. But...love. Love was barely in my vocabulary, it was barely said. Yet it hurt so badly. Was love supposed to hurt? It didn't hurt when I thought of my love for Lyle. So why did it hurt so badly when I thought of her? Why was she the one with the hand that squeezed my heart? Why did she have to take that role? With anyone else, I could've shrugged it off. But her? I couldn't do that. She couldn't escape. I would try and try and try to get her to leave my body, but she just wouldn't let go. I was in so much pain. I've never once experienced something so treacherous like this before. It felt worse than having to get assaulted five times a week every year. It felt worse than having someone else taking control of your own life.

As soon as she left my mind, she came back just as quickly as she left. With her piercing eyes and soft hair. Her perfect smile and laugh that was like heaven to my ears. The way she would latch onto me as if it was our last night together. But in some ways, was that our last night together? I never told her all of the things I needed to tell her, and now there might not be that chance. During Halloween, scary costumes weren't going to be what was haunting me. She was going to be haunting me. She followed me around everywhere. It got so frustrating sometimes I would just want to bang my head on the wall so hard until I got brain damage and forgot everything that happened. Forget the look of terror on her face when she walked into my room that one night. Forget the way she never accepted my apologies. Forget the way she looked so destroyed when I denied her of sitting next to me on the plane.

Scarlett's POV

If I could go back to before I met this stranger, I would. If I could go back to before I found out my mother had gotten cancer, I would. If I could go back to the moment where Annabelle asked me to go to the same High school as her, I would. Maybe then I wouldn't feel so conflicted with what I do. Maybe then I wouldn't have this weight on my shoulders, telling me it was my fault. Maybe then I would have someone I could talk to everyday.

With love comes heartbreak.

If I had just listened to my mother, everything would be okay. She always said to wait until you found the one. She said not to waste your love on the wrong person. Was he the wrong person? Was I wasting my feelings on him? Was this the heartbreak, or was this the end? Annabelle told me it was the start, but maybe he is really just like the other guys out there. But if he didn't do what he did, would we still be happy? Would we get so happy and then when the heartbreak would come along, would that just completely tear us apart? Maybe this was supposed to happen. It was supposed to be a lesson. But something in my brain kept telling me that it was him. He was the one.

Erik's POV

People always tell me I'm too quiet.

"He doesn't participate much."

"He needs to be louder."

But they didn't get it. I may seem quiet, but that's only because my mind is so loud. So loud it doesn't allow me to get any words out. If you took and MRI of my brain, all you would see is words. Everyday is a battle between me and those words. Most days, it defeats me and I lose. As much as I try to quiet down my mind, it just won't turn down. It's so loud it gives me headaches. My brain was always loud before her. But now, now my brain has officially reached its max. It's gone over the limit, in fact. If she could just leave. Leave my brain, leave my heart, leave me, maybe I would be able to quiet my brain. But for now, it's chaos. My heart is weak and drunken. And as much as I feel like she could fill that hole that's missing, I also feel like she's the one digging the hole.