A Penny For Your Thoughts

Flashbacks Part One

   A soft warm light kissed her eyelids, when she opened them a ray of light was streaming though the wooden blinds on the window. She felt kind of fuzzy, confused and floating on air kind of feeling. 

  Michelle looked around and realized she was sitting in a classroom. AP Biology room 32B to be more specific. She was sitting on far left row towards the front of the class. On the board was written August 31st. The teacher was handing out LAB sheets when a group of loud teenage guys came in. All seniors, wearing varsity football jackets came walking in, unzipped backpacks hanging to the side of one shoulder, a few chuckles here and there with notebooks and phones in hand. They were all seemingly gorgeous in their own way- one in particular. He walked in, looking distantly ahead with one hand in his pocket. He smiled when one of his friends called out a joke to him, his smirk turned into a laugh. He sat down slowly in his seat towards the back of the room folding the LAB sheet into a paper airplane. His eyes focusing in his art work and eyelashes flicking up every time he blinked. It was all in slow motion. 

  His focused stare turned into a gaze at the white board while the teacher introduced himself. Becoming board, he stared aimlessly around the room until his eyes stopped on her. 

  Time passed quickly and class was about to be over, sixth period was almost done. With a few chuckles and dirty jokes, a paper airplane hit her in the back of her head. Only this time she didn't get angry. As she walked out of class and turned the corner, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see

  "Luke," he smiled leaning against he wall introducing himself, "I mean I'm Luke, I haven't seen you around before." She bit her lip remembering what is was like to see him up close for the first time. 

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  "Her heart beat is steadying," said the doctor. "Oh thank goodness," Mrs. Hartford pressed her face into her husband's chest in tears. "When is she going to wake up?" Luke asked. "That's hard to say. The way the impact hit her, she's fallen into a coma," the doctor answered. 

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  "Michelle," Luke's voice said over the phone. "Yes?" She replied in a curious way. "Would you like to come dinner at my house tomorrow evening?" he said playfully. "Maybe," she said as the butterflies filled her stomach with excitement. "I'll see you tomorrow then," she could feel him smiling over the phone line as he said that. "Good night Luke," she said before hanging up.

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  "Wait. What do you mean you don't know if she'll wake up?" Luke asked carefully. "The impact of the car sent her body flying. She hit a lamp pole Sir, her brain is currently swollen and there's too much fluid, it's causing her body to react. The results are unknown," the doctor answered. 

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  His presence was consuming her. There was absolutely no way she could stop her heart from beating so fast inside her chest. "I think I should probably get you home before your parents get mad at me," Luke said looking at her from the driver's seat. His blue eyes shining through the darkness of the car while riding along a little back road. She checked the time, "Wow it's already one in the morning? Yeah maybe I should get home." "Y'know I wish we could stay out longer, I really like this... being alone and getting to know you," said Luke. "Yeah I wouldn't mind staying all night if I could," she said wishfully. They noticed the fog growing on the window shield. "Man these October nights are really getting cold," Michelle commented. "I can turn the heat up if you want," he said reaching for the knob- at the same time their mere fingertips touched and she pulled back saying, "Sorry." She felt sparks that she didn't want to feel at the moment, so she placed her hand on the arm rest to keep a distance. Though despite her effort, Luke subtly placed his hand on top of hers and laced each finger one by one. 

  Both of them didn't mind staying like that. 

   Icicles fell when the car door slammed shut. It was the middle of December and Luke would not listen to her on how to get the tree off the car. "Will you please just listen to me?" She said frustrated. "I'm doing this just fine! Not like your helping by yelling," Luke snapped. "You're going to bend the tree!" she scolded. "It's not your tree so don't worry about it," he retorted. "Why are you being so difficult?" she said placing a hand on her hip while he carried the tree halfway up the hill towards his house. "I'm being difficult? Why don't you just stop telling me what to do? It's all you've been doing the entire way down here!" he grunted re-adjusting the tree on his back. "If you don't like me, maybe you shouldn't have invited me to New Jersey with you!" she said offended. "Maybe next time I won't!" Luke said. "Fine!" Michelle yelled. "FINE!" Luke repeated. "WE'RE THROUGH!" She stomping off with his car keys. "Whoa!" Luke said putting the tree down immediately and following her. 

  "Now where do you think you're going off to with my car?" he said leaning against the door. "Oh move!" she shoved him to the side. Michelle quickly got in and Luke held the door opened before she could slam it. "I think we need to talk about this," Luke reasoned. "Why should we? We're done," she confirmed. "Now Michelle this relationship is only done when I say it is. You don't make that decision yourself," he said holding the steering wheel straight. "Let me go!" she screamed. "You are not driving off with  my car in this weather with that attitude. And you're not leaving me until I say you can leave," Luke said patiently with confidence. She pulled the keys out of the ignition and handed them to Luke. "I'm sorry what I said," he apologized. "Yeah I'm sorry too," I bit her lip and hugged him. While she looked over his shoulder she noticed the tree was gone. "Um Luke," she said suspiciously. "Yeah?" he said. "Where's the tree?" she asked. They had found it at back at the bottom of the hill. 

  After they had walked and slipped down the snowy hill, they finally dragged the poor Christmas tree to the house and rested it on the porch. Inside they had showered and got dressed in nice warm clothes. Michelle rolled Luke's sweater up on the sleeves so she could pour herself a cup of coffee. He'd been building a fire in the fire and was now resting on the couch about to fall asleep. She tucked herself in between him and the couch cushions, holding her coffee protectively. Stroking his hair and realizing what she could have lost out of her irrationality. 

  "I don't ever want to leave you- if you don't leave me," Luke said before falling asleep. At that moment- she fell hopelessly in  love. 

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  Abby and Luke's mom had left, Mr. and Mrs. Hartford went home to grab somethings. Now, he was all lone pacing the halls himself. It was five in the morning and he could not go to sleep. Her parents had told him to leave and the doctors insisted him to go. But he stayed. Staring out the window, drinking a cup of coffee from the nearby Wawa's gas station, he thought about life at the moment. Why wasn't it him? Why her? She had done nothing wrong, if anything Michelle was one of the sweetest souls this earth would ever see. 

  As her smile, her eyes, the memories, her scent, her touch, her sweet voice came back to him, so did all the promises. Oh all the broken promises! He crushed his empty coffee cup while he thought of how unfair it was. If this was God testing him, He might as well give him a fail and move on. This was painful- to watch the life being sucked out of an innocent soul- for what he himself had done. Looking out of the window, a ray of light poked through the dark morning sky- it was almost a sign that everything would be okay. But as soon as the ray of light appeared, it was quickly covered up by a cloud and disappeared. 

  Right then, did he realize he had loved someone. After all this time, after so many girls- he finally loved someone. Yet he let go of the one person he loved the most. It dawned on him that he might actually lose Michelle- for her to go off into forever without him. He realized, he couldn't lose her. She had been that once in a life time gal that was an anchor for his heart- her absence would be half of his heart gone missing. 

  The sunken feeling came up from his stomach and formed a lump in his throat. He couldn't breathe for the first time. He felt his heart shatter at the thought of Michelle being gone for the rest of his life. He couldn't face that fact. Luke dropped to his knees and said, "If you're listening... don't take her. Please don't take her."