The Storm In Their Hearts - Aching Hearts Series #3

Don't swallow

CHAPTER 9 - DON'T SWALLOW

REBECCA'S POV

I would have sworn I heard the door closing. But maybe I only dreamed of it. I barely slept last night, actually, I only fell asleep that it was early morning already, that's why I overslept, and I guess that's also why my phone was practically blowing off with calls from my employer, the owner of the ice cream parlor, I work there all day on Sundays.

The first thing I saw when opening my eyes was the teddy bear Tom gave me for our first Valentine's Day together. It was cheap, but he won it for me at the claw machine when that day we went to the movies, so to me it was way more valuable than any expensive thingy.

You see, our first Valentine's Day was cheap in every sense, because we barely had a penny, and were able to sneak in to see the movie only because there was a friend of his working there and he let us in without paying.

All we did that day was see a movie and then walk around, grabbing a hot dog when we were hungry, then we found that claw machine, and Tom dug in his pockets, where he still had a couple of dollars, and insisted on grabbing something for me, as a gift, at least one, for our first Valentine's Day.

The thing is, he worked throughout all high school, many little jobs that served him to save money for us, I worked a little too, just because I didn't want it to be only on his shoulders, but since Tom turned 18, our lovely parents had the very kind idea of charging him for every month he stayed in that house, which means he had to pay rent, along with bills and our groceries, and that obviously drained out all he had, because, you know, it's not like his little jobs paid off that much.

Sure, he'd just started working for a mechanic, and his friend also told him he was able to get him a job there at the theatres, but it remains, we were kinda broke right then, also because my job consisted of helping the old lady that lived across from us cleaning up her house, and it's not like she paid me that much either, though a week later I started working as cashier at a supermarket.

It was one of the cutest days we had, though. Because it didn't matter that we couldn't do much, we were together, and that was enough.

God, that has always been the very basis of our story. We were together. That was all we needed, and that was all that gave us the strength to keep going, despite our shitty family. Now it's all gone.

I took a deep breath and wiped away the residual tears, then slowly sat up on bed, carefully placing the teddy bear beside my pillow, smiling at it. It's a relief that I at least have these sorts of things to keep the memory of him.

Although there are also pictures and a couple of videos: we were barely able to spare enough to get two phones when he graduated from high school, so that we could communicate in some way and he'd know when did he need to come pick me up earlier or so, therefore we didn't have the latest models, just two Nokia 3310 each, you know, the indestructible phone, but Tom bought also one of those old disposable cameras, for us to capture our moments, therefore there is a whole album of photos of us, and when he got his Smartphone – a very kind Christmas present from his employer, the mechanic, just a couple of months before the tragedy – we started filling that too with pictures and videos and ... everything.

Because every single free moment he had, Tom spent it with me, and he always made sure I enjoyed myself. That phone, I keep it securely hidden with the rest of his things, and I scroll through it sometimes, just to relive some memories, for how painful it is. It's pure luck I was able to retrieve it, and only because he'd tucked it in my backpack that night that we fled.

Taking one more deep breath, I decided today I'd force myself to be my usual self, at least around the guys, just not to worry them. Sitting up, I stretched a little, and when my eyes landed on my nightstand, I was startled to notice a tray full with mouthwatering goodies.