EPHEMERAL - Short Stories Collection #1

Last Chances

The sound of distant music was heard on the other side of the door. Jason sighed as he raised his hands to knock on the wooden door, just like all those times before he and Tori broke up.

Tori broke up with him months ago. He had a busy schedule and he had no time for her at all. It wasn't a surprise for Tori because he was a famous actor after all so it's normal. But the news and media were too much for her to handle.

You see, Jason never exposed Tori at the public eye. Tori wasn't a famous artist like him. She was just an ordinary girl but in his eyes, there was something extraordinary about her.

They kept their relationship private, so nobody really knew about the both of them dating, not even their parents or friends.

They see each other secretly and most of the time it was inside of an apartment, Tori's apartment to be exact, because the location wasn't crowded too much.

Because of him being an actor and all, he met a lot of girls. He had leading ladies and often had kissing scenes with them. One of the leading ladies, Georgia, was rumored to be his girlfriend. They weren't actually, but the media insisted that they were secretly dating, much to Tori's disappointment.

Their relationship lasted for a year and ended after Tori's outburst. She was sick and tired about him not having enough time for her. They rarely talk and they rarely meet. It almost as if Tori didn't exist in her life. So she slammed her front door shut in front of him and that was it. It was over.

Jason didn't mind though. He did everything he could to forget about her but he couldn't. How could he forget and move on from someone who loved him despite of his schedule, leading ladies, and kissing scenes? He wasn't the one really hurt here. She  was.

After drinking a few more shots of beer, Jason drove towards Tori's apartment to talk to her and beg for one last chance.

And there he was, standing in front of her door in the middle of the night, imagining Tori was alone inside of her room, listening to her favorite songs. Just like before.

He straightened up, a bit drunk, and knocked loudly enough for her to hear.

···

Tori was upstairs, inside of her room, all alone. She was lying on her bed while listening to one of those heart breaking songs that she has on her iPod. She rolled over to her bedside table and saw a picture of her and Jason. She sighed and placed it inside of her drawer. She closed her eyes and thought of all the things and memories she had with Jason.

All those happy memories led her back to the moments where she always see him walk inside of the apartment, hear him say his apologies, and after a few minutes of cuddling, leave because of "emergencies."

All those bittersweet memories of having him inside of the apartment and watching him go so quickly was haunting her now.

She didn't know if stupidness was an understatement for her to stick with him. She didn't know. She only know that time that she was deeply in love with Jason. And she knew that when you love someone, you could do stupid things for them.

Is this still stupidness though?

Sighing once again, she closed her eyes and was about to sleep when she heard a knock.

That's odd, she thought. She stood up and walked downstairs. Who could this mystery person be? And why are they here in the middle of the night?

Once she reached the first floor, she glanced at the clock. 2:12 A.M it said. She sighed and she opened the door.

Tori looked up and what she saw made her eyes widen in disbelief.

There in front of her was Jason and he was crying. The very first time she saw him crying.

···

When the door opened, Jason was hoping to see Tori's soft, smiling face. Instead, Tori had her eyes widened and then it turned into a glare. Not the Tori he used to know.

"We need to talk," he said, his voice cracking. Tori sighed and answered coldly, "There's nothing to talk about anymore, Mr. Rochester. If that's what you are doing at my apartment, then you have your answer. You are free to leave." She was about to close the door but Jason placed his foot to prevent her from doing so.

"Jason, that night when I talked to you, was the last time I'm ever gonna let you inside of my door. Now go! There's nothing left for you to be back here," Tori angrily said, her own voice cracking because of the tears that were threatening to spill.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything I did, Tori. Please. That was the last time I'll ever hurt you. I won't hurt you anymore, please," he sobbed before adding, "I won't hurt you anymore. Please give me one last chance!"

Tori finally let the tears roll on her cheek. She stopped pushing the door and opened it wide. She broke down, crying loudly as Jason rushed inside and hugged her.

"How could you break my heart and fix it in a blink of an eye?" she choked out. Jason wiped away her tears and said, "Because you love me, as much as I love you. I promise to put you at the top of my list, Victoria. Thank you for giving me this last chance."

···

And so, Jason introduced Tori to the public. Now the whole world knew about their relationship. Sure, there were people who judged their relationship, but that couldn't break them so easily.

Soon, Jason proposed to Tori upon receiving an award for his acting skills. He thanked her for that one last chance she gave him on that exact doorstep and kneeled down on one knee, holding the red velvet box to her.

Of course, it all ended to her answering him with a 'no.'

Kidding, of course she said the biggest 'yes!'