That Boy From the Bar

The End

Song: Paris in the Rain by Lauv

-------------------------------------------------------------

Kole's eyes were wide as soon as the last sentence slipped my lips with a bitter aftertaste. A strangled sob escaped my throat, and his arms automatically caged me towards him. I cried silently on his chest as he softly stroke my hair.

Every pain that I felt years ago came rushing back to me in an instant. I knew that I needed to be strong so, with a lot of effort on my part, I continued.

"After her death, everything just went downhill for every one of us. Although, if we are, to be honest, Paige was the one who had been affected the most..."

I ran faster down the street as I saw him put his bags hastily inside his car, a bottle of vodka on his left hand. He was drunk, I was sure of that. If him stumbling was not enough proof, his droopy eyes could attest to it.

He was on his last bag when I reached him. I was just about to touch him when he fell on the ground. His head was in between his legs. I thought he was asleep. Until I have heard his silent cries.

"Paige," I uttered his name. He looked at me and I barely recognized him. He used to be that bubbly boy full of sunshine and rainbows and everything positive. But now, he was just an empty shell. A mere remembrance of who he used to be.

"I don't know what to do anymore. I-it was my fault. I should have told her I love her. I should have dated her, held her, hugged her, kissed her lips. V. What do I do now," he cried. Every word got softer until his voice was almost inaudible.

I didn't know what to say. Neither what to do. So, I ended up beside him on the pavement, not bothering to even pull my skirt down as I leaned back on the side of the car.

He was crying out the agony that was eating him. The sky was a dim blue, a reflection of what unfolded in the past few weeks. A picture of the broken boy with me. The wind felt prickly cold but I accepted each sting on my skin as a few tears escaped my tired eyes.

My chest constricted as rain suddenly dropped on us. Neither was bothering to seek shelter. The thunderous clap of lightning was not enough to cover his wails as he screamed her name over and over again. We were both drenched. The water soaking through inside our undergarments.

I felt naked as if I was stripped off my sanity and peace. If that was how I felt already, what more did it affect Paige?

"We stayed in the rain for a full three hours until our friends came to his house and saw us there. Funny thing is that I fell asleep that time," I said.

I looked over Kole, I thought he was already sleeping but rather, he had his eyes trained intently on me. "Go on," he whispered.

A few tears escaped my eyes and he wiped them all away. Swallowing the endless lumps in my throat, I went to the climax of my past. The answer to his question and he knew it.

I felt something comforting to him. A sudden shift of the atmosphere that told me if I only had ninety-nine percent of his attention earlier, I have everything now.

It was like our bodies were in sync. Like we were one person. Sharing the pain and insanity through our skins. And it urged me to let every negative feeling leave my soul.

With a shaky breath, I continued until the finale.

"It was a week after that incident in the rain. I remember that night so vividly in my mind it still scares the hell out of me every damn time."