MAC: The Twisted Alternative

20: The Twisted Alternative

—SQUIDS POV—
I felt awful walking out.
The true feeling of abandonment swept through me.
He was going to die. He was actually going to die. He was my best mate and I wasn't doing anything about it!
I felt myself shrivelling up as I called for a taxi.
I couldn't come to terms with the fact that he had a brain tumour, and that I couldn't help him.
As I sat in the taxi I felt myself trembling. Everything that could have went wrong went wrong. This was even worse than the worst case scenario.
In a couple of months he'd be dead and I'd have no one. And that thought killed me.

The taxi dropped me off at work, I limped out of the car with my crutch. Using as much energy as I could muster, I found myself limping towards the automatic doors of the studio.
Getting a few stares, I made my way back to my office. I hadn't been here in almost a month and already dust was beginning to pile up on the files scattered upon my desk.
"Excuse me?" Someone called. I pivoted around to see who it was.
"David?" Said Patricia, walking over to me.
"Hello." I responded with a slight croak to my voice as I tried to muster a smile, briefly kissing both her cheeks.
"Gosh- how- how are you? Sit down!" She insisted, but I didn't want to sit down. I had a horrible feeling in my gut and I felt that if I sat down I would just fall apart and cry.
But, I did anyway.
My hand fell to the table, I flopped onto the chair, my face flushing red. A wave of nausea crashed in front of me.
"I can't do this.." I began, tears flooding around my swollen eyes.
"David.. David breathe. Tell me what's going on." Said Patricia. Closing the door and shutting the blinds. She hunched down beside me, putting her hand on my shoulder.
"Tell me what's going on." She said again. It was only when I looked into her eyes I realised how much she looked like Beth.
Her hair was a lighter shade of blonde and her eyes were enhanced by the slight wing of black kohl.
I tensed as she slowly held my hand. I covered my mouth, trying to keep myself together.
Then I told her everything.
I took out Joe's resignation forms, Patricia looked up at me confused,
"Did you two know each other well?" She asked,
I nodded, "yes." I told her, "shared a house in Manhattan for three years, best mates before then.."
"What happened?" She asked. But I didn't want to tell her, I didn't want to speak about Beth or anything else.
I shook my head, wiping the tears from my eyes before I pulled out my own resignation papers.
"David... David what are you doing the movie is coming out in less than a week-"
"I'm done." I sighed,
"David- why?!"
"Joe's terminally ill and I've just made his life a mess and- and I don't deserve this." I told her, trembling.
Patricia stood back for a second before rubbing my shoulders. "Of course you deserve this you're the best writer we've got."
I bit my lip, giving up on hiding my tears.
"How would you know." I responded with more anger than I intended.
"David, I think nine years of experience-"
"It's Mr Spencer to you." I told her, "I've made my decision. I'm done. And if you don't take your hands off me you'll be done too."
She took her hands away from my shoulders at once, nodding and walking away.
I was still shaking.
My head facing the desk.
I knew I had been too harsh. I knew this wasn't her fault.
"Patricia-" I called, but she closed the door and left.

—STAMPYS POV—
I sat in my apartment. Rain poured from the grey sky as I lay on the sofa.
My eyes kept twitching and my head burned with pain.
I missed those nights with my friends, or with Beth.. but I didn't have her anymore.. no one would ever know how much I loved her.. but she never loved me at all.
As I stared out of the glass doors onto the balcony I thought about how easily it would be to just let go. I wouldn't have to suffer anymore.

—BETHS POV—
The snow was starting to melt as I hurried across the streets of New York. I wore a red coat, it was the only one I had brought with me. I looked down at my phone, Joe had sent me the address of his new flat before we broke up.
I had pondered about the idea of seeing him again, I assumed he hated me, but the realisation that he loved me concluded in my regret of breaking up with him.
Walking close to the Hudson bridge I felt a familiar presence, I turned around and there he was. David Spencer.

—SQUIDS POV—
As I looked at the lady in red I couldn't help smile,
"Cant help but have a sudden notion of déjà vu." I admitted, giving a mere laugh.
"I could say the same." Beth replied, walking towards me, blushing until she noticed my tear-stained face.
"Dave what happened?" She asked, placing her hands on my shoulders.
I told her everything about Joe's illness, sitting down on a bench to rest my leg.
I noticed Beth's eyes start to glimmer with tears, I knew she still cared about him.
"You know he loves you." I told her, "he loved you more than I ever could. And he needs you now, he really needs you."
Beth nodded, "I never really thought about how much he cared about me.." she admitted, looking down, "Have you been to his flat?"
"Yeah.. come on I'll bring you there." I told her, patting her back.
I crookedly got up, shaking off the fatigue and the pain from my leg. We began to walk over the bridge into New Jersey, I saw Stampy's apartment block in the distance.
"I'm sorry we couldn't be something." She told me; out of the blue.
I blankly smiled, unsure how to respond, "still friends right?" I asked,
"Course we are." She giggled, nudging me.
The dark grey clouds lurked in the sky, it looked as though the rain would start again any second as we walked towards the tower block.

Suddenly Beth gasped, "oh my god."
My stomach dropped as I looked up to one of the top balconies to see Joe standing on the railing.
The railing was wide, i approximated about three feet, enough for him to stand on it, but I assumed the rain had made it slippery. Stampy never had good balance, and this tumour was only going to worsen it.
I felt myself freeze, with the incapability to alert him. But he saw us.
"Beth go up to him, I'll talk to him." I whispered, "his code is 181196." Beth's mouth dropped a little before she ran into the apartment block and went straight for the 16th floor.
"Joe?!" I called, looking up at him, feeling stressed.
I could just about hear him reply,
"What.. what now..?"
"Please Joe don't do this." I begged him,
"What else have I got to live for?!" He yelled, I saw the tears draining from his eyes as the rain started to fall.
"Live for Beth!" I yelled, "she loves you more than you could know. And you need to prove to her that you love her too."
"She doesn't love me! She wanted you! I tried my best to let her know I loved her but that whole time she wanted you!"
He took a step closer to the edge,
"No!" I yelled, "you remember when you first met her outside that pub?! What do you think drew her to you? Why did she keep coming back to you? And why is she coming back to save you now?! There is only one person in this world that she loves. It's not me, David. It's you."
I noticed the skies clearing as Joe turned around to see Beth enter.
I looked around, taking a moment to breathe before I noticed Patricia standing right behind me.
"Patricia.." I began, standing back from the shock.
"I'm sorry.. I just noticed you.." she began,
"No I'm sorry.. I had no right to speak to you like that earlier. I was so stupid." I confessed,
"Well I think this justifies it." She replied, raising her eyebrows as the rain stopped and the sun began to break through the clouds, "is everything going to be alright now?"
"God I hope so." I told her, wiping the sweat from my brow.
I took a sigh of relief as she began to walk away from me.
"Hey- do you want to get a coffee or something later?" I asked her,
"Yeah, sure." She replied, giving a smile before walking away.

—STAMPYS POV—
Beth slowly walked over to me, I still felt the urge to step off the edge, but it was easing now. Now that I knew she loved me.
"Your password..181196.. that's my birthday." She began, a tear forming in her eye.
"Beth.. I don't want to be in a relationship with someone just because I'm dying and they feel sorry for me." I told her,
"I don't want to be in a relationship with a dying person." She replied, bluntly, "but these are the things we do for love."
She took a step closer to me and reached out her hands,
"You told me once you wanted to run away with me," She said, "let's do it."
I shook my head, "Beth I've only got a couple months.. I may as well kill myself." I groaned,
"Well can't I be an alternative?" She asked, a tear falling to her cheek, "if I've only got a couple more months with you I don't want to waste a single second. I never want to let you go."
I looked into her eyes, she loved me and I loved her, so I just had to give in, I took her loving hands and climbed down from the balcony into her arms.
"I guess that maybe you can be my alternative." I whispered while hugging her and looking over her shoulder I saw David look up with a smile on his face, I smiled back sighing,
"My twisted alternative."

X

The End