Adam couldn't breathe. Her body had fallen down the stairs and brought out higher-pitched screams of students. Another gunshot. He saw one the James twins fall to the ground, a bloody puddle pooling where his heart once beat.
The world floated in slow motion, and the police came in before the gunman could fire again. Adam knelt down beside her, searching vainly for a pulse.
Water fell along with his hope.
Hope that he would see her smile everyday.
Hope that she would call him her friend.
Hope that he would have the guts to ask her out one day.
Hope that she would be the one.
But that hope shattered when her eyes closed for the last time.
***
Adam sat in his car, running his fingers through his hair out of anxiety. He was tired of answering questions, tired of constantly swallowing the suffocating ball called grief. In his hands he held her card. Tears had smeared his name to become illegible. Finally, after yelling himself to just do it, he tore the envelope open.
On the front was simply an array of red and pink hearts with "Happy Valentines Day" written underneath.
He opened it.
Dear Adam,
Happy Valentines Day! I just wanted you to know that I appreciate our friendship. I look forward to getting to know you more this year. I can't wait to hear your thoughts on Black Panther after it comes out. It's great to find another Marvel fan. See you in class.
-Rose
She had drawn a heart next to her name.
Adam looked at the backseat for what felt like the twentieth time. There laid a pink rose and a card. In the card were two pre-ordered tickets to see Black Panther and a note asking her if she would be his guest.
Adam picked up the rose. The salesman told him that a pink rose showed appreciation and love. There weren't enough words to tell her how much he appreciated her.
To start a conversation with him when his mouth was too scared to.
To text him when no one else would.
To smile at him when he thought no one noticed him.
To encourage him to open up when he thought he wanted to stay in his shell.
Adam twirled the flower in his hand and realized not even an entire field of pink roses came close to showing how much he appreciated her.
Adam laid the flower in his lap and wept.
The end.
YOU ARE READING
A Pink Rose ✔
Conto*COMPLETED* Highest ranking #3 - unrequited "You would think that by high school, girls and guys would be less awkward around each other. Maybe that's just not true for the introvert." A girl talks about her love for a classmate without knowing if i...
