Broken || h.s. AU (old version)

Chapter 40 - Rainbows

Chapter 40 - Rainbows

One week later Im sitting on a pew in a church. I can hear the soft hissing as rain pelts the roof above us, and my eyes remained fixed on a spot in the carpet. A glum, shaky voice continues to drone on, but I tune it out.

Punctured lung. Severe concussion. Severed spine. Internal bleeding. Blood loss. The words swirl in my head, bombarding me like stings from bees. But no, they aren't bees. Because the same thoughts sting again and again. They're relentless, striking pain into me mercilessly. The paramedics were desperate to assure me that I couldn't have done anything.

But I know they were wrong.

I could've held her tighter. I could've kissed her more often. I could've told her I love her every waking moment of the day. I could've brought flowers just to make her smile. I could've handed her notes in class to speak every silent thought I'd had about her.

I could've proposed.

My eyes wander down to my hands where I'm holding a pale golden band, adorned with a delicate, pure, sparkling diamond. I turn over the ring in my hand, clenching it into my fist tightly. I feel a lump grow in my throat and I close my eyes.

"Promise?"

"Pinky promise."

I open my eyes, startled and the our voices quickly fade from my mind, only leaving a ghost of an echo. I blink quickly, brows furrowing in pain as I close my eyes again, shoving the ring back into my pocket.

I see her briefly, turning to face me as she giggles, her blonde hair spinning with her motion. I wince slightly but keep my eyes closed, welcoming the daydreams that wash over me.

She beckons me forwards with her finger playfully, a small smirk on her lips. The sun shines down on her and the breeze lightly moves her hair. She laughs again, dancing ahead of me.

A hand places on my shoulder and my eyes snap open, her laugh fading to silence. Laura is sitting next to me, smiling sadly.

Immediately my fluttery heart drops back into the sad thumping, a labor as it struggles through pain.

"It's your turn, Harry..." She murmurs quietly. I pause for a moment, allowing myself to be brought back to reality.

"Yeah." I choke, barely nodding. She smiles and rubs my shoulder again as I stand to my feet. I shuffle up to the pulpit, my eyes flickering over the crowd, dressed in black.

I close my eyes for a moment and take a deep and shaky breath. I pause, remembering that outside of her family and I, she was still known as Diana. I quickly fumble in my suit pocket for the crumpled paper that I had read over so so many times. My breath is shaky and I clear my throat, before quietly speaking up.

"Diana Elizabeth Rose... Diana was..perfect. There aren't any words to do her justice." I glance from my crinkled paper to the crowd nervously, carefully averting my gaze from the closed coffin to my right.

And the only thing to my right, was Julia.

I wince a little at the sudden impact in my chest but quickly clear my throat, continuing to read.

"Diana was like a sun. She was warm and she was inviting. Nobody could live without her and she always brought another reason to smile into your life."

I swallow back the tears that want to come, forcing myself to continue.

"Diana once told me, 'Some people are like a rain cloud, and some people are like the sun. But you need both to make a rainbow."