Bleeding Hearts

Parting Ways

Cassandra
~~

Joaquin had spaced out for a long time, but then when he came back to the present he blinked a few times and his face was solemn and sad. The pain in his eyes made me want to cry.

"Are you okay Joaquin?" I asked him hesitantly.

"I saw what happened. Her brother Jack... he was distressed. A date had stood him up and he just lost it completely... Camellia tried talking to him, but he was too unstable. He had a gun... he shot us."

Quickly on my phone I yanked off my gloves with my teeth and looked up Jack Bloodworth, but when the picture on the Facebook profile popped up I dropped my phone.

"Cass what's wrong?" Joaquin asked worried.

"I- I know him," I squeaked.

"What do you mean?" Taking a deep breath I looked at Joaquin. His handsome face and wavy hair I remembered them clearly, I had tried to deny for so long, but things like this weren't coincidence. They always come back to haunt you.

"I was coming home from class one day when I saw a guy sitting on a park bench. I was just passing by and he randomly asked me 'why are you walking?' I wasn't in the mood to talk with him so I carelessly told him I was watching my weight. A weird smirk came over his face and he asked me 'watching your weight? What about the wait for your watch? I was confused—it was such a weird thing to say—but then I thought of the Mad Hatter and so I replied: You can't wait for your watch; you don't have the time. He laughed and looked at me curiously and asked me if I'd like to go out for coffee with him... I said yes."

"What happened?" Joaquin pressed me, desperate.

"I ended up cancelling," I admitted. "Because I was interested in you," I knew it was stupid to be telling Joaquin this, he didn't even remember me, but he should know. When he showed up as a ghost I  thought he was most likely a hallucination of my mind. Why would a ghost look like the boy I had a crush on who I saw around campus? "You were nice to me in line at the café and you made me laugh. I saw you more and more often at the café and so I went everyday just to catch a glimpse of you..." I couldn't look at Joaquin in the eye I was too embarrassed.

"You were the girl who explained what a cake pop was to me," he said, and I looked up surprised he actually remembered.

"Y-you remember me?"

He nodded, to me and drifted close to me.

"Your hair was shorter, and you weren't wearing any fandom merch. Maybe that's why I didn't recognize you."

"Everyday I'd go hoping to summon the courage to talk to you, but then I saw you with a girl, I guess it was Camellia. I stopped going to the café after that. I may have had Jack's number, but I wasn't interested in seeing anyone. So I cancelled our date..." horror gripped me as I realized what I'd done. "Oh God,"

"Cass?" Joaquin sounded worried about me.

"It's my fault you're dead. If I'd gone out with Jack you'd still be alive. I... I'm the reason you're dead." I began to tremble as I felt like a monster. My selfishness had cost another human's life.

"None of this is your fault Cass. You didn't pull that trigger, you didn't hurt Camellia and I, it was Jack."

"Could you ever forgive me?" I cried, tears felt painfully icy in this weather, but I needed some sort of penance.

"There's nothing to forgive you for Cassandra. You've helped me like you promised. That's more then enough for me."

~~
Six Months Later

The process was long, and arduous, but eventually Jack Bloodworth was caught by police. I had to go through the long process of giving my statement and was in touch with the police a lot more then I'd ever expected to be. Jack had escaped and was in hiding in Montana under the name Donald Flint, but after his arrest he confessed to everything.

This was what Joaquin had been sticking around for. For justice to be served for his death and the death of his girlfriend, untimely, unneeded death. Going down the rows of graves one after another Joaquin drifted and I walked. My violet purple dress billowed in the warm May wind and I knew it'd soon be time to say goodbye. Joaquin said he could feel himself getting pulled away from his limbo into whatever awaited him on the other side. Stopping at a pair of graves I set the potted plants, two bleeding hearts, down on each one.

Joaquin René Rossignol
July 16, 1998—December 11, 2017
"Just whisper my name in your heart,
And I will be there"
&
Camellia Madeline Bloodworth
September 12, 1999—December 11, 2017
"She asked for so little, but gave so much."

"It was nice your parents got to have you buried side by side," I commented. He nodded quietly.

"Thank you for your help Cass," Joaquin said to me.

"It was the least I could do for you," I tell him.

"What're you going to do now that I'm not going to be your Fitbit?" he joked.

"I don't know, because I sure don't want to actually buy one," I joked back.

"Seriously though, take care of yourself." I nodded to him reassuring him I'd be okay.

"I'm going to help more ghosts," I tell him. He gave me a smile.

"That's awesome," his praise makes me feel like I'm actually making the right choice here.

"Don't let them push you around," his warnings are so tender I feel warm inside.

"I can take care of myself Joaquin," I remind him.

"I know," he begins to glow and I know it's time. There's so much I still want to say, but I don't know what.

"Thank you," I sputter quickly, "for coming into my life and making me realize I needed to get over my fear." He smiles at me and my heart swells.

"I guess we helped each other then," he nodded. Getting brighter and brighter, soon he'd be consumed by the light until I wouldn't be able to see him ever again. "I love you, Cass," the words reached my ears like a distant echo, but I heard them nonetheless. He's no longer there. I'm alone again like I've been a majority of my life.

"I love you, Joaquin," I whispered looking up to the pristine blue sky. A warm breeze caressed my face as a rogue tear escaped my eyes.