White Roses

Alternate Ending

Each of us handed over the money, standing at gunpoint as he counted it. We thought it was all done, but then he demanded we get on the wall. Again, Damon argued, but I told him to just go with. The man had a gun, and we did not. "We should just cooperate," I had told him, my voice strong, even though I had been shaking violently.

        The two of us pushed our front sides against the brick wall, rain still pouring down on us. He were both instructed to put out hands on the back of our heads, and as soon as they were up the man began to pat Damon down. I assumed he was looking for any money that we were holding out on him. Apparently all the money in our wallets hadn't been enough for the man.

        And then he moved onto me. It started out as a normal pat down, but quickly turned into a feel up. I saw a vein on Damon's forehead pop out as he watched, and as soon as the man slapped my ass it was all over.

        Damon pushed himself off the wall, and in the blink of an eye his fist connected with the mans jaw. The man stumbled back a little, holding his jaw, and then he swung his own fist. It hit Damon in the side of his head, and I let out a scream. Before I knew what was happening, they were going at it. Damon got in a bunch of great punches, and as soon as the man fell to the ground I tried to pull Damon off, begging him to just let him go.

        But Damon wasn't listening to me. He punched the man over and over again. There was blood everywhere, being washed down the street by the rain. I couldn't tell who was bleeding more, or even where exactly Damon was bleeding from. Finally, Damon's punches slowed, and he climbed off the man. He spit out a mouthful of blood, and then turned to me.

        He seemed okay. And then, there was a gunshot.

        He buckled over, holding his side, and grunting as he fell over in the street. I remember screaming out his name, dropping to my knees at his side. The man was already running away in the opposite direction, but I didn't care about that. "Damon, Damon," I had repeated his name over and over in panic, rolling him over on his back. My hands fumbled through his pockets, searching for his phone.

        I found it in his left pocket, but as I pulled it out, a little black box fell out along with it. With tears streaming down my cheeks I picked it up, and when my eyes flickered over to him I was surprised to see he was smiling. "Open it," he said.

        With shaky hands I did as he told me to. Inside was a beautiful ring. I made a loud inhuman noise, my hand covering my mouth. And when I looked back to him he was still smiling.

        "I love you," he had said.

         I realized that was not the time to care about some stupid ring, and I grabbed the phone. I quickly dialed 911, telling the man who answered where exactly we were.

        Sirens could be heard in the distance, but I knew that Damon wasn't going to make it. The life was draining from his eyes, his skin was turning paler than my own. And even with my hands pressed against the gunshot wound blood still gushed out of it.

        "No," I kept mumbling, shaking my head to myself. "No, no, no, please Damon, no." My tears mixed with the rain that fell down my face, and as the ambulance flew right past the buidling we were in front of, I realized these were my last moments with Damon Grey.

        I looked at his face again, wanting to remember every detail, and was startled to see he was smiling. "It's okay," he had said then. "It doesn't hurt."

        "But," I sobbed, "I don't want to loose you."

        Damon's smile had never wavered. "Oh, Skylar King, everything happens for a reason." He coughed out, an awful and painful sound. "I'm just glad I got know the amazing person that is you."

        "Stop it," I ordered, shaking my head. I didn't want to hear his dying words. I didn't want to hear anything. I didn't want him to die. "Just, stop it Damon."

        The ambulance finally found us. He didn't even look over as the men jumped out of the truck to aid him. Instead he held eye contact with me, and repeated, "I love you."

        Those were the last words he ever said.

        He died in the ambulance on the way to the hospitol, holding my hand. He had lost too much blood in the time it took help to reach us, and the doctors told me he had no chance. And that he was in a better place. Right, like that's what I wanted to hear.

~*~*~

        It's been a few years since that horrible night. I no longer work at the companty he used to own, because it became too unbearable to know I would never again walk in to see a vase of white roses on my desk, wih a cheesy poem attached.

        So, I moved back to my home town, and am currently living in a small house down the street from my parent's. I'm working as a waitress, and doing online college. Once I get my degree I plan to move on the other side of town, because with my parents a few houses down I might as well be living with them.

        I bring the memior I'm writing for school to an end, smiling as I do. This was hard story to write, as I've been trying to forget about Damon for so long. But, writing it has somehow taken a weight off my shoulders. I know if Damon could see me now, he'd be smiling too, proud of me for moving on with my life.

        My eyes flicker over to the framed picture of him I have on my desk. It's from our picnic at the park, when he had fallen asleep. If only I could go back to that day, when I drew a mustache on his face and watched the clouds with him.

        But, I cannot . And that is the hard truth.

        With a sigh I reach over for the black box that is beside the picture. Inside is the ring he had planned to propose to me with. I hadn't noticed this until a few days after his funeral, but he had it ingraved for me.

For my Skylar. For my Love. For my White Rose. I will love you, always.