Short Stories

I'll See You Soon

There was no way I was getting out of here alive. It just wasn't in my cards. Maybe it was my time. I leaned against the wall and tried to take a breath. Pulling off my hood, I picked up my phone and started dialing. 

"Hey babe."  Her voice rang from the other side of the line.

"Hey," I replied, my voice strained. "I just wanted to let you know I'm held up at the office today." 

"James, that's not funny." 

"I wish I was joking."

"Do you need me to come get you?" Her voice rang with concern. 

The heat of the fire around me was closing in and smoke filled my lungs. I choked back a cough. 

"No, I'm fine. Just stay home." 

"James-"

"Just stay home okay?" She had always been stubborn. It was one of many reasons I loved her. 

"What's going on James? Are you hurt?"

A broken laugh escaped me. "Never better."

Sweat mixed with blood traveled down the side of my head, dropping onto the floor beside me. 

"Please tell me where you are."

I shook my head, even though she couldn't see it. "Do you remember the first time we met?" 

She stayed silent.

"We were both staying at that stupid hotel in Georgia." 

"James-"

"I saw you that night, at the gala. The most beautiful woman I'd ever seen." I continued, "That midnight dress was my favorite color." 

Again, silence. 

"I approached you at the little bar they had set up. Tried to talk you up with a couple lines." A laugh rasped out of me as a smile snuck its way onto my face. "You threw your drink in my face." 

"I remember."  I could see her smiling on the other side.

Pain seized my head, my chest. The knife had cut deep, and the heat was only making it worse. 

"I left right after that. I was so embarrassed." 

"I think the champagne made your hair shine." She chuckled.

"It took an hour and a half to get my hair back." Another laugh from across the line. "You were so mad at me. You were gorgeous." I grunted as another flash of pain ran up my spine.

"Listen, Beth I-" 

A wood beam came crashing down a few feet away from me, sending sparks flying. My time was shortening. 

"James? James!" She shouted through the phone. "Are you okay? What was that?"

It was getting harder to breathe. "I can't talk long," I tell her. "so please let me say what I need to say."

A swallow on the other line.

"I drove back to the hotel; furious at first but... I was laughing when I finally stopped. I had beautiful women fawning all over me, but you, you threw a drink in my face as soon as I started talking." My laugh turned into a cough. "You were the first woman I'd ever met, who couldn't be won over by pretty words." 

"Why are you talking about this?" Her voice was soft, quiet. 

"I walked out to the courtyard and found a bench. I needed to clear my head because all I could think of was this breathtaking woman who wanted nothing to do with me." 

The smoke was starting to make my eyes water, and I blinked to try and clear them. 

"I saw you in the courtyard." I nodded and bit my lip to keep myself from coughing. "I thought you were passed out. But you were just staring up at the stars."

"You asked if I was okay."

"I didn't even realize it was the man I'd thrown a drink at until you looked at me." 

"Your dress caught the moonlight."

"Your eyes held stars."

The thought that she saw stars in my eyes made my heart break. I couldn't hold the tears back anymore, they flowed freely down my face.

"I knew. In that moment I saw my future. I saw you." My voice cracked.

"James," I can hear her shaking breaths. 

"Do you remember what you said to me?"

"I apologized. And then I asked you what you saw in the stars."

"Do you remember what I told you?" 

"You said, 'The stars in the sky remind me of how young and simple I am. How, mortal.'" 

"You told me I was spouting nonsense. So I told you to come sit next to me, and look up." 

The pain in my side was nothing compared to the pain in my chest. The pain in my heart. 

"I could tell the minute you understood. The minute you felt the same way I did." I could feel my lungs closing. "I saw the universe in your gaze." 

"I remember."

"Elizabeth, I love you." My throat burned. "I love you with every ounce and every inch of my being, and with every breath I take I think of you." 

"James-" 

"You are the sun in the sky on a clear blue day, and the brightest moon on a starlit night. You are the ocean and the waves, you are wind in the bright sunflower fields. You are my everything." My voice broke, and I know she could hear my sobs through the phone. 

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for not having enough time to love you like I want too. I'm sorry I don't have enough time to show you everything and to make you the happiest woman alive."

"James, please don't talk like that-" 

I slid myself to lay on the floor, buying myself a couple more seconds before the smoke finally stole all the oxygen. I stared at the ceiling as the tears poured down the side of my face, mixing with the blood and sweat. 

"You are the most important person to me. And I love you so much." I was crying now. "You are breathtaking and strong. 

"James, tell me you'll come home. Tell me that I can see you again." 

"You are my world, Elizabeth. You are my starlit sky." 

"James, please,"

"I'll see you soon. I love you."