Short Stories

I Would've Loved To...

She was sixteen when they met, and he was eighteen. They were introduced through a mutual friend, one that they both cared for deeply. When their eyes met for the first time, on that cloudy day in the Spring, the wind dancing through the trees, it felt like fate. It was a cliché thing to say, a cliché thing to think, but Rose didn't care. All she cared about was the way his almost golden eyes shone in the light, his spirit not yet broken by all the wrong that's been done to him.

His smile. It stayed with her forever. On her worst days, where she could barely get out of bed, she would think about his smile, his medium brown hair that leaned more on the lighter side, short enough that a faux-hawk could be made, but he preferred it messy. She didn't mind, especially when she would run her fingers through his hair as they talked about their days.

They didn't waste much time starting a relationship after they met; it took four months. It was a surprise that their mutual friend, Avi didn't outright scream it at them. Lord knows how often he heard about each other's feelings. However, Avi liked to tease. Rose got his fair share of it, while Connor was oblivious to Rose's feelings. Until one dark day, where the feelings came out. Feelings Rose didn't know she felt until the words left her mouth,

I love you.

It was fate.
Fate that they met, fate that the dark day happened, the swirling storm inside his mind that started the argument of whether or not he was worth it, he is. He's worth it, and he should know that he's worth it. The mountain that Rose had to climb in his mind to stop the storm, to move the clouds away from the sun, it was hard. It was hard, but she did it. She kissed him. She didn't mean to kiss him, but it happened. It happened and she told him she loved him.

The two were inseparable.
When they were apart, Avi would hear the same sentence from both of them, I'm cold! Connor was always cold, the hoodies he wore kept him warm. The same hoodies that were dresses on Rose because of how tall he is; 6'5 and counting. He would reach seven-feet, she could feel it.

There were bad days.
They both had storms inside their minds that loved to swirl, the winds too high to climb the mountains, to clear the skies. Sometimes their voices wouldn't reach each other's ears, and they ended up suffering until the storms cleared themselves. Depending on how bad the storm, depended on how long they suffered.

Rose had severe depressive episodes, sometimes so bad, she couldn't get out of bed. She wouldn't brush her teeth, or her hair. She wouldn't eat, couldn't even look at it; she wouldn't even drink anything. She wouldn't shower until it was over. She could only use the bathroom, and that was it. The marks on her skin showing her pain, her tear-stained cheeks showing how hard it's getting.

Connor had storms inside his mind that would turn into Category-Five Hurricanes, sometimes a tornado would happen. When a tornado happened, Rose would suck up her own issues to be there for him. Despite wanting to sleep, she stayed up and talked to him, told him everything would be okay, told him that everything would get better.

Their storms would clear, and they would smile and laugh as if nothing happened. They would force Avi into awkward conversations about their sex-life, conversations that Avi secretly found entertaining. It was how they acted, as if no one else was around and it was just them.

They were so in love with each other, how could they ever fight? How could they stay mad at each other?

They could stay mad at each other. See, Rose accidentally let out some information about Connor's storms, and the people that wronged him; information that he didn't agree to be let out. It was the worst week of her life. They didn't talk, accept for Rose's texts telling him how sorry she was. She meant every word.

He forgave her, and they moved on, acting as if nothing happened. And a few months went by. But, one day, Connor's storm got so bad, that the town started to get destroyed. To say that Rose was pissed and hurt was understatement; however, using the old if you love me, you wouldn't try to kill yourself routine wasn't fair. But, Rose knew how bad his storms got, she's had her own storms reach that point, but she never tried anything, only thought about it. It wasn't fair of her to say that, but it also was. Because who the hell would try to leave the person, or people that they love?