Art of Dying

12

I get in my car and get ready to drive a few hours to the bastards house. I'm drunk as shit, but I couldn't care less.

Eric got married to a new woman about two months back. They wed in secrecy because she didn't want the whole world to know. He's never even told me her name, he just refers to her as 'the missus'.

Well, Eric, if you won't introduce me to her, i will do it myself.

After a few hours i arrive at the Claptons' house, ready to seduce the 'missus'.
It's rather late so she might be asleep.

I knock on the door and ring the bell."
I wait for a good 30 seconds until the door is finally opened.

Ready to trick the innocent girl into having sex with me, i faint when she opens the door.

-
"George." I hear her say, slapping my cheeks gently.

She sounds like- no...it can't be.

"George. Hey. Wake up."

This can't be real. I'm imagining things.

I open my eyes and see the face of a woman hovering above mine. My eyes widen and i quickly shoot up.

My chest is heaving up and down as i stare at the woman with wide eyes.

She's smiling at me.

"H-how is this possible?" I stutter.

"Geo..."

"I thought you were dead."

My eyes fill with tears. I can't help it.

"Well i'm not...here i am." She smiles halfheartedly.

My instincts make me wrap my arms around her and pull her tightly against my body.
I pull back and look into her eyes.

"Maddie..." i say, flabbergasted. "How are you alive?"

How is she alive? And why didn't she tell me? How could she just leave me like this?

"You fucking left me!" I yell, suddenly feeling really angry.

"George calm down, please, let me explain."

"Maddie you have been alive all this time! You let me think you were dead. I was miserable. Why would you do this to me? To us?"

I have never. Never been this hurt in my life.

In all my anger i don't see that Maddie herself has started crying too.

"Geo please. Don't yell at me. Please let me explain."

I calm down and let her talk. Maybe she has a good reason.

Maddie inhales and exhales deeply.

"1965. That's when i was awoken from my coma. Cured and healthy. They had found a way to first reduce, and then get rid of the cancer."

Maddie pulls up her shirt and shows me her stomach. There's multiple scars on it.
I slowly reach out my hand to gently touch the abused skin.

"From all the tumor removals." She says.

I look up into her eyes. They're older but probably even more beautiful than they used to be.

She takes my hand from her stomach and holds it in her own, letting her shirt fall down again.

"The first thing i wanted to do when i woke up, was call you. But.."

Maddie fell silent.

"But what?" I ask gently.

"I found out how successful and famous you had become. I didn't want to interrupt your life like that. And knowing you, you'd probably stop the whole world just to see if i was okay." She giggled.

"And...i found out that you were together with this famous model and that you were gonna get married. You two looked happy, so i decided to let you go."

"But that wasn't your decision to make Maddie. I loved you!" I say with a lump in my throat.

"I know Geo. But it seemed like the best thing to do.
Anyways, that's when i decided to go back to Germany, face my parents, get my sister and build a life for ourselves."

Maddie's bottom lip starts to quiver.

"One of the scars you just touched wasn't from the operations." She says.

I gasp. "Your parents..."

"My father." She says.

"He'd killed my mother and kept my sister locked up in a room. One night, when i thought he was asleep, i snuck in and grabbed my sister. I got her, but not without a fight."

"Maddie i'm so sorry." I say, now feeling guilty.

"It's okay." She smiles.

"I went back to England with my sister, got a job in the music industry actually. I worked as a photographer."

"That's how you met Eric." I state.

She nods. "Yes."

"There were multiple opportunities where i could have photographed your band, The Beatles. But i was scared."

She fell silent again and suddenly i noticed how close we were.

"Eric used to be married to someone else. I was the other woman." She laughed.

"Until last year. After 5 years of sneaking around he finally decided i was the woman he loved most. He divorced his ex, proposed to me and then two months ago, we got married." She smiles unconvincingly.

"Are you happy?" I ask.

She remains quiet. Judging by her face, i can tell she isn't.

"Maddie." I whisper, my face mere centimeters apart from hers.

"Yes..."

"Do you still love me?"

She nods. "I never stopped loving you George."

"Me neither." I say before crashing my lips onto hers.