Don't Let Go (A Student/Teacher Relationship)

Don't Let Go - Epilogue

Epilogue – Third Person POV

 

              The sky was dark; stars shone brightly against the cloudless, unblemished canvas of black. There was a gentle breeze but it was still warm, despite the late hour. The World was silent, other than the gentle breathing of the dark haired man. He lay on his back in the grass, one hand behind his head and the other holding a worn, tattered sheet of paper in his line of vision. No-one would see him, lying so motionless in the damp, dewy grass, hidden by the shadows of night. Around his neck there was a gentle sparkle of something metallic; a slender chain, holding something hidden by the collar of his shirt, which was unbuttoned to reveal his toned chest. He ran a soft thumb over the paper, tracing the bumps of the writing so familiar to him, yet so different to his own, and let a single tear escape from the prison of his dark eyes. His jeans hung low on his hips and revealed a trail of stars along his hipbones, made up of small, black letters. Over the past two months, he had become no stranger to the night, using it to hide as often as it came around. At night, he could let everything go; he didn’t have to pretend for anyone, didn’t have to put on a false show of happiness, when inside he felt shattered irreparably.

“I love you” He whispered, disturbing the tranquillity of the night as he kissed the sheet of paper softly, closing his eyes as more tears escaped. His arm, that held the paper, covered his eyes as he gave in to the heartbreak that had haunted him ever since that fateful day in a parking lot of a warehouse he hoped never to see again. He’d pined for her for so long, every day praying beyond hope to get her back at his side, and every night coming home to the same crushing despair when he found his house empty. He’d called her phone, talked to the police and tried everything in his power to get her back, but he should’ve known it wouldn’t be that easy. All he had left were her words, written on that sheet of paper for the rest of eternity ‘I will come back to find you, it may not be tomorrow, or the day after, but I promise I’ll come back soon’. They had once promised not to lie to each other, and he had to hold onto these promises because without them, he had nothing. She’d lied to him that day in the parking lot, but her reasons were faultless, as he’d found out from her letter and his many conversations with Brogan. He sunk back into the grass, sobbing silently as the pain and longing overwhelmed him, unaware of the eyes that watched him.

                  The girl stood at the edge of the garden, invisible to anyone as she hid under the shadow of a large tree, watching the man sob. It hurt her more than she could’ve imagined, seeing him in pain and her heart hammered desperately in her chest. Her pale face was bruised and cut, covered with small wounds that marred her beautiful features, and her eyes seemed dull, her cheeks hollow. She was skinnier than she’d ever been before, the cold of the night air made her huddle into herself as she watched her breath rise to the heavens. It had been so long since she’d seen him for real; all she’d had to remember him was his image in her mind, and the words he’d told her before her life changed. ‘I love you… Don’t let go of that’. Those words alone had gotten her through the past two months, through everything she’d seen and everything she’d suffered. No-one knew she was back yet, she knew she’d have to step out and show herself to the World, but she was afraid, and it scared her more that she didn’t know why. The night air was silent again as the man wiped his eyes, folding the letter and sliding it into the back pocket of his damp jeans.

“I love you too” She whispered, her voice carrying to him on the soft breeze. She watched as he visibly stiffened his head dropping into his hands when he looked around and saw nothing, heard no more. Slowly, hesitantly, she stepped out from her place under the trees. Her feather-light footsteps made no sound, and the man didn’t turn around as she stopped walking. His face was hidden in his palms and his shoulders shook roughly. “Finn…” She whispered again and his head snapped up, turning in her direction so fast she expected he’d have gotten whiplash.