Till Death Do Us Part (L.S)

1

As someone who prefers to write in both past tense and present tense in the same stories, this might not be easy 😬 but it's only flashbacks, so you'll get it.

__

I was at my godson's footie game when it happened again. The same thing that has been happening to me for months.

July 1st, 1979.

I was running around the front yard of my friend Aitch's house playing tag, our other friend, Grayson, chasing after us.

"I'm gonna get you!" Grayson exclaimed, reaching his hand out to touch Aitch when he got closer to him.

"No you're not!" He exclaimed back, and ran faster.

"Boys! You're too old to be playing tag." His mother came outside, saying. She was wearing an apron and had her hair tied up in a bun.

"No, we're not. We're only 13! Aitch stopped and responded back to her, causing Grayson to finally catch up and tag him.

"Now I've got you!" He bragged, and dashed away running.

"Still old!" She continued. "And it's time for dinner, so come on inside." She ordered, and walked back inside the house.

"Must be the— the— courgette salad— and chicken soup again. I can smell them from here." I said breathlessly, leaning over to catch my breath.

"I kind of like the salad. It's not that bad to be quite honest." Grayson defended, pulling out his inhaler and taking a breath from it.

"Well, you can eat. Aitch and me are gonna keep on playing." I tell him with a smirk.

"Aitch and I, you mean." He corrected me. He had a habit of doing so, which I loved about him.

"But his mum said it's time for dinner." Grayson replied, and I shrugged, ignoring him.

"It will only be for a minute. Come on, Aitch. We're gonna try to climb the tree again." I grabbed his hand and lead him over to the tall tree that was in front of the bin.

All seemed to had been going great at first. We were almost at the top of the tree, when a crack was heard.

It all happened so fast. We were climbing, then the next thing I knew, the tree branch broke and Aitch was falling to the ground.

"AITCH!"

(Present-1988)

"Louis? Helloooo? Lou? Louis!?" I jumped up startled when my friend, Jack, snapped his fingers in my face, taking me out of the flashback. The sounds of parents cheering made me remember my surroundings.

"What?" I questioned, clueless, blinking a few times.

"You zoned out for a second there, mate. You alright?" He asked worriedly.

I nodded and replied, "Yeah, just tired."

I had another flashback. I've been having them for a while. At first, not knowing the reason why. It would always be the same ones, or different. All were of Aitch. It's been almost 9 years since his passing, and since then, I've been drowning in guilt. Guilt that has haunted me since that day.

His mother hasn't spoken to me since. Not even his sister. His dad couldn't even look at me at the funeral. It was my fault, and what hurts the most is that I can't go back in time and change it.

"You haven't been studying all night again, have you? The LSATs are only a month away." He reminded me.

"I know, I just have to make sure I study hard enough to ace it." I replied, watching Alfie kick the ball into the net.