Almost Lovers | A Love That Bleeds And Burns In Silence

Chapter 1 The Ring That didn't Fit

Clara ( present) :

It was my engagement ceremony that day. Ryan stood in front of me with my ring in his hands, his eyes sparkling with full of hope of a new beginning. But mine stayed unreadable.

He was tall, gentle and kind. He was the very definition of gentleness. He was that type of man, every mom wants their daughter to marry.

He took my hand and put the ring in my finger. His touch felt both comforting and foreign. He was giving me the genuine warm smile and I was giving a practiced well - trained smile in return.

That's all I could manage.

Claps and congratulations sounds erupted from the crowd gathered.

My engagement was not that grand and loud. It was simple and small. We all would've imagined atleast once about getting engaged or getting married to our loved one, but I didn't remember doing so.

Then Ryan gifted me a bouquet of white roses. They were my all time favourite, but I didn't remember telling that to him, to anyone.

He then noticed me clearly and asked, " Clara, are you okay". His voice was soft and low.

You know? I really wanted to say no and run away. But I just gave him a small nod and said, " Yeah I am fine. Just nervous".

My mom was listening to this and gave me a quick word, "Clara, smile. You look like someone had dragged you here".

She was right.

It really felt like that. The ring in my finger was not fit for me and slid down from my finger very easily, as if it knew I wasn't meant to wear it.

I stared at it for sometime as if it was something that was crushing my bone. This ring was going to determine my future. The very thought of it made the salad that I ate that morning churn in my stomach and I felt like I would throw up.

But I still managed and smilled with Ryan for the camers. The bright flash went off. In that white blinding flash something flickered in my mind. Another flash, this time it was the sunshine after the storm.

The voice of a teenage boy who always teased me for being too serious and systematic, echoed against the noises around me.

The boy who only existed in my past.

Noah Carter.

But I wished him existed in my present and future too.

Ryan leaned in towards me, his breath brushed my temple. He said, "Clara I think you're tired. Go sit for sometime". He sounded more genuinely concerned this time.

I was so thankful for the excuse and found a seat near the window that overlooked the garden to steady myself.

By the time, it was totally dark outside, that made my reflection stare back at me through the glass window, lean figure, big tired brown eyes, brown weaves pinned too tightly.

It had rained that day, so the air was filled with the smell of wet soil and flowers. That smell made my mind drift back uninvitedly to 7 years back, to the teen, to the one who ever made my world feel so alive and colourful, to the one who looked at me like I was something so precious, even though I was not ready to accept and believe it myself.

He would always be the boy who taught me to love and lose but not to let go.

Noah.

I haven't thought about him in months, even years. Wait! May be I had in my dreams, in songs, and in the way my head still turned whenever somebody called his name. But today the ghost of Noah felt closer than ever before, haunting me in ways that left no chance of me surviving.

My mind was screaming but the external environment was so composed, a soft music was playing in the background, my mom was laughing and Ryan's voice joined hers, pulling me back to the harsh reality, that I can't do anything but simply accept.

And in that noises, my mind played a trick. I could swore I heard his voice teasing me, " Still you can't fake a smile, can you Clara? ".

But of course when I turned towards it there was no one.

We haven't contacted each other in all these years. I never had the courage to do so. And he also didn't. May be he didn't want to.

The universe had separated us to different cities, different worlds. Which means I was supposed to have outgrown him.

But tonight here, with the ring in my finger I realised that I didn't and I don't think I ever could.

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Hi, Everyone I'm just a beginner so you need not stress yourself a lot with the grammer and spelling mistakes.

Your comments and suggestions are always welcome. Feel free.

This is not going to be a frantic romance or the bad boy - innocent girl kind of love story, cinematic or poetic. This is the story of the innocent, buried teenage love the bleeds and burns alone.

Hope you'll enjoy it. Go ahead, give it a try, you'll not regret it.

Don't come to a conclusion without reading atleast 16 chapters.

!!! Disclaimer!!!

I'm the sole author of this story. All the characters, events and dialogues are purely my imagination. This story is my original work and I own rights to them.

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