Breaking Point

Memories

"Yeah, let me see." Jeremy replied, dressed in his usual baseball cap, t-shirt, and shorts.

Jennifer smiled and raised her arms above her head and did a total of seven consecutive complicated-looking twirls, making Jeremy smile in pride. When she stopped, she fell to the floor, the room spinning around in her eyes. Jeremy laughed so hard he fell out of the chair.

Jennifer gasped and fell to the floor, the ghost of Jeremy's laughter echoing around in her head. She fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around herself.

"Oh God." She gasped. To add salt in her wounds, Take Me There by Rascal Flatts started blasting through the speakers, and Jennifer couldn't hold it in anymore. She let the tears flow freely down her cheeks, and shut her eyes tightly, willing the memories to go away.

"What would you do if I died?" Jeremy asked, clad in his new head bandage, laying on his hospital bed. He and Jennifer had been talking and laughing after he woke up from his surgery, and Jennifer was sitting on the side of his bed, holding his hand.

"Shut up. You're not gonna die." She replied sharply, and he gave a weak chuckle. "You're not! I won't allow it!"

He chuckled again. "Babe, you can't change fate." He reminded her, and she smiled. "No really, if I didn't make it, what would you do?"

"We're speaking hypothetically, right?"

"Of course."

Jennifer thought for a moment. "I honestly don't know what I'd do Jeremy. I love you too much to imagine a world without you. So promise me you won't die?"

Jeremy chuckled again in response. "I promise I won't die. Besides, where would I be without you? Even in the after life."

The tears trickled down Jennifer's face and onto the floor.

"Stop." She told herself, trying to keep the memories from overflowing in her brain.

"Hi, I'm Jeremy." The cute new guy said to Jennifer, who was avoiding the baseball team.

Jennifer gave him a quizzical look, but he continued to look into Jennifer's eyes with his piercing green orbs. Jennifer lost her train of thought for a second.

"What's your name?" he asked, but Jennifer just walked away, frightened and angry.

Jennifer moved to where she was sitting on her bottom and covered her ears with her hands. "Stop! Stop!" she screamed.

"Baby, I'm so sorry, I overreacted. Please come over." Jennifer said to Jeremy through the phone.

"I'm sorry too, babe. We both got angry over nothing. I'll come over there right now." He promised.

"Okay. I love you." She said, and she heard his breathy chuckle through the phone.

"Love you too." He said, and they both hung up.

Guilt swept through Jennifer. She went on a date with Justin, watched her favorite movie, and loved it.

"No." she whimpered, feeling vulnerable. What would Jeremy think about her dating another guy, when he'd only been dead a year? How would he react? He always was the jealous type. "No!"

Jennifer felt exposed, vulnerable. She didn't know how to handle herself. So she cried her heart out, and Haunted by Taylor Swift started playing through the speakers.

"Jennie, don't you like this song?" Jeremy asked, dancing to the beat of Haunted by Taylor Swift. Jennifer laughed and shrugged.

"It's all right." She said, and he pulled her up from her chair and started dancing with her.

"You're so beautiful." he said, and gave Jennifer a kiss on her forehead. "I love you so much. I don't know what I'd do without you."

He spun Jennifer around and she smiled. "I love you more." She replied, and they both laughed.

"Do you love me so much you can do this?" he asked, and picked Jennifer up unexpectedly, spinning her around in a circle. She squealed in surprise and hid her face in the crook of his neck.

"No, I can't do that, look at you! You're a monster!" Jennifer cried, and Jeremy laughed.

"You love my muscles." He said, and Jennifer smirked.

"Maybe, maybe not." She gave Jeremy a kiss and he wrapped his arms around her waist,as their lips moved in sync.

"STOP IT!" she screamed to herself, sobbing at the same time. Suddenly, she heard the door open.

"Jen? Jennifer are you okay?"

Pattie ran over to the crying girl on the floor and wrapped her arms around her shoulder. "Jennifer! Look at me!"

Jennifer looked up at Pattie, tears flowing from her eyes and down her cheeks.

"Honey, what's wrong, are you hurt??"

Jennifer started to shake her head, then nodded. "What's wrong? Where are you hurt at?" Pattie asked, examining her arms, then coming across her wrists. "Oh Jen, what did you do?"

Pattie ran her hand through Jennifer's barely-forming scars, they were barely turning into scabs, covered with various bracelets. Jennifer leaned against Pattie's shoulder and sobbed.