Rose, Ebony & Snow || Farkle Minkus

29

It was mid-afternoon. I've been standing by Farkle's bedside since Riley and Maya left at dawn.

"Neveah," I heard someone say behind me. "I asked the nurse and she said you're allowed to go for a walk. There's a little garden outback."

I nodded my head slightly, feeling shoes and a large sweater being put on me. They took my hand, bringing me away from the room.

"What did he look like?" I mumbled. "Farkle Minkus."

"Kinda like Andrew Garfield in a way," he told me. "But cuter."

"Sure, like that's possible," I laughed lightly. I hooked onto his arm, following him out to the garden, "Why are you here, Zay?"

"We never spend enough time together. Especially since the bakery closed down," he said. "Plus, I know this must be hard for you. Not remembering Farkle and all."

"I heard Riley and Maya talking last night. Was I really that important to him?" I asked.

"You've known Farkle for much longer than I have but I do know that he values his friends more than anything else. But when you two were together, anyone could tell that nothing else mattered to him," Zay shrugged. 

I rested my head on his shoulder as we walked, "I know you and Lucas are close so I hope it's not weird if I ask this but, how important am I to him?"

"I think you already know the answer to that, Neveah," he sighed. 

"Am I a bad person for not loving my best friend like he loves me?" I said.

Zay sighed, "I've known Lucas my entire life, Neveah. And to be completely honest, I think he's just getting confused with loving you as a friend. He's never had a girl best friend before."

"I think it's something more than that," I told Zay. "I think that after the only two girls he had ever loved ended up falling in love with each other, he envied the idea of falling in love with your best friend."

"Could be both. That explains his irrationality," Zay nodded. "But either way, he cares about you a hell of a lot."

"But not as much as Farkle does," I whispered. "How did the accident happen, Zay? I think I need to know."

"Neveah, I can't—"

I squeezed his arm tighter, "Please. I just need to know."

He took a deep breath, "Well, the night of the accident, I was with Riley. It was your first proper date and the two of us had been helping Farkle set up most of the evening. Riley being Riley, made us stay in the area, so if Farkle texted needing something, we could race over. I knew that you guys wouldn't need us, though."

The two of us sat down on a stone bench by a bleeding heart bush.

"So anyway, Riley and I were tasting ice cream samples at that place on the corner of Terence Street when we heard sirens nearby. I remember her throwing my ice cream in the trash, telling me that we had to go see if we could help. I was so frustrated with her because I really wanted that ice cream. Plus, I thought there wasn't a point. Emergency services were already there, right?" he used a lot of hand gestures as he spoke.

Zay cleared his throat and continued, "So we ran down the street, and we saw a police officer hand cuffing Sarah Carpenter. Remember Sarah?"

"My old friend," I nodded. "She hospitalized me earlier this year too."

"So, we asked a man nearby. He said Sarah was very well drunk and shoved a girl onto the road. Then, apparently, a truck was coming. The man said that the girl's date pushed her back onto the sidewalk. The girl hit her head pretty badly, but the boy was hit by the truck," he explained.

"So Farkle got hit when he saved me?" 

Zay nodded, "Riley and I didn't even realize it was you two until she noticed the blanket she had lent Farkle covered in dirt on the road."

I cried hysterically, embarrassed to be acting this way in front of Zay. 

"What is wrong with me? He saves my life and I can't do something as simple as remembering his face. I have zero recollection of his interests, his laugh—I can just barely remember his voice. I don't even know how we met!" I owe this boy so much.

Zay put his arm around my shoulders, "I didn't know you guys back then but Maya always tells me the story. I don't think it matters if I tell you at this point."

"Please do," I said quietly, muffling my cries with my sleeve.

"Well, you two were in the third grade. Same year you met Riley and Maya when you moved to New York. This is mostly from Farkle's perspective because he was the one who told her the story."

I nodded, "Farkle was really close to Maya, right?"

"Riley too. He was like a brother to them," Zay said. "So, before meeting you, Farkle used to say he loved Riley and Maya equally. He still does, but before I think he believed he was going to marry them."

"Before. So that changed when he met me?" I asked.

"Yes. On the first day of the third grade, when Farkle first saw you, he told Riley and Maya that you looked like Princess Snow White. Then, he took the apple that he was going to give to the teacher and gave it to you instead. Then he ran back to Riley and Maya and told them that he was going to marry you someday," Zay chuckled. "Maya loves that story so much."

"I remember I used to hate apples when I was a lot younger. I don't recall exactly when, but around the time I moved to New York, I began to eat them everyday," I smiled. "He must've made a big impact then."

"Neveah, I hope you know that it's okay that you don't remember Farkle yet. It's not like it's your fault. I mean, he was the last person you saw before you hit your head. Maybe it's some weird psychological thing like that," Zay said.

I nodded slightly, but I still believed it was my fault. 

"I owe this guy everything. The only thing I can do is blame myself," I whispered.