Fanfiction - Short Story
Based on the song Remembering Sunday by All Time Low
Remembering Sunday
“Alex, I know you’re upset-” The soothing voice of Alex’s mother comforted him for a moment, and then he felt nothing but anger, he unplugged the phone and threw it at the wall, tears streaming down his face. He wasn’t quite sure what to do with himself next, he walked around the house, trying to get his mind straight; but in the end he just let it wander. He opened the door to the fridge and pulled out his last bottle of Vodka, he took a swig, and once again he was gone when just the slightest bit of Vodka slithered down his throat. His mind seemed to erase what had happened over the weekend, and it felt like she was back with him.
How could his mum say that he was ‘upset’, it sounded like he was a small kid whose fish had died, but no, he’s a fully grown man who lost his long-term girlfriend, he wondered how he was going to cope without her, she was his everything.
Alex walked down the stairs, his hand stroking the wooden banister. She was sitting on the sofa, her blonde hair flowing down her back, she was leaning slightly forward, her hair draping in front of her face, her face full of concentration, and he sat next to her. Leaning back on the sofa as he watched his girlfriend do the Sudoku, his hand slipped into his pocket, and he felt the nerves come back into his stomach so he stopped himself from asking her there and then.
“Shall we eat breakfast?” He asked, putting a hand around her shoulders and pecking her on the cheek, she smiled up at him, her blue eyes bright as she nodded and stood up, holding out her hand, he took it and they ventured into the kitchen. They cooked together,
“Do the washing up,” ordered Juliet, flicking some water at Alex, he grinned at her and dipped his hand in the lukewarm water and did the same back to her, she giggled and they had a miniature water fight and they almost forgot about the two eggs on the stove.
Alex sat on the sofa and looked around, everything had gone blurry and he racked his brains, wondering when he last was sober, he stood up and struggled to keep his balance as he walked through to the kitchen
“Juliet?” He asked at the doorway, she turned and smiled, and walked over to him
“What’s wrong?” She replied, eyebrows raised “You look like you’ve been crying.” Her hand hovered near his face and he turned away,
“I’m fine,” He said in a voice that he didn’t recognise, it was husky and broken, he blinked and she’d gone again, his heart that was beating at the speed of light just a few moments ago had now slowed down and had gone to mush, she wasn’t really there. How could she be? He put his head in his hands and fell to his knees, trying his hardest not to cry. Lying on the kitchen floor, he drifted into an uneasy, drunken sleep.
Six days had past and he walked outside, not bothering with a coat, hardly caring that it was raining outside, he let the droplets of water run through his hair and down his face, perhaps then nobody would notice the tears.
Neighbours stopped as he passed to look at him
“Are you okay?” Asked one, she looked concerned and the little boy holding her hand moved closer to his mummy, watching Alex hesitantly, Alex nodded subconsciously and stood outside her old apartment, the one she lived in just before they’d decided to move in together, he felt her old keys in his pocket and he let himself into the block and the memories came flooding back, and a sense of sadness overwhelmed him as he sat on the old stairs that led up to the apartments themselves
“I remember this.” He muttered to himself, and let himself slip into a daydream.
“It’s so cold,” Juliet moaned as they walked down the road that led to her apartment block, Alex nodded in agreement, looking down at her and smiling to himself. He put his hand in hers, entwining their fingers. She pulled him into the building, giving him a swift peck on the lips. They smiled at each other for a moment, before she gripped back onto his hand, which she’d let go to let them in the block, and ran up the stairs with Alex being dragged behind her, struggling to keep up with her and fully concentrating on not tripping over.
She approached a blue door, with a peep hole and a gold handle, she’d painted it herself as all the other doors were white
“You rebel!” Alex joked snaking his arms around her waist and kissing her cheek, she giggled as she struggled to open the door because of the shaking hands she was getting purely from the rush of having Alex with her, and the numbness from the cold outside, she felt stupid for not wearing gloves. She opened the door, and he followed her into the apartment.
Alex sat outside her door now, he was able to relive the memory up until now, he banged on the door, wishing he could get in so he could remember her, remember everything that had happened that day, he just wanted her. Someone he didn’t recognise opened the door, Alex blinked rapidly at the girl and her confused boyfriend,
“I need… need… I… Juliet.” They looked at each other for a moment
“Who’s Juliet?” The girl asked and the boy provided an answer
“She used to live here.” He explained, “She’s moved away, mate, sorry.” He said, patting Alex on the back, Alex squirmed away, his eyes filling with tears again. He stormed out of the building; the only sober part of his brain was telling him the truth the majority was telling him the lies he didn’t want to believe.
Juliet woke up; she could see nothing but darkness, closely followed by nothing but light. The room in which she was isolated was white, apart from the brown door handle, the same colour of Alex’s eyes, she went to call out his name but no sound came out. She stood up slowly, her white dress falling to her ankles, her hair was blonde and curly, the way she always wanted it. A white mirror hung off the wall and she went up to it to find a pair of purple eyes staring back at her, the purple she’d always wanted her eyes. The floor beneath her was soft and easy against her feet and she went to call for Alex, but no sound came out of her mouth, she opened her mouth and tried again, this time just a whisper came out
“Alex, where are you?” She asked, “I’m scared.” She could hear her voice wobbling as she walked around the room, trying to find something that would make some sort of sense. Opening and closing her eyes rapidly she walked towards the door, arm outstretched. She turned the handle and stepped on to the freshly-cut green grass, and the clouds above her were looming, it was her favourite type of weather “where am I?” She asked out-loud, but there was no one around to answer, she swung open the red and yellow gate and walked along her pavement, and glanced up at the clouds again, they were further down than she’d ever seen them before. She looked down to her feet, there was water on the ground below her, but her bare feet weren’t getting wet, the pavement below her was transparent and it was almost like she could see through the ground, she questioned to herself why she wasn’t falling yet. She saw more fluffy substance below her, was she on top of the clouds as well below them?
They walked around the park, hand in hand and the sky above was a blue colour, the colour of her eyes. Alex hand entered his pocket again and he looked at Juliet who’d gone to sit on a swing, he opened and closed the box in his pocket, wondering whether this scenario was perfect for him to ask her, he stopped himself. He couldn’t, what if she said no?
“Do you want to meet my parents this weekend?” She asked, smiling brightly up at him, he gulped, wondering when this subject was going to be brought up, she’d met his parents so he knew it was going to be any moment before he’d have to meet her parents, her nervously nodded and she read the fear in his eyes, giggling “You’ll be great. They’ll love you.” She reassured, locking her arms around his neck and giving him a soft kiss on the lips, and drawing away, leaving him wanting more.
He walked into the lonely park, people watched him as he sat on the exact swing that she did, his eyes were baggy and tired, red and sore from the loss of sleep and crying he’d been doing, he couldn’t remember why he was upset anymore, everything that happened had gone from his mind and he was sitting there, crying without even knowing what was wrong anymore. People were watching him warily. An older woman approached him with caution, people looked at her as if she was mental as she knelt down in front of him so she was eye-level with him.
“Alex... honey, don’t cry.” She soothed “Why didn’t you phone me back?” She questioned, but Alex didn’t reply, he just fixed his gaze on the floor.
“It’s been raining all day.” He replied; she raised an eyebrow quizzically, smelling the drink on his breath; she put her arms around him “Mum.” He stated and howled into her shoulder
“It’s okay, Alex.” She said, and helped him off the swing “Do you want to come home?” She asked and felt him nod; it was as if he was just a baby again.
“Mum, dad, this is Juliet.” Alex said, smiling proudly as the girl in his arms nodded and shook hands with his parents. Juliet sat in the lounge, talking to his dad about conspiracy theories and Alex went to help his mum in the kitchen
“She’s lovely!” His mum said as she peeled the potatoes “Finally you’ve found a girl worth keeping!” She grinned and leant up to kiss her son on the cheek, he smiled
“She’s perfect, mum.” He replied, smiling and chopping up some carrots, his mum smiled and nodded.
Alex went into his old bedroom, his football curtains were still up and he could hear the hammering of the rain against the window frame, he got into his single bed and snuggled up to all of his old toys, his Toy Story duvet was freshly washed and he fell asleep to the smell of home, his head aching. He didn’t wake up anyone the following morning, he put on his shoes and left the house, still feeling a bit dizzy from last night and he couldn’t remember anything. He stumbled out of the house and took himself for a long walk.
Juliet sat on the brick wall and looked out at the fluffy white clouds which went on for miles, wondering if this was all just a dream, the sights were perfect, everything in this world was perfect down to the very last grain of sand. The only thing that didn’t make it completely perfect was the fact that Alex wasn’t there, she needed him.
“Where am I?” She asked to no one, hardly noticing the tallish guy standing next to her, he had his hands in his jeans pockets and his top was a perfect fit, he had black hair that swept over one eye, he smiled at her, his eyes seemed to be every colour merged into one, he smiled at her
“You’re in heaven.” He said, flashing his perfect white teeth
“You mean I’m dead?” She questioned, her eyes brimming with tears again, and he nodded sorrowfully, his face serious again “What about Alex?” She asked, feeling a lump build up in her throat and her bottom lip began to shake
“You can see him again, if you want.” The man said, gesturing for her to walk with him, she jumped of the wall and rain began to fall from the clouds which hung loosely above them, but the rain didn’t get them the slightest bit wet
“How?” She asked, desperate now “Is there any way I can live again?” She asked, getting hopeful all of a sudden,
“No, there isn’t. But you can see him one last time.” The man smiled and she nodded eagerly.
Alex let his feet take him around the town, not really paying attention to anything apart from the clouds which loomed above him; they seemed to follow him everywhere, just like his mood. He tried to remember something that had happened in the past week, but his brain was numb due to the amount of drink that he’d had for the past few taste, and he could still taste the alcohol in his mouth.
He walked into a shop and picked up the local newspaper, he paid for it and left, not properly looking at it until he’d managed to find a place to sit, looking at the headline ‘Local Girl Murdered! Funeral Today’ and the picture of a familiar looking girl on the front page, it wasn’t just any girl though, it was his girl. His Juliet. He skipped to the page with everything about it on and found out the details of the funeral, throwing his paper violently into the bin he ran over to the Church, not believing it but the memories finally coming together. He didn’t stop running until he reached the doors; he swung them open with all his might and sat in the front pew, tears streaming down his face. The service began, and he watched the coffin with care, taking in every detail of it. He stood up at the end and followed the crowd outside for the burial, still clutching the ring in his pocket, the cold bit at his cheeks and it was all over quickly, people put their flowers on top of the grave in respect, Alex watched mournfully, he didn’t have anything to contribute and everyone was looking at him expectantly, he felt himself blush and he looked down to the ground and put his hand in his pockets, feeling awful, and then he felt something at the bottom, something small, square and velvety, he pulled out to box and flipped it open, looking down at the ring which sparkled in the sunlight, tears streaming down his face, he put it on her gave, hidden just behind a big bunch of flowers, Juliet’s mother came over once everyone had departed apart from her parents and Alex, she rested a hand on his arm and a tear streaked down her face
“She truly loved you.” She said, and smiled bravely up at him before going back to her husband, linking his arm and walking away. Alex watched them walk across the other graves and out of the gate, he watched them walk until they were two little black dots and then he looked back at the grave
“Alex,” Whispered a voice from behind him, he whipped around to see a transparent Juliet standing before him, he opened his mouth to speak but no sound came out “I’m scared, ‘Lex, I miss you. I’ll keep an eye on you, though, I’m at home now. Don’t be afraid to love again, Alex. It obviously wasn’t meant to be for us, and you’ll find someone who you’ll love just as much as me. We’ll be reunited one day.”
“Juliet, I can’t live without you.” Alex managed to force out of his mouth as he watched his girlfriend “I was going to ask you to marry me.” He admitted, moving slightly towards her, he watched as a tear fell down her face
“I would have said yes, Alex. I was in love with you.” She said, smiling and holding out her hand and even though neither of them could feel each other’s hands in their own, it still swarmed their stomachs with butterflies, and then she was gone. He stood there for a moment, watching the air where she’d just appeared and willing for her to return, when she didn’t, he took the long walk home.