Chapter One
Delilah Longton had always been depressed. She had been the one who second guessed everything. The one who was quiet for most of her life. Delilah, when called on, knew the answer but words got jumbled up and mixed around. She would just sit there, wide eyed, everyone staring. She loved the night, and wasn't afraid of what was in it. Delilah also loved the water, and felt comfortable in its murky depths.
She wanted the pain, the suffering, the teasing, the hurt, the uncomfortableness, the flailing feeling of not knowing what was going to happen, the hatred, to stop. She was a technician who loved, loved her job. People sometimes didn't think she was capable of fixing their computer or device, but she always did. Delilah Longton was a bright girl who daydreamed a little too much. She loved to play piano and sing with her boyfriend of three and one half years, Jack Yev. People always managed to stop her when she wanted to jump off the bridge, and she always went home that day to her London flat, Jack's warm arms and his comforting spirit. Everyone teased that the two acted like a married couple beyond their years, and it did show. The two finished each others sentences and thought the other's thoughts. Jack always knew what she felt and vise versa.
It was a dreary day in August, around that time of year when the day was warm but in the shade it was bone chilling. It had rained rather hard that morning, leaving a musty feeling in the mid evening air. Fog clung to the water below, making the sparking water seem black. Delilah clutched the wheel tightly, her knuckles white from the pressure. The sun fought it's way through the dwindling grey storm clouds, and it seemed as if the sun was losing it's match. The road was like an empty hallway, and Delilah slowly made her way in her green Beatle Bug VW. Her nails were painted a deep red, contrasting with her pale skin and dark brown hair with blond hi-lights. On her finger was a silver band with blue stones set into a diamond shape that Jack had given to her on her twenty third birthday. Was it really almost one year ago that she had turned twenty three?
Birds flew across the sky, making dark blotches on the canvas grey sky that was painted above her. It was humid out, and her dark curly hair was loose around her shoulders. She wore a pale blue dress with black flats and silver bird earrings. Softly music escaped the radio and a slow beat lulled into her thoughts, trying to help sort her thoughts. Her crystal blue eyes were tinted grey as they searched the sky and road ahead of her. She saw the silhouette of the Palace of Westminster, and Big Ben's tall leading structure against the grey backdrop. Delilah parked her car and got out, the humid air sticking to her skin and making her hair wild. The river water lapped below the bridge she was on, jostling her from her pile of thoughts. This was the final time she would attempt to jump, and this time, she would succeed.
Nobody was around, as everybody was downtown for a big seminar for something having to do with the speed limit of London. She pulled out her phone and looked at the plain white and pink cover she had gotten for Christmas two years ago. Her co worker, Jenny Knotts had gotten it for her because she complained of the little chip in the screen on the left hand side. It was water proof, and Delilah knew if they found her after she jumped, her phone would be intact. Delilah hit Jack's work number, and waited for an answer.
"Hello?" Came a man's voice. She hesitated before answering, her hands shaking as she held the striped phone.
"Jack. It's me. Delilah." She said, trying to control the growing knot in her throat.
"Is everything alright?" Jack asked, sounding panicked and frightened. She hated leaving him for anything. Even if it was a two day business trip, she still ran to his arms and he held her like he hadn't seen her in years. His voice calmed her, made her feel safe and loved. She knew he loved her with all his heart, and she loved him with all of hers. She just couldn't take the suicidal thoughts anymore and the worry she thought she was causing him.
"Yes." She lied.
"You don't sound too sure..." Jack said, trying to pry her open.
"I'm fine. I wanted to hear your voice again." She said, smiling a small smile.
"You saw me this morning." He said, laughing. She could just picture his face, smiling with his mouth, and his eyes. His eyes always seemed to smile.
"I wanted to hear you again." She said, as giant tears made tracks down her face. This would be the last time she would ever hear his voice. She could practically see him, smiling to what she just said.
"I love you Li." Jack said, feeling this was the right thing to say at this time. "Li" was what Jack called her as a nickname.
"I love you too Jack." She said, biting back a sob. His voice was ringing in her head, trying frantically to save her.
"Hey. Boss man just walked in. I gotta go, but I will see you tonight and we'll have dinner, okay Li? I love you baby." He said, in a hushed voice.
"Okay Jack. I love you. Don't forget that." She said, looking out at the stormy grey horizon.
"I won't. Trust me. I won't." He said, smiling into his coffee cup.
"Okay. Bye Jack." She said, closing her eyes.
"Goodbye Delilah." He said, hanging up the the phone as the boss man turned around. Delilah sat there for a moment and cried. She went into the video app and clicked record.
"Jack...I'm obviously at Parliament.. I'm on the footbridge across the Thames. I am so sorry. I just need it to end. I feel like I'm falling apart and the only stitches is you.. I just- I feel like I'm a burden to you. It will be better this way. I just need it it stop. Tell my friends I love them. It's not because of anything you or anybody did I just.. Need it to stop." Delilah was crying through the whole thing. She wiped her eyes and looked out at the river, the video still running.
"Look Jack. It's the park where you met me.. Where I lost Remi and you helped me find him." She said, turning the camera to the park. Remi was her little Jack Terrier, and she sometimes teased Jack about having the same name as her little dog.
"And over there. Our first date.. That café." She said, turning around. The little waterside café was where they met up for coffee the next day.
"And over there, where we went for our one year anniversary." She said, pointing to the Ferris Wheel. Jack had begged her to go up in the eye, and she finally gave in, clinging to Jack the whole time. The whole thing had scared her. She didn't like the see through floors.
"And that grove where you gave me this." She said, holding up her hand to the camera. "But that's a little bit away from here." She said, still crying.
"Jack Yev I love you." She said, turning the camera on her. "I wish I could give you a big hug.. But I just called you. If you got in trouble with boss man, tell him why...I love you baby. Don't forget me, my love." She said, blowing a kiss. She looked dead into the tiny camera lense and started to sing "Hey There Delilah" by the Plain White Tees. It was their couple song. Jack always wanted to go to New York, and Delilah had been when she was in high school.
"Hey there Delilah
What's it like in New York City?
I'll be a thousand miles away
But oh, don't cry for me at all,
Tonight at all
London eye can't make me fear at all
Don't cry at all..."
She finished singing her rewritten version, hoping he would start singing it when he watched the video.
"I love you." She whispered, as she waited for a car to pass. They probably thought she was just a tourist video blogging. She turned off the camera and slipped it into her dress pocket. She locked her car with her purse hidden inside, and stepped closer to the railing. It was eerie that nobody was on the bridge. The air was silent as she sat on the edge, thinking about Jack. She wondered what his reaction would be. Delilah dangled her feet over the edge, watching the rocks collide with the water. She wondered if she would feel the pain of dying. She wondered what the darkness of the cold hands of death would feel like around her soul.
"Jack.. I'm so sorry." She said, pulling out her phone. She took one last picture of her with all those memories behind her, and she forced a smile. She tucked her phone back in her pocket, and as she did, one of her shoes fell off. She watched it fall and heard it hit the water with a sickening splat.
Delilah stood on the railing now, her pale dress billowing in the wind. The atmosphere was calm, and the air blew her tears across her cheeks making it hard to see. She clutched her hand and felt the ring. It was warm against her skin, contrasting to her ice-like hands. Delilah watched the clouds fly by as she took a deep breath. She wanted this to end. She wanted the pain to stop. With that thought, she stepped off the bridge and fell, and as she fell, she watched the black water come up to meet her, and in an instant, she knew she wouldn't be home for dinner.