Song: Lifeline- Kenny Holland
I ran for what seemed like hours. All the pain and heartache made every second seem like it lasted forever, and when time felt so much longer, the pain was even worse than what it really was.
Running to the only place I could think of, I ended up at our spot. Our little tree by the river where I fell in love with him, and where we watched the sunrise every morning. Everything was silent when I reached the river, just like my mind. There was nothing in my mind besides the flashback of his eyes, and his words. A single tear escaped my eye as I grabbed our blanket, laying it on the bank of the river. I sat down, wrapped my arms around my knees, and cried my heart out. It was the only thing that seemed reasonable at the moment.
When all the tears and sobs were out of me, all I could do was stare blankly at the river. It flowed silently, illuminated by the moon, and the water danced with sparkles as the moon shined brightly on it. I was reminded of the night Theo took me on our first date, and for a second, I swore I could see the two of us dancing beside the picnic he planned. I could see the way my hand rested on his shoulder and his on my waist, while our other hands were intertwined. That day still gave me chills, especially when I thought about the fact he swore I was the only girl he would dance with. Words couldn't describe how I felt then, but as I thought about it again, I wondered if he had done that with every girl. I wondered if those were the same words he used with every girl, and then the thought finally settled into my mind that I was nothing more than just another girl.
The more I thought about those things-- Theo not loving me, our first date, the fact he was still in love with Willow, and she's still out there, the more I cried. I cried, and cried, and then the clouds decided to join me as rain poured from the sky. I placed our blanket back in the tree and stood in the rain, crying along with the clouds. Never could I remember a time when I had felt so alone than in that moment. It felt as if everyone else had vanished, and there was only me left and I had to fend for myself, but in a lonely world, what point would there be to stay alive?
Thunder rumbled across the sky as if the angels were bowling, and strikes of lightning lit up the night. One bolt of lightning hit the tree beside me, and it came crashing down, causing the whole ground to shake. A loud boom rattle through the air as another tree fell, and I could feel was a sense of irony. I was the tree-- so strong and bold, yet so easy to break, so easy to fall down, and Theo was the lightning bolt-- the one thing containing all the capability to destroy me with one strike.
I stood in the middle of the storm, praying something would come and take me far away, whether it be the lightning bolt that would kill me, or the hero to save me-- just as long as someone put me out of the misery heartbreak always brought. I was completely dazed as I stood, completely drenched, in our spot, and my whole mind was numb, as well as my feelings inside. For one split-second, I felt nothing.
And then my phone rang.
I jumped slightly before pulling it out of my pocket. A picture of Hazel popped up, and I answered the phone.
"Hazel?"
"Melody! Where are you!?" She questioned, panic laced through her voice, and I sighed.
"Down by the river. Why?"
"You need to get to the house now. It's about Theo." She panicked, and my heart dropped in my chest. What was wrong with him? Was he hurt? Did he run away? Was he angry with me for running away? I didn't know, but I was scared to learn what I was going to see when I reached the house.
I sighed. "Okay. I'll be home in five."
I hung up the phone and zipped through the woods, all the way to the fence that led to the front door of the house. Taking a deep breath, I zoomed in and found Hazel. She was in the sitting room, pacing back and forth. When she saw me, she let out a breath of relief and hugged me tightly.
"Thank God you're here. You have to knock some sense into his head, Mel." My eyebrows crinkled in confusion, and Hazel sighed.
"Why?"
"I'll show you why."
Hazel let me to the back patio door, and I finally saw why she was panicking. There he was, standing in the middle of a torrential downpour, booming thunder, and a complete lightning show. I pulled open the back door and ran outside, which didn't faze him at all.
"Theo! This is crazy!" I screamed through the rain, and he didn't move. "Come back in before you get hurt!"
He glanced at me over his shoulder, his dark brown eyes boring into mine. Seeing his eyes with that raw, unreadable emotion sent a chill down my spine, but it also broke my heart, for those eyes were blood-red from crying. I was about to run to him, but he snapped his head back towards the yard.
"I'll be fine. Go back inside, Melody."
"Theo--"
Lightning came, a brilliant shock of white in the graphite sky, forking silently to the unsuspecting ground, and a dazed out Theo. The bolt hit him, and he collapsed to the ground. I let out a scream just as a cloud burst released, and I could no longer see him. The air smelled thick of burning flesh, and I ran to the spot I last saw him, falling to the ground and cradling him in my arms. I felt for a pulse, and let out a sigh of relief when I could feel his strong, yet slow heartbeat against my fingertips.
"Melody, I can't see you guys!" Hazel hollered from the distance, and I held Theo's face close to my chest as I tried to squint to see through the rain, but I couldn't even see the silhouette of the house.
"Call the doctor, Hazel, now!" I screamed, and I heard the back door slam close. The rain let up a little as I grabbed Theo's head in my hands, which was slightly hot from the lightning, and I noticed the burn marks etched into his soft skin. Tears fell from my eyes, but the rain pretty much drowned them out. I caressed his cheek, holding him until Hazel and Tobias finally ran out to help me get him up. The three of us carried Theo inside where a vampire nurse was waiting in his bedroom, and she instructed us to lay him on the bed. We laid him down carefully, and then she checked him.
As she checked him, I glanced around his room. It was exactly how I imagined Theo's room-- dark and ominous. His walls were black, his dressers painted red, and his comforter was white with black pillows. Everything was in its exact place, and the only light in the room was a chandelier above his bed which was turned off, and the flashes of lightning that lit up his room every couple of minutes.
"He has second degree burns. I'm going to run a test to see his state of consciousness." The three of us nodded as she started running tests. As she ran the tests, I faced Hazel and Tobias.
"Shouldn't he heal? I mean, we're vampires. We have the ability to heal instantly." Hazel and Tobias glanced at each other before letting out a sigh. Tobias stepped towards me.
"We do have the ability to heal instantly," He glanced at Theo, "But fire to a vampire is like getting hit by a car driving full speed to a human."
I gulped. "Well, that's... Oh my gosh, he's that hurt!?"
"We don't know the extent yet, Mel. Calm down, he's going to be okay." Hazel assured me as she pulled me into a hug, and when we pulled away, the nurse turned to us with a frown.
"Theo is in a coma. Because of how hard the lightning hit, he may not wake up. I would give him a week if he would wake up."
Tobias thanked her, and then the nurse left. He walked over to Theo's bed, patted his shoulder, a sad smile lingering on his lips, and left the room. Hazel walked over to her brother with a sad face, and it broke my heart when I saw a single tear escape her eye as she hugged him. She gave me a hug before walking out, and I walked to the other side of his bed, lying beside him.
I intertwined our fingers and stared up at the ceiling. Glancing around his room again, I noticed how everything fit Theo, but the one thing I didn't notice was the picture on his dresser. It was a picture of me in the red dress he gave me for our first date, and I was smiling at something, my eyes focused on something to the side, and at the bottom of the picture, it read, "My beautiful girl.".
His girl. Theo really did love me, but I still couldn't understand why he would say he loved Willow too. A single tear trickled down my cheek, and I wiped it away before slightly squeezing his hand. Seeing that picture was enough to make me see that sometimes, everything was not what it seemed.
"If you can hear me, Theo, I have some things I need to say, or I will regret not saying them if something happens to you." I paused to lie flat on my back. "I still don't understand why you said you love Willow. I know I'm just a distraction, and I admit, it hurts like hell."
I took a deep, shaky breath before continuing. "It hurts like hell because I was the idiot girl to fall in love with you like every teen fiction story out there, but I don't regret it, and I don't think I ever will regret loving you. I know I'm not the one you want, but I just... I need you to know I still love you."
More tears escaped my eyes, and a lump grew in my throat as I squeezed his hand slightly.
"I'm in love with you, Theo, and I forgive you." I sat up and planted a soft kiss on his cheek, letting it linger, before leaning closer to his ear and whispering, "I forgive you."
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Hey, loves!
It's been a loooooong day. and ya girl is exhausted. I am so ready for sleep AHAHA
How did y'all feel about where Melody ended up? Theo's recklessness? The diagnosis? Melody's words to Theo?
Make sure to comment, vote, and spread the word!
Thanks for reading!
Much love,
-Abby