STACY
I smiled at the happy girl in the mirror before me. I fixed my cap and flattened out any wrinkles in my purple gown one last time. I looked down at my hand as I exited the bathroom, playing with my boyfriend's class ring.
"Stacy! You ready!? You don't want to be late to your own graduation, do you?"
"Nooo!" I called back to my dad. I ran down the stairs in flats and jumped in my father's arms.
"Let's go then." I nodded with a stupid grin on my face and I followed everyone outside to the car.
I texted Nick during the drive to the high school.
"We're graduating!"
"Yep! I can't wait!👩🏻🎓❤️👨🏼🎓"
"Cute!😘"
"I bet you look cute."😏
"🤓"
"I look like I'm in college."
"At least you don't have to wear black! I really look like I'm graduating college."
"I bet you look handsome in your gown."
"Who am I kidding? You look handsome in anything."
"Just you wait, you won't be able to keep your hands off me."
"Babe, I have to wait like three years to get at what you're implying."😒
"All the sweeter I'll be till then."
"You nasty boy."
"😜"
"🤪"
"😘"
"🥰"
"🐶"
"🐙"
An hour later, Nick and I were both sitting back down after receiving our diplomas. We weren't beside each other but we constantly made eye contact throughout the ceremony. After graduation, we found each other and kissed. We got pictures together and with our families.
Over the past two weeks, Nick's mom got engaged to James. Nick had a talk to him and it was hilarious. Nick tried to act like an old man with a gun in his lap while talking to his future step-dad.
Kyle and Emma took pictures with us as well. My family hosted a party for the four of us at our house after the ceremony.
After dinner, and while all the other guests were in the house, the four of us went outside to enjoy our last few minutes of being high school seniors.
"This is it." Kyle said as we all stared up at the star-lit sky.
The grass itched at my bare legs as I laid on the ground in a dress. Nick and Kyle wore slacks and white shirts. Emma was also in a dress.
"Yep." Nick added. "We're adults here soon."
"I don't want to grow up," Emma said.
"Me neither." I said along with the boys. We all laughed. We listened to Kyle get up and then Emma squealed.
"Kyle!" She shrieked.
"Did you just kiss her?" I asked.
"Duh, she's not graduating without ever kissing a guy."
"I've kissed a guy on the cheek."
"That doesn't count." Kyle said.
"Can I kiss you back?" Kyle didn't answer. Nick and I listened to Emma get up and we didn't hear anything until one of them moaned.
"Oh gosh, get a room." Nick yelped. I giggled. "Ie-ie-ie-ie-ie!" We all laughed.
"Come here, lover boy." I said.
"Woo-who!" Nick cried. Everyone laughed again. I rolled on top of him and lowered myself gently towards his lips. We kissed softly and slowly, enjoying and savoring every second of this moment together. This moment that we would hope to never forget for the rest of our lives.
"I love you, Nick," he didn't frown but he didn't smile either. It's been three weeks since the coma and I still didn't remember full events or facts. Nick loves me more than I loved him. I know he knows. He knows I know he knows.
He grabbed my hand and twisted his ring on my finger. He smiled and my heart melted.
"I am the happiest man right now."
"No, I am." Kyle interrupted. "Mormon girls, who knew, are killer kissers." Emma giggled and Kyle and her went back to kissing. Nick and I chuckled under our breaths. I looked down at him and moved some of his unruly hair out of his face, pushing it back and lingering there. I leaned down again and kissed him. He closed his eyes and kissed back.
"I love you, too, Stacy."
We were outside till one in the morning. That night, I gained my memory back.
I was helping my mom put the dishes away after my friends left when I got a text from Nick.
"I'm pulling an all nighter. Feel free to sneak out and come over."
"I just might."
"I'll see you later then."
I didn't text him back but held the phone close to my chest. As I held the device close to my heart, I wondered what Nick's and my relationship used to be like. How much I want to know if we acted differently towards one another before the accident. Were we in a good spot or a bad one? We're in a good spot now. I mean, we're in a great spot right now.
I looked at my phone as an idea came to mind. Emma has once again inspired me.
I clicked on Nick's name in the texting app and scrolled up our conversations. I went all the way back to February 7, 2020; 11:58 p.m.
"I hope you made it home safely, I'm worried."
"Wrong number."
"Oh, sorry, is this not Jane?"
"Nope, you her boyfriend?"
"No,"
"Sounds like it. You literally said, 'I hope you made it home safely, I'm worried."'
"Please, that's a friend who is genuinely concerned."
"Dude, that's the friend zone."
"I assume this is a boy?"
"Yeah, now that I think about it, you kind of sound like a girl,"
I read on and on and on. One could tell when the two of us had finally met. I noticed when there was a single phone call in between a conversation. I was surprised to see how late I had stayed up texting him. I blushed at some of our topics. I felt embarrassed at a few choice of words on my part. I fell in love with the guy all over again.
But the best part about rereading my boyfriend's and my old text messages, was that it was all coming back to me. Everything. I told Nick everything. All about my classes, my family, my stresses, my worries, my dreams, my hopes—I told him my secrets. And he told me his. All of them. Some he even tried keeping from me after the accident. But I didn't care. I realized that he was in love with his old Stacy. He's still in love with her. She is the one who knows it all.
It was four in the morning by the time I got back to our last text. I looked to the clock and checked if anyone was still up. Then, I tip-toed to the door and left. I grabbed my bike from the side of the house and road it to his house.
NICK
I watched as my ceiling fan spun around and around. Some moments I thought I was following it, other times I'd get dizzy and forget trying.
I looked at my phone and Stacy hadn't said anything. I got out of my slacks and dress shirt and hung up my cap and gown. I said goodnight to my mom then sat in my room watching Longmire on Netflix. I closed my eyes and opened them back up, hating myself for drifting. I wanted to pull an all nighter my senior year. I never had the chance all year long so tonight had to be the night.
I wish Stacy was here with me. She would make this a whole lot more exciting. She loves Longmire. Where is that girl?
I grabbed my phone and went to text her when I saw that it was already three in the morning. She was probably asleep by now.
I stared at the TV in my room and waited ... for nothing really. The rising sun I guess.
Then there was a sound coming from my window. A little ticking sound. It wasn't rhythmic, but sporadic. Like rocks—
I jumped off my bed and opened the blinds to my window. Then my phone dinged.
"Juliet's here to see her Romeo, open the door!"
I ran down the stairs as quiet as possible with a big smile on my face. I swung the front door open and Stacy jumped into my arms. I held her as she held me for dear life.
"I remember, Nick." She softly said into my ear. I set her down and stared into her eyes seriously.
"What do you mean?" She smiled big at me and kissed my hands, then my cheek, and then my lips.
"I remember everything!" She whispered yelled to me.
"Wait, like ... everything?" She nodded vigorously. "Bu—but how?" I asked with a growing smile.
"I read our texts."
"Our texts?"
"Everything was save on my phone. Everything."
"Everything ... Oh, God, Stacy!" I yelled.
"Shhh!" She giggled.
"Can ... can this be a dream? Because I'll admit, I've had too many that start like this and don't end up being real."
"This is real. I'm here, Nick. You've done it," I raised an eyebrow as I held her close to me.
"Done what?"
"You've made me fall in love with you. You're going to take me far away and soon ... you're going to take everything from me." I nervously chuckled. "I love you, Nick."
"Stacy, I—I don't know what to say!"
"Say you love me back."
I kissed her and when our lips pulled away our foreheads and noses were still kissing.
"You've come back to me."
"I've always been here, God was just testing us."
"Well, I hope I got a passing grade."
"You did in my book." Her arms were wrapped around my neck and I didn't want this moment to end.
"I love you," we kissed again then I dragged her up to my room.
We sat on the bed and made out. We were more passionate in this kiss. Stacy has her memories back. That meant she gained those deep, raw feelings for me.
Thank you, God. Thank you.
Stacy soon stopped the kissing session before it could go pass lying on top of one another. We cuddled instead and watched Netflix till the break of dawn.
STACY
EFY music? Where is that coming from? There must be headphones on my ears.
I felt as headphones were taken off of me. Everything was black. The place and situation felt familiar.
"Stacy," it was Nick. "I know you like your church music. Doctor said that music helps. So does talking. So ... here I am. I don't know what exactly this music and talking does but maybe when you wake up you'll have a blast making fun of me." He chuckled. "Maybe when you wake up again, I can take you out hiking and ... you can make fun of me in the canyon because ... I don't want people seeing me cry in your arms when you relate back to me all that you heard." Oh, Nick. I wanted to cry. My boyfriend was crying and I was stuck in a dark void of nothing. I looked around some more and heard more and more voices. Music, conversations, gossip, language, prayers. Not only were my memories coming back at full capacity but so were my coma memories—everything that was heard and said while I was asleep. It was all coming back to me. The crying and the heartache from my boyfriend and family was almost too much to bare.
I burst awake on Nick's bed. We had both fallen asleep. So much for pulling an all nighter. I looked to Nick and he was awake. He looked sleepy and I realized that I was the one who woke him.
"Hey, babe, you okay?" I nodded. I looked at him as he snuggled back up into my side.
"Nick,"
"Hmm?"
"I put you through a lot of suffering didn't I?" He opened one eye and smiled before closing the eye back up.
"Darling, you put me through hell. I couldn't sleep, eat, talk, or do anything, really." I shyly smiled. "But I got through it. I knew you would be okay. I didn't know about you being okay while on the earth but I found out, while you were in that coma, that God exists. And that He has a plan for you, for me, for us. I was going to see you here or then. I didn't care. But He was merciful. And I'm eternally grateful for that." I snuggled deeper into his chest as he wrapped an arm around me. I played with his class ring thanking God for Nick.