The phone rang!!!
She woke up and glanced at the time—it was 1:45 am. The name flashed on the screen, pulling her from the grasp of sleep. Despite her exhaustion, she knew he needed her more than she needed rest. With a sigh, she straightened herself and answered the call. His red, watery eyes were a clear sign of distress; he had been crying.
Flashback:
She remembered the nights they used to spend talking endlessly, dreaming of the future. Those nights now seemed distant, replaced by the harsh reality of their once-unbreakable bond, now fractured.
Present:
She: “Hey, what’s up? Is everything alright?”
He: “Oh, sorry it’s late, I know. Did I wake you up?”
She: “No, I was just lying down, thinking about the upcoming wedding decor.”
He: “Only you could turn wedding planning into a design manifesto for powder rooms and beds. Where’s your handsome fiancé? Shouldn’t he be on wallpaper duty?”
She (sighing): “Please, what’s really going on? You don’t look well.”
His expression shifted from forced laughter to deep sadness, his voice wavering.
He: “I needed to talk to you. I couldn’t bear to be alone with my thoughts; they were leading me to dark places.”
Tears welled up in his eyes, betraying his fragile state.
She: “Hey, it’s okay. You’re going to be okay. Trust me, she’s coming back.”
He: “I don’t know. I don’t think so. It’s over. She was my life, my sunshine, my purpose, and now it’s all gone.”
His voice cracked, tears streaming down his face.
Flashback:
She remembered the day he left town, chasing his dreams. She had felt abandoned and lost, but she found solace in Corey, a friend who understood her grief.
Present:
She: “We’re here for you. You can get through this. Remember when you left town, before you met her? You were a cheerful, talented young man with a clear goal. You can find that person again.”
He: “That was ten years ago, and it wasn’t as easy as you think. I was alone in a new place, surrounded by strangers. You were my only connection, and you seemed to have moved on completely after I left. Lizzie was the only person who understood me. I longed for that understanding. If you hadn’t moved on, I wouldn’t have met her, fallen in love, and ended up heartbroken like this.”
She: “Hey, I didn’t abandon you. You left. You were busy and unavailable when I needed you the most, after Dad passed away. Corey was there for me when I needed someone the most. Don’t blame me for finding solace in him during my darkest times. If you had been there, maybe I would have faced it differently, and it wouldn’t have been so painful.”
He looked disappointed and sorrowful.
He (with a hint of a smile): “I always thought we were enough for each other, like we were each other’s endgame. I never thought we needed anyone else. You’re my oldest friend, my happy place.”
She: “That’s true. I never thought anyone could understand and care for me the way you do. But look at us now. I found Corey, and you found Lizzie.”
He: “And lost her too! I’m happy you and Corey are getting married.”
She: “Give it time. Everything happens for a reason. She’ll come back. Look at me—I was broken after Dad died, and you moved away. I never made any other friends because I always thought we’d face everything together. But then you left, and I was a mess. I found Corey eventually, and I realized everything I dreamed of—a happy life—could happen with him.”
He: “Please, I know you. I know your likes and dislikes. He wasn’t your type when you met him. Yes, he helped you when you were in a dark place, but he changed so much to fit your needs. There’s a world of difference between the Corey you met and the one you’re going to marry. Lizzie always said you were the only one who could understand me, and I was the only one who could understand you. Corey is not that person. It’s funny to say it, but we would have been perfect together, the best couple out there.”
She: “I won’t deny that. We could have been perfect. We would have had our bakery and made the best croissants in the world, danced together, and been the perfect hosts. And you wouldn’t have had to go to the library for a reading partner.”
He: “And you wouldn’t have had to knock on neighbors’ doors for cooking partners.”
They laughed together.
She: “We could have created our iconic dance move and taught it to our kids.”
He: “That would have been our Christmas card. We could have had elaborate Christmas traditions with lunch, movies, games, and ended it with perfect hot chocolate, curled up with our kids in our arms.”
She: “I would have loved that.”
They both drifted off into a dreamy vision, visualizing their life together. They laughed and then fell silent.
They looked into each other’s eyes, a painful silence enveloping them. Tears filled her eyes, reflecting the agony of their shared realization.
His expression shifted—uncomfortable, filled with sadness, hopelessness, and a deep sense of loss—as tears welled up in his eyes.
They gazed at each other, tears streaming down their faces, still deeply in love after all these years. They never stopped loving each other. Their hearts were heavy with the understanding that their lives had diverged with different partners, leaving them unable to turn back time.
Silent and tearful, they acknowledged the irreversibility of their choices and the pain of lost chances. Their once-happy place now stood as a poignant reminder of what could have been.
The tears they shared spoke volumes of a love destined to slip away, yet one that profoundly shaped who they had become. It was a testament to life’s delicate balance between dreams and reality. In those shared tears, they found solace in understanding what could have been, and a solemn acceptance of what now must remain.
As they parted ways with unspoken words, a faint flicker of hope lingered—the bittersweet possibility that perhaps, in another life or another time, their paths might align once more.
But for now, each turned away, carrying the weight of what could never be, their hearts heavy with the ache of untold truths and unresolved feelings.