Memories of Love

Chapter One End of the line As she puts the carefully folded letter down on the nightstand she couldn't help but giving one last longing look to the picture in the frame, a beautiful happy couple, holding each other, with big joyful smiles, 'I really was truly happy', 'He's always had the most beautiful smile' she whispers as she turns away with a sigh, and walk out of the room. The apartment was spotless, and what once was light, warm and full of life, now feels, cold, dark and empty, she stops at the bedroom door and looks back, her mind overflowing with memories of laughter, hugs, smells, conversations, music, dancing and love, so much love... As she looks at the bed, the memories take form, as she tries to get up and suddenly his strong arms grab her and pull her back in, she gasps in surprise and starts laughing, when he says 'Where do you think you are going?' and starts kissing her neck and pulling her closer, 'You know we have to work right?!' she answers chuckling with the neck kisses protest, 'Nu-uh, only if you are able to free yourself from my powerful embrace!' he answers pulling her even closer and back under the sheets, 'You know I can't resist you...' she says, giving up the struggle and turning to look at him, 'I was hoping for that...' he says right before kissing her kindly... She turns the gaze to the bathroom door, they are running and taking of their clothes, wet from the rain outside, and hasting to the bathroom, 'Ohh... I-It's soo c-cold!' she stutters as she turns on the hot water, 'I-I k-kn-know!' he replies and goes in with her. 'Why didn't we take an umbrella again?' she says going in the shower, 'Because we don't like it!' he says, following her in, 'True!' 'But I don't regret it' he says holding her close as the water falls on their bodies, 'Me neither' she answers kissing his neck. She turns around to the living room, they are laying together on the couch, the TV is on and there is an action movie playing, 'Holy s**t! That was awesome!' he says, and turns to look at her when there's no answer, 'Honey are you sleeping?' he asks in a low voice, 'What?... No, I'm watching!' she answers with a sleepy voice, without even opening her eyes, and turns to a cozy hug with him, as he gives a tender smile and arranges her in a comfortable position, looking her for a bit before turning back to the screen. The memory fades away as another one begins to take form, he arrives home to find her laying on the couch, with the work clothes still on, he crouches down before her and sees that she is a bit pale. 'Hey, hon. Come, I'm gonna take you to bed.' he whispers being careful not to startle her, 'Honey? Oh... are you home already? Good, I'm gonna start with the dinner! Sorry, I was just gonna take a nap, I should've set an alarm!' she says trying to get up a little too fast and feels a little faint, as he holds her looking worried, 'No dinner, forget about it, babe, you don't look okay! What are you feeling?' he asks putting a hand on her forehead realizing she is a little feverish. 'You have a fever, let's go, I'll take you to bed, let's change this clothes.' He says picking her up in his arms to go to the room, 'Don't worry about me honey! I think it's just a cold, I'll be fine by tomorrow!' she answers kindly with the voice a bit weak. 'Of course I worry about you honey, you'll be fine tomorrow cuz I'm gonna take care of you, let's put you in yous pjs and I'm gonna buy some medicine, make you some tea and some soup, you just rest ok?!' he says carefully placing her on the bed and giving her a sweet kiss on the lips. 'I love you' she whispers to him after the kiss, 'I love you too' he whispers back delicately bumping his head into hers. She turns to the kitchen, she flips a pancake in the air and cut oranges for a juice, wearing only an old t-shirt of his, as he leaves the room yawning and stretching in the direction of the kitchen and kindly hugs her from behind by the waist. 'Morning, love!' He whispers sleepy in her ears. 'Morning, my love!' she whispers back with a large smile and turns to give him a kiss. 'Hum... pancakes! It smells delicious! Do you need help?' he asks looking for something he can do, 'It's almost ready, you can continue huggin' me if you want to' she answers with a naughty face, 'Wow, best job ever!' he answers holding her by the waist and giving a turn while both laugh. The memory fades, and now it's night, there is a romantic song playing and the table is set with candles and red roses, she takes the roast out of the oven while he opens the wine, both are dressed up for the occasion, he is wearing a beautiful white shirt with a couple of buttons left casually open and black pants, she has a lovely red dress on, with a cut on the thigh and a provocative cleavage, the food smells delicious, they sit and chat happily talking about several things, stopping to hold hands once in a while, conversation was always interesting, even after all those years, after dessert, they seat looking deeply at each other, holding hands, 'Thanks for these 12 perfect years, you are perfect' he says staring deep into her eyes, caressing her hand with his finger, 'Thank you, you are perfect, you are my dream come true.' she replies holding his gaze with a sweet smile and slightly blushing, 'And you are mine' he says as he gets up, still holding her hand, and takes her to the middle of the room, holding her close, they start a slow dance, as she delicately rests her head on his chest, he places a gentle kiss on her head and takes a deep breath to take in the smell of her hair. 'I wanna stay in your arms, like this, forever' she says with a soft voice, 'I wanna hold you in my arms, like this, forever' he answers softly by her ear. 'I love you forever' he says, she lifts her head to meet his gaze, 'I love you forever', she replies with a loving voice before they passionately kiss on their way to the room. A single solitary tear drops from her eyes rolling down her cheek, the apartment goes back to it's cold, dark and empty state as she makes her way to the door. The night is warm and the sky is clear with a lot of stars shinning through, she remembers how they used to go to the roof and watch the stars together in nights like those, it all seems like a distant illusion now. She makes her way to the ledge, looks at the sky, feels the wind blowing through her hair, looks down to her phone, his number and his picture. 'Should I call? I wish I could listen to his voice one more time... Would he pick up? Would he realize what was about to happen? Would he be kind to me? Maybe I just don't wanna find out... Wouldn't it be selfish of me to call him right now, even though he is part of the reason, this was my choice, he shouldn't have to live in guilt, even if what he did was selfish, I'm not, it's not what I want for him... and what do I even expect? Do I expect that he would pick up and tell me he regrets it? Tell me that he loves me?... I've been hurt enough, I'm trying to get rid of the pain and not cause myself anymore suffering... As it is there is a chance he'll never even know... Maybe it's for the best.'. She opens the gallery and plays a video, in the video they are both happy, fresh out of bed in the morning, they look at the camera and send kisses to one another, she looks at him and says 'I love you', he looks at her and replies 'I love you', she asks him to kiss her, they kiss, and the video ends. 'I love you' she whispers before climbing on the ledge. But before she starts climbing she hears footsteps approaching. - Beautiful night, huh? Her heart starts bumping against her chest. 'For a second I thought it could be him... how fool am I?'. She looks back and sees a man, standing nearby, not too distant, but not too close either, she didn't listen to the door, so he must have been there already when she arrived. - Yes, it is. - She replies calmly. - Well, I don't mean to intrude, but wouldn't it be a waste of a perfectly good night if you continue with your plan? - He asks in a composed voice. - I don't know. - She answers politely. - Not even a beautiful night such as this one can ease my torment anymore. Are you here to try and stop me? - Yes, I think so. - He replied nicely. - Well, than I'm afraid I'm about to disappoint you, I'm beyond help. - She answers with a soft smile. - I disagree. - He said nicely. - I'm convinced that I can help you. She chuckles with disbelief. - Don't get me wrong, but you have no idea what you're talking about. - She answers softly as she looks away. - I know what I'm talking about, but you don't. Unless you give me the chance to explain it to you. - He takes a step towards her and slowly reaches her way as an invitation. - What have you got to lose? Another disbelief chuckle. - If it doesn't work I promise I won't try to stop you next time. All I need is a chance. - He says hopeful. - Why are you doing this? I mean, you don't know me, why would you spend your time trying to help me? - Because I believe in destiny. Why else would I be here, at the right place, in the right time? - He answers calmly, as if it was something obvious. - Just give me a little bit of your time. - Well, I guess I can let you explain how you think you can try to help me. - She says taking his hand and climbing down the step. - Nice to meet you, I'm Christopher Hillthorn. Call me Chris. - Julie Evans, nice to meet you.