Chapter 4: The Weight of an Eternal Absence
1327 Words
Several weeks later.
I was drowning in darkness. I was devastated. I had hit rock bottom once again, but this time I was sure I would never get back up. Everything was falling apart around me, and now I had to live with that reality.
No calls from Bryan.
No attempt from him.
I finally accepted the truth.
He was better off without me, and I had to accept it.
That thought pierced my heart.
I felt like I was dying little by little.
Alone in that apartment, Carine gave in to tears and sadness. A second stab wound that now changed everything in her life. Dark days followed one after another, and Carine fought as best she could.
She fought to survive.
Several months later...
"Carine, I've tried to understand you, but you have to tell him the whole truth. Bryan needs to know what's happening and know about..."
"That's enough, Lise. Bryan won't know. Not about either of them. At least not like this."
Lise looked at her sadly. She held her friend's hand tightly.
Carine coughed lightly as she sat up in bed. She now spent most of her days lying down, and her friend stayed by her side through those difficult moments.
"Wait, let me help you," Lise said, helping her sit up.
"Lise, promise me you won't tell him anything. Until I'm..."
Lise quickly placed a hand over Carine's mouth and shook her head in protest, her eyes filling with tears.
In a tired voice, Carine insisted.
"Lise, please promise me. I don't want anyone's pity, especially not Bryan's."
With tears in her eyes, Lise moved closer and hugged her as tightly as she could.
"I promise, Carine. But promise me you'll keep fighting. Fight for this new life. Fight, my friend. Fight..."
Two years later.
Dressed in black, Lise and the few friends who had come accompanied her to her final resting place.
Carine was gone.
She had taken her love for Bryan with her.
In the distance, Bryan walked forward, his eyes red from crying, his throat tight, his hands trembling, and his breath caught in his chest.
He couldn't believe what he was seeing.
Years without any news.
And the only news he received was the death of the woman who had once shared his life.
He struggled to walk. Every step felt like carrying a heavy burden.
He walked.
Then stopped.
He looked around, confused.
This can't be real. Carine can't be dead...
His heart pounded violently in his chest.
His legs nearly gave out beneath him.
There wasn't enough air, as if every breath was tearing a piece of life away from him.
The pain burned through his soul.
He felt a bottomless abyss opening inside him.
The funeral continued.
And after the priest's final words, everyone slowly left, leaving Lise alone one last time with her friend, asleep forever.
"Carine, how are we supposed to live without you?" she cried, her eyes full of tears.
She knelt beside the casket and rested her head against the cold wood.
She sobbed uncontrollably.
"Carine... go and rest now, my beautiful friend. You deserve it..."
Bryan moved closer, his hand covering his mouth.
He still couldn't believe it.
He walked slowly.
Behind Lise, he saw the casket.
Unable to stop himself, he dropped to his knees and let out a heartbreaking scream.
"CARINEEE!!!"
Lise instinctively turned around and saw him kneeling there, curled into himself.
She stood up, quickly wiping away her tears.
Then her eyebrows drew together and her jaw tightened.
She walked toward him with clenched fists.
"Stop crying. You don't even deserve to cry for her! You've seen what you came to see. Now you need to leave, Bryan. Go. Go back to your family and give them all the love you stopped giving Carine!" she shouted, anger clear in her voice.
Lise walked away and left him there, alone in front of his ex-wife's body.
Lise
I felt anger deep in my heart.
Carine was my best friend, and seeing her here today, dead and ready to be buried, was destroying me.
I had lost a sister.
But she trusted me.
I had to fight for us.
She left me the thing that mattered most to her, and I had to be strong for both of us.
Bryan was like a brother to me, but he had eventually moved on.
He had stopped hoping.
He had walked away, taking with him the love they once shared.
Maybe I would never forgive him.
Bryan
I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
Carine, my love...
You left me with so many unanswered questions.
What happened to you?
How could something like this happen to you?
You, who were so full of life...
How?
Why you?
My heart screamed in pain.
Every memory of you cut through me like a blade.
Your laughter still echoed in my mind, but now it was only an echo destroying me.
I felt like someone had ripped away everything that mattered to me.
I could still see you.
Your bright eyes.
Your gentle smile.
And now all that remained was this crushing silence.
This emptiness that was suffocating me.
How am I supposed to live through this, Carine?
How?
I cried uncontrollably, unable to hold it back.
I knew this was the end.
I would never see you again.
It was very late when he finally got home, completely drunk.
(RINGGGGG!!!)
"Cathy, op... open the door!" he shouted, barely able to stand.
She rushed to open it, worry written all over her face.
"Bryan, where have you been? I was so worried! But... what's wrong with you? Are you drunk, Bryan?! What happened?" she exclaimed, her voice filled with shock and frustration.
"Ughhh! Let me in!"
He pushed past her and stumbled inside.
Once in the living room, he collapsed onto the couch.
Cathy stared at him in disbelief and moved closer.
"What's wrong with you, Bryan? I've never seen you like this. Where were you?"
He struggled against the exhaustion caused by the alcohol.
"I... I saw her... I... Carine..." he mumbled.
Cathy frowned.
"Carine? Your ex-wife?!"
"Carine... my wife... My wife Carine is gone. She's dead!!!" he broke down, sobbing.
Cathy froze, her eyes widening.
"Come on, Bryan... Get up. You need to rest."
She helped him to his feet.
"No, leave me alone... Just leave me here..." he protested weakly.
"Come on, Bryan. You need to rest," she insisted, helping him lean on her.
As they slowly walked toward their bedroom, a small voice came from the room down the hall.
"Mommy... Mommy!"
"Bryan, make an effort! Because of you, you woke up the little one!"
"The little one... Our little girl... yours and mine... she came... what?" he rambled.
Then he let out a few drunken laughs.
"Carine and I wanted a little girl... We loved each other... and our daughter was supposed to be named Alice... But we never got to have her... and now... she's gone, Cathy..."
"Come on, Bryan..." she said softly.
She opened the bedroom door and helped him onto the bed.
"Now try to calm down, Bryan. I'm going to check on the little one. You probably scared her. That's all anyone can hear in this house right now," she said before leaving.
Bryan remained motionless on the bed, giving in to exhaustion.
As sleep slowly claimed him, tears still slipped from his eyes.
Lise
A box sat in front of her.
Beside it was a picture of her and Carine, both smiling.
She picked up the box and stared at it for a long moment before turning her eyes toward the photograph.
"Carine, you knew this day would come. This box holds the memories of your final moments. You wanted me to give it to him at exactly this time. Fine... I will."
She tightened her grip on the box.
"But I will stop him from taking what matters most to you."
- Writer
