Diamond In the Rough

People often shy away at the thought of being alone, but it's not as bad as they think it is. Sure, I did miss coming home and having someone care about my day, and having someone to help me warm my bed, that I'll admit. It got harder everyday, but I'm a fighter. I knew I'd be fine. It was night, and I was making myself a cup of tea. I set the kettle on the stove and walked around while it boiled. My house was small, but full of memories. I wanted to sell it. I had to sell it, actually. But I just couldn't bring myself to do it. It was so quiet as I walked. The soft sound of my feet shuffling on the hard floors was the only thing to be heard, in heavy contrast to the everyday hustling and bustling that used to be heard many years ago. I remembered how she hated that sound, and I stopped. If only she were here. I found my way into the living room and looked at the blank screen.

Diamond and I used to always watch horror films. A small smile tugged at my lips as I remember the time we watched one of the scariest movies at the time. She screamed so loud that the neighbors called the cops. They thought she was being murdered. I chuckled. I continued on until I reached the staircase. I sighed and slowly ascended the steps, hearing them creak as I applied my weight onto them. When I reached the top, a familiar white door greeted me. I reached out to the cold door knob, and held it firmly, bracing myself to go inside. I slowly turned it, and let it open. It groaned loudly, as if it had been sitting unused for about a hundred years. Which, in a way, it has.

A sweet scent hit my nostrils, and I felt sad for a moment. I shuffled my feet into the room, and took a look around. It was the same as how we'd left it, untouched by time. It was a nursery. We'd put so much money into it, and in the corner there was still a bag of decorations just waiting to be put to use. It was fit for a little king- or queen. A white mahogany crib stood in the center of the room. I traced my fingers on it, feeling the dust gather on my them. As I did, a weird pressure somewhere in my stomach arose, almost like there was a weight being put onto it. Sadness. My eyes began to sting as they filled with tears. I took a deep breath, blinking continuously. I was so young back then, when everything was taken from me.

"You promised you'd spend more time with me, Jack," Diamond sighed, shaking her head slightly. I inwardly rolled my eyes. "You think I don't want to? You know why I'm doing this, Diamond. Do you really want to end up on the streets?" She shook her head softly. I sighed. I knew that she must have felt lonely with me being at work all the time, but I needed to work- for us. Money was tight, and if we wanted a good future together, I had to work.

"Yeah, I know, it's just.." she trailed off. I looked up at her to find that tears were brimming her eyes. I groaned. "Come here," I started. I placed my hands on her back and embraced her in a hug, feeling the soft fabric of her summer dress, and the welcoming warmth of her skin on my palms. "Just think about it," I began, a small smile playing on my face. "Soon, we'll be living the good life. One day, I'll be able to afford anything that you want. You'll be happy." I slowly leaned down to her stomach, placing my hands on the little bump that was starting to form. "You too, baby boy," I kissed it.

"Hey, I think you mean 'baby girl'," she laughed out. I smiled, playfully rolling my eyes. I peeked at the clock behind her and cursed. "I have to go," I stated. She frowned momentarily, but quickly piped up again. "Oh, I'll walk you there! It's only across the street, right?" I nodded. "Hold on a second, though, I have to look for something," I said, rummaging through a random drawer. "I'll go on ahead. There's a new store that opened, I want to get more stuff for the nursery," Diamond said. I snorted. "As if we don't already have enough." She rolled her eyes and walked out.

After about five minutes of searching, I huffed. It was nowhere to be found. Oh, well, I thought. "Hurry up!" I heard from downstairs. I sighed and began to ascend the steps. She stood in front of the open door, a cool breeze making her long hair dance. I sneakily walked behind her, careful as to not make the stairs creak as I stepped onto them. I slowly raised my hands to her sides, and struck her fast. She shrieked and I laughed hard. She rolled her eyes and began to finally walk out of the door, mumbling about how ridiculous I was. A loud click sound was made as I closed the door and locked it. I turned around to find Diamond swiftly crossing the street, eager to get across.

"Wait up!" I called to her as she was scurried across. She paused in the middle of the street and stuck her tongue out. I laughed before slowly walking towards her. Out of nowhere, the loud rumbling of a truck's engine filled the silence of the neighborhood. My head shot to the right, where I'd thought the sound had come from. The shiny metal of a bright red truck came into view, right in the direction of Diamond.

I tried to scream; to tell her to move, but no sound came out. I was frozen, unable to move, as I watched the horror unfold in front of me. The loud bang of the impact made me jump, and her screams of pain echoed through the quiet neighborhood. My eyes widened and I fell to my knees. My heart dropped and I scrambled to get to her, ignoring the pain of scraping my skin against the ground. The door of the truck swung open and the driver hopped out, a frightened expression on his face. "Oh, my God.... so, so sorry....didn't see her..." Soon, I could no longer make out his words. I held her in my arms, a phone in my hand ready to dial 999. "It's okay, Diamond, it's okay," I cried out, stroking her cheek gently.

She looked up at me and tried to give me a reassuring smile, but it only deepened my worry, as it was so sprinkled with pain. For a moment it felt like we were frozen in time. I no longer could hear the man next to me desperately blubbering out apologies, nor could I feel the dull pain of my freshly scraped skin. As I stared into her tearful brown eyes, I could see all of the memories we had shared, all of the heartache, all of the pain, all of the love. I stared into her eyes as the ambulance came to take her away. I stared into her eyes as doctors and nurses scrambled, trying to figure out a way to fix what had been done. I stared into her eyes as they closed, never opening again.

I closed my eyes and let out a small breath, trying to ease the sorrowful memory out of my mind. The loud screech of the kettle downstairs broke me from my thoughts. I sighed and went to gather it, hoping that it wouldn't taste as bad as it had for the last 20 years, the years that Diamond wasn't here.