(I Just) Died In Your Arms ~ Stanley Uris

035

Julia's POV

Blood. All I see is blood. And no Stan. Just the blood pools left on the open concrete, stained with the crimson ooze, like splotches of ink on a canvas. Blood. I never was scared of blood. It look pretty to me. It did look pretty to me. Now that I know from where the blood falls, it's beautiful hue had been tainted with the sinister cause.

Tainted. Corrupted. Stripped of innocence.

Is that what my life amounts to? Is that what Stan's life is all going to mean?

Where is Stan, anyways? Why is his blood here, but not him?

"Honey?" I was shaken awake in my bed, wrapped up snugly with warm knitted blankets, too comfortable to be disturbed. I groaned, sitting up sharply, looking at my aunt in the eyes.

"It's time for school, isn't it?" I asked, irritated. My room was too warm to leave. It was too warm to leave and stand out in the bone chilling cold, then to walk to school in the screeching winds.

"Actually," She stroked my cheek with her rough thumb, pushing a hair behind my cheek. "It's been cancelled. The snow piled up so bad, the doors physically can't open. It's a snow day."

"Does that mean Stan could come over?" I asked hopefully, springing to an upright position. She laughs, easing me back down into the bed, despite my eagerness.

"I think you need some sleep first, then hanging out with boys."

"But I wanna hang out with Stan now." I whined, pulling the covers up to my chin, burying my nose in the soft cotton. The warm soothing feeling was similar to being held, but not enough to make it up. 

"You need some sleep, princessa." She pushed a stray curl out of my face, tucking it behind my ear in slow movements. "Stan will come later."

She begins to stand up, shifting her weight to the soles of her feet. I grabbed her wrist, keeping her from getting up.

"I'm scared."

"What are you scared about?" She asks, lowering herself closer to me, her lips pursed as she did when she was worried. Her brows were furrowed, and two wordy lines formed on her forehead.

"Nightmares. I keep having nightmares that Stan's going to die." I whimper, turning over with my back facing away from her.

"Oh, sweetie." My aunt sighs, her voice softening. "That isn't going to happen. You know that."

"It feels so real." I shuddered. "It's like he's there and then he's not." 

"Don't worry about it." She consoles, tucking her face in the crook of my neck. Her breath feels cold and rapid, like the chills of a cold glass window. In her grasp, I felt my eyelids begin to get heavy, all my worries washing away in waves.

"I'll try not to." I said as I begun slipping in to a deep sleep, my fingers curled as I did so. At least this time I won't have nightmares, my aunt is there to protect me.

Bill's POV

Slumped over at my desk, I read the paper laid before me a million times. I examined each line, each letter, each word. Even then, it wasn't enough to process the words laid out in front of me.

I found it in my mailbox early this morning, all wrapped up in a tidy pink envelope, waiting for me with my name on it. The contents of the letter professed undying love, the type of love that couldn't be masked, the type of love I was seeking for after Beverly. Somebody loved me. But whom, I had no idea. There was no return address, and it was typed, so I could hardly solve it.