The Devil's Bride (Book 1)

Chapter 17- Melt

HELENA

The window pane lined with drops of water as the rain fell from the clouds above. It hasn't rained in a while. The ring of the phone line whirred in my ear as I held the phone close, awaiting him to pick up. The light spitting of the rain, the greying clouds, it was no secret that a storm was coming. I listened to the patter of the light raindrops against the asphalt street out the window as the phone continued to ring. I rest my head against the frame of the window seat as he finally answers the call. The phone is tugged closer to my ear. I'm the first to speak.

"Hello. It's me." I stop speaking, waiting for him to reply. I've missed the way he smiles at me; the way he lifts me into the air just to kiss me. I've missed the nicknames he'd call me when he thought Helena wasn't sexy enough for the situation. I've missed how he'd hug me tightly anytime he thought I'd be scared, but I probably wasn't. It was perfect anyway. I've missed him. He spoke me name, his voice lingering on the end. I've wanted to be with him ever since we broke up. "So, uh, I was wondering if after all these years... you'd like to meet." I'd imagine him smiling right now, or nodding his head. He whispered an 'I don't know, Helena,' to me. I don't know either, I don't know why he left my life when he did, but I miss him. "They say that time's supposed to heal you-" He cut me off, beginning to complain about how rough our relationship had been. I admit in the last few weeks we were struggling to be happy together, but I've never stopped loving him. Never.

"Hello?" He had gone silent after his minor rant, obviously upset. We didn't end on friendly terms, but I suppose no couple does. No one truly is happy when they break up. You'll always feel the pang of regret. He tried to apologize for the talk, but I interjected him. "I've forgotten how it felt before the world fell at our feet, A." He sighed into the phone, responding with: 'Helena, we were in love, yes, but people change.' I scoffed quietly, turning the phone away so he couldn't hear me. The rain came pouring down, the other end falling silent as I did. He didn't speak, his quiet breathing the only sound I could hear. I couldn't ever hate him, because even when we broke up, I still loved him. "I must have called a thousand times. I'm sorry." I replied, staring out towards the puddles dotting the open roads. It sounds cheesy, but these puddles represent us. We're so far apart yet so close, and we disappear slowly, disappearing from the lone streets and the grassy backyards. Sometimes we continue to expand, maybe crash into another puddle. In the end, we won't stay.

He began to reply to me with: 'I should have answered. Maybe you would have realised you were better off without me-' but I cut him off, pausing. I still love him. "A, at least I can say that I've tried." My breathing is heavy as the memories flood back in, about every moment we shared together. I don't want to say goodbye to him ever again. He's my one love, I would never want to say goodbye to him. In the end, our love couldn't win. Nobody cheated but we decided we couldn't care, and I watched him fade out of my life, dragging my heart along with him. We fought, I cried, and I'm sorry. I too broke his heart.

'Helena, I'm sorry for breaking your heart.' He spoke softly, and I could feel the sincerity in his voice. If he was truly sorry, then I could finally be happy without him. Knowing that he was finally sorry for the heartbreak. Knowing that even though we might never be, there's still a chance for us to be friends. To be close to each other without the heartbreak.

"It clearly doesn't tear you apart." I spat after he began to talk about how his life had turned out. He told me everything was perfect, and I awaited the moment where he's break my heart once more, this time with some new girl by his side. I waited for the next line, praying he wouldn't reveal that he was engage to be wed. My luck was never strong. He has some blonde waitress or whatever now, and to think about his happiness only crumpled mine. It felt like he threw me in the trash like I was some used paper towel he used to wipe his hands clean. I had helped him break his alcohol addiction, but I guess that meant nothing to him now. Now she gets to have his sober ass. He sighs. 'I started drinking again, Helena. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I tried to keep going without it.' But I knew he was lying. He didn't try, we broke up and he sunk back into old habits. Sleeping with hookers, for one.