Little Black Notebook | Editing | ✓

13 + Note

*After you're done with reading, don't skip the note attached afterward.

*Please, make sure you play the attached music above so you can get the complete atmosphere of the chapter down below*

"And who are you?"

"I'm his friend." I didn't hesitate to answer. Not even for a millisecond.

Her eyes widen slightly, and I catch a glimpse of her chin trembling.

"Please," She opens the doors wide open and lowers her head. "Come in."

Unsure of the situation I'm in, I cautiously step inside of the house, observing the coziness of it. The high walls are light beige color, and under the stairway that leads upstairs, there's one adorned with a dozen of pictures in various frames.

Approaching it, on one of many photos, I notice Dean, lovingly hugging the woman that's standing right beside me. In the picture, he looks at least four years younger with his signature unruly black hair and sky blue eyes, while the woman - his stepmother - looks almost the same as she does now.

"You are the only friend he ever mentioned." His mother says, and I turn around to see a frowning, seemingly tired, worn out face.

"Miss Ashton-"

"Please call me Audrey," She hastily wipes a tear away with her sleeve.

"Audrey," A weird feeling spreads throughout my body as soon as I called her by her name. But nothing tops the feeling that was dominating and lead me here in the first place.

Dread.

"Did something happen," I start, gazing straight into her eyes. "Did something happen to Dean?"

She stops for a moment and looks down on me. "You- you don't know... Of course you don't..."

A bad feeling washes over me. "Know what?"

"Dean," She takes a deep breath after saying his name out loud, her chin trembling once again. "Dean committed suicide a few days ago."

I stare at her in disbelief, noticing her eyes becoming red and brimming with tears.

Dean committed suicide a few days ago.

The words ring through my mind countless of times. Over and over again. A single tear trickles down my cheek.

Committed suicide a few days ago.

*

"I didn't touch anything," Audrey says, wiping the remaining tears away from her face. "Everything is like he left it."

My knees tremble as I stand at the entrance of Dean's opened room.

I feel like I'm cheating. This is not how I was supposed to come into his life, into his personal space.

"It's okay," She encourages me. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

Would he?

I mouth a quiet 'thank you', before slowly stepping into the space that belongs - once belonged to a person who came into my life so suddenly.

"Dean committed suicide a few days ago."

I stare at her in disbelief, noticing her eyes becoming red and brimming with tears.

"W-what?" I say, my words coming out more of a croak than an actual voice.

"I presume you noticed he was absent in school. He was in a bad place for some time, so I let him stay at home in hopes he'll get better."

I couldn't even nod in understanding out of shock. Because honestly, I can't understand a thing that's going on right now.

"He was supposed to go to the school that morning, and he was running late. But I couldn't wake him up." She says while sobbing, trying to hide her face with her hands. "He overdosed on his prescribed tranquilizers."

Suddenly came into my life, and so suddenly disappeared out of it.

The messiness of the room overwhelms me slightly. Everything seems out of place; jeans thrown over the chair, bed sheets scrawn over carelessly, random, blank papers on the floor, desk that's full of books, opened and closed, and in the middle of it - a little black notebook.

My hearts skips a beat at the sight of it.

About to leave, I make a few steps but in the process stumble over something on the ground.

Looking down, I pick up a small black notebook that was left behind on the polished floor.

*

I extend my hand, reaching out for an affirmative handshake.

He eyes me. "But you have to promise me one thing."

"Yes?"

"You won't open it." He says, and there was just something about the way he said it that gave off a hint of vulnerability.

"I promise." I give him a small smile as a sign of assurance.

His large, warm hand enveloped mine. "Then let's just get over with this."

*

"This one is."

I look at the cherry blossom flower in Dean's palm.

"A cherry blossom flower?" I ask, staring at it.

It was just like every other Sakura flower. Simple, plain, yet captivating.

"Japanese used to compare it to short and beautiful life. Because a flower falls from the tree just a few days after it blossoms."

*

"Wait," He says before I close the doors. "There's something I need to tell you."

I look straight into his eyes, a pang of curiosity spreading through my body like wildfire.

"You're not alone." The sparkle of sincerity crosses his blue irises.

*

"You come out of nowhere and make everyone question who the hell you are, but you give no answers."

"Not entirely correct," He says, swaying lightly on his swing. "I gave you the answers."

I carefully take the notebook in my hands and sit on the bed, the last place where Dean was alive.

"I gave you the answers."

And after a while of debating with myself, I finally open the little black notebook.

The End

NOTE:  I will soon start with the editing of this book, so there might be slight/small changes.  

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for sticking until the end and reading this story. Thank you for voting, commenting, supporting. It really means a lot to me.

I still can't believe what a short and emotional ride this was :'c 

BUT, I have more things coming for all of you, and that is: 

1. Epilogue 

2. Contents of Dean's LBN as additional chapters