Rain

2▪

"She made the broken look beautiful and the strong look invincible,

   she carried the universe on her shoulders and made it look like

   a pair of wings."

   ▪     ▪     ▪     ▪     ▪     ▪     ▪     ▪     ▪     ▪     ▪     ▪     ▪     ▪     ▪     ▪     ▪     ▪     ▪ 

  He remembers everything. From the deep dimples on her cheeks, to the crinkle of her eyes when she laughs. The way her eyes light up when she talks about something she loves, to the way they darken with cold unresponsiveness when she's angry.

   Memories last forever, they said. Oh yes they did. But the pain that comes from reminiscing them seems to go on forever too.

  Waking up was always the hardest part of the day, but waking up to find that she's gone made it even worse. That's the hardest part of his life now, learning to live without her.

  A dresser was pushed up against the wall on the left side of his room. A beanbag chair next to his window, with a bookshelf in the right corner. Light, almost faded peach curtains sat unmoved as sunlight peaked through the window.  They were in contrast to dark blue painted on his walls.

    Several polaroid pictures were pinned onto the wall near his study table. Messy sticky notes, books, and pencils were scattered across.

   The buzzing sound of the alarm echoed in his room, but nobody knew, he was already awake. That is, because he couldn't catch any sleep last night. Insomnia just had this romantic way to make the moonlight feel like the perfect company.

   He slowly and gently turned off the alarm, as his feet touched the cold marble of his floor. Goosebumps arose on his skin, his mind already begging him to go back to the safe haven of his bed and pillow. But he didn't, running his hand through his hair, he brushed his bangs aside.

     Looking at the bathroom mirror, he suddenly felt grateful to his parents for giving him his gene. With the number of all nighters he pulled off, purple bruises should've become permanent rings under his eyes. Keyword: should've.

    He knew how was good looking, but he also knew he was too intimidating for anyone to approach him casually. His eyes were too dark, too precise, and too cold.

      Alex Montgomery.

The perfect bad boy of every girl's dream. But most often, people forget, bad boys have hearts too. And it belonged to her, only her. His brown hair fell down in messy waves on his forehead, hazel eyes staring back at him. He had a tall, and a bit muscular figure from all the runs he took during insomniac nights.

    But all of this meant nothing to him. Not money, not anything. He wanted her to come back. So fucking badly.

  They all believed he had gone crazy. After all, why else would he have to talk to a fucking stranger about his problems? Therapy? What do they think he is? A fucking child who needs consoling after losing his favourite toy?

  But he knew, there was no escaping. He couldn't evade this situation, no matter how good he was at manipulating, they just won't let him escape.

   So he got ready. Silently. No objections, no temper. Albeit he was burning with anger, he didn't say anything. Layla Montgomery, Alex's mom. She would be the one who would foresee his appointments. He was never close with her, actually, he was never close with anyone except her.

     And that fact hurt a lot more than it should've, because life took away his last beacon of light. "Are you ready?" Mrs. Montgomery asks. Her voice laced with caution, like he was a ticking time bomb. And that fact triggered something in him, but he hid it perfectly. Getting no answer, Layla sighed and leaned back onto the car's leather seat.

      "Look, Alex, honey I know how much you cared for her and I--" He cut her off, with a cold glare and rough voice. "No you don't. You don't fucking know how it feels to lose someone you care about. You know why? Because you never cared about anyone. Not about dad, not about me. And espicially not about Stella. All you cared about was yourself. So drop this act and just fucking drive."

  Layla's mouth was parted, as anger rose in her too. But she remained quiet, knowing that it was just his grief speaking as she pulled out of the drive way.

   The car ride of silent. With only the radio being turned on which played slow songs. They reached the destination. Alex quickly got out of the car, avoiding any possible awkward send off. He clutched the stupid paper in his hand as he walked to the front desk.

   Let's get this over with.