Strawberry Bagels

Jan 02, 2007 08:34

Being sick is not fun at all. Last night, I went to bed at 10 and rolled around until 1AM. Then, I gave up and watched my uncle, cousin, and brother play the Wii for about an hour. I tried to go back to sleep around 2AM and didn't manage to until about 3:30AM. I woke up about an hour ago and have been lying in bed thinking about a dream I had last night. The bad part is that I can't remember what the dream was about. So, instead of telling you more about a dream I can't remember, here is a story.

Alec and his girlfriend had been dating for nearly three years. Neither one of them really expected it to last that long given their history together. They knew each other for about two years before they first started dating. There was an attraction, but like all attractions this one needed to be controlled; she had another boyfriend.

Happiness was never a problem. They enjoyed each other's company more than they both enjoyed cinnamon sugar bagels with the strawberry jam. There were, however, a few skeletons in her closet that kept her from ever trusting him fully. Sometimes he would try and talk about it, but it always ended in the same response: I don't know.

This particular frat house was smaller than most. Two main rooms: a kitchen and a living room attached by a narrow, carpeted area that you could barely call a hallway. The music was loud and the air was dense. Alec stood in the living room talking with a group of guys about video games.

Being a light-weight, it wasn't in Alec's experience to have too much to drink. It had... unfortunate side-effects that involved a toilet. His girlfriend was in the kitchen, talking with a few of her friends about their favorite music.

Alec decided to check on her and excused himself from the discussion about World of Warcraft, a game he didn't really like anyway. As he walked down the narrow hallway and into the kitchen there was a burst of laughter.

"Are you ready?" He asked his girlfriend, who had promised him that they wouldn't be staying long.

"Ummm... yeah, sure." She replied, reaching for her coat and putting it on.

They both said goodbye to everyone in the kitchen as they left to walk back to her apartment. There were several unlit streets they had to walk to get back. And, they often took the alleys to be quicker about it.

She walked beside him, holding his arm. "Did you have fun?"

"Yeah, it was okay," he replied as they stepped up onto the next sidewalk. "How about you?"

"Yeah, those girls are hilarious," she laughed.

They were halfway across the next street when it happened. A car drove up the wrong way of a one-way street and rounded the corner fast. Alec saw the headlights quick enough to yank his girlfriend back and out of the way, but not in enough time for himself. The car hit him hard while screeching to a stop. He hit the windshield hard and rolled off to the side, falling on the brick road with thud. The person in the car hesitated for a moment, nervously glanced at Alec's motionless body, and then sped off.

She stood in shock at Alec's body in the road. Panic hadn't set in just yet. She reached for her phone in her right pocket. "Fuck!" She shuffled through her other pockets before realizing that she had left it at the apartment.

Suddenly, Alec moaned; a sign of life. She ran up to him and rolled him over. There was blood everywhere.

"Hi, sweetheart," he said deliriously and brushing her right cheek with his unbroken arm.

"What do I do? What should I do?" She said shaking her head. "Can you walk?" She grabbed him by his coat and pulled him off the street and onto the sidewalk. With each tug he yelled in pain.

"Stay here, I'll get help!" She left him on the sidewalk and hated herself for it, but it was the only way. She knew that she could get to her apartment within minutes if she ran. She thought about just calling an ambulance, but their response time would be too long. He needed help now. She finally got to her apartment and jumped into her car. The effects of the alcohol had nearly worn off.

She pulled up next to Alec, who had remained on the sidewalk. It had been about ten minutes and he was looking pale. She got out, ran around her car, opened the passenger door, and then grabbed Alec by his coat again.

"This is going to hurt a lot," she said as she pulled him to his feet. The pain woke him up as he yelled in agony. She managed to get him into the passenger seat, not caring about the blood that was all over her and the inside of her car. She closed the door, ran around to the driver's door, and jumped in. Within seconds they were speeding to the nearest hospital, twenty minutes away.

Alec lied in the car; his head fell against the window. His eyes were focused on his girlfriend, who kept reminding him that everything was going to be okay, that he was going to be fine.

"You don't know that," he struggled to say; there was blood in his mouth now.

"You shouldn't talk, you're going to be fine, only a few more minutes and we'll be at the hospital," she looked over at him as he struggled to stay conscious.

He reached over with his good arm and held her hand. "I'm sorry..."

"Why? Why are you sorry?" She couldn't believe what was happening.

"I tried so hard... so hard to..." he started trailing off.

"Alec! You stay awake you hear me?" She squeezed his hand and shook it a bit until his eyes opened again.

"Can we have strawberry bagels tomorrow?" He cracked a painful smile.

"Yeah, sure, of course. I'll make you all the strawberry bagels you want." She forced a smile at him as tears began to form. "Would you like that?"

"I wanna help..." he said softly as his hand's grip grew weaker and weaker.

"Sweetheart?! Alec?!"

He struggled to keep his eyes open.

"Come on, don't fall asleep, we're almost there!" She shook his arm again, but this time he didn't open his eyes. "If you don't wake up you're not getting any bagels!"

Alec's head slumped forward and his arm fell against his side.

The blood looked like strawberry jam.
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