This is a story I wrote over the course of about a year (not because I worked on it so much, I just didn't have the time to write regularly!). I call it a tragic love story, it's about two lovers involved in a tragic accident, and how their relationship changes after that fatefull day.I hope you like it, I'm not a professional writer, so cut me some slack!! I named it
" Hurry up Stacy!" Emma shouted for the third time. They were going to go to the nearby park, but Stacy always took ages to get ready. " I'm coming!" Stacy shouted back for the third time. But this time she really did come down the stairs. She was wearing a new dress, she had bought a few days ago. Emma sighed :" We're going to the park not a dance!". " Do you think I should change?"
" No!", Emma shouted " Let's just go. Okay?". The park was only a few roads away from Stacy's house. The two friends went there nearly every day. Not because they liked the fresh air, but because they loved watching the boys play football. Especially Nick a boy with long blonde hair and freckles on his stubby nose. He had come over to the two girls a few times after the game had finished. Emma really liked Nick. Stacy was more into Robert, he had dark hair and was a friend of Stacy's brother. Robert and Stacy had gone to the cinema a few times, so I guess you could say they were dating. Emma and Stacy stood at the side line and watched the game. It was a hot day and none of the boys really put much effort into their football. So the game finished earlier than usual. Nick and Robert and the rest of the guys slowly walked towards the ice cream van that always parked in the shade of the big pine trees. Robert grinned at Stacy :" How are you? Hot today, isn't it? Come on I'll buy you an ice cream!" So both of them walked away from Emma. 'Thanks a lot!' Emma thought. Since Stacy had a boyfriend Emma always felt left out. If she could only get a boyfriend. A boy like..." Hi Em! How are you doing?" Nick squinted at her. His shoulder long hair gleamed in the sunlight. " I'm alright." she replied quietly. Whenever she saw Nick she had a strange feeling in her stomach, like butterflies, that just wouldn't sit still... " I wondered whether we could go see a film tonight?" Nick asked carefully.'Emma was so stunned she didn't say anything for a few seconds. 'He's actually asking me out ! ' The butterflies in her stomach seemed to have doubled in size. She swallowed hard before she answered:" I'd love to come." " That's great! Pick you up at six, okay?" Emma nodded. She couldn't pull her eyes from his. This is what she had waited for these last few months, to just get to know the boy, she'd been dreaming about every night. " You live by the church, right?" "Yeah." "Well, see you then." Nick smiled at Emma. A smile that always managed to make her weak at the knees. As Emma walked home she felt as if she could fly. She felt so light, so happy she wanted to hug the whole world. The scene flew through her mind for the thousandth time. He had asked her out. He liked her. It was as if nothing else in the world mattered. But as soon as she got home she started to have serious doubts. Thoughts like 'Maybe he's only making fun of me...' and 'He probably wants to set me up.' were crossing her mind. But Nick was worth it. " If I wouldn't go I'd probably end up wondering what would have happened..." So instead of worrying about these things she started worrying about what to wear. Emma finished her make-up about half an hour before Nick was due to arrive. Now her heart was beating so fast and so loud, she thought the neighbours could hear it. She had told her mother what had happened on the phone. Emma lived alone with her mother, her father had left them when Emma was very young. She and her mother had always told each other everything, they were very close. The doorbell rang. Emma jumped up and ran down the stairs and wanted to pull open the front door when her mother put her hand on Emma's shoulder:" Relax Emma!", she smiled. " Have a good time!" Then she went back to the study and left Emma to it. She took a deep breath and opened the door. There he was, wearing a white shirt and black trousers, smiling. " How are you, Emma?" " I'm fine, thanks... Well, let's go then!" And she pulled the door closed behind her and they walked side by side. As they walked their hands moved closer and closer and when they touched it was like they were never going to let go of each other... That night Emma lay in bed and her heart was still beating. But this time it was not because she was nervous, but because she was in love! She could still feel his lips touching hers and his hands stroking her hair, her cheek... It was the best feeling to know that the boy she had adored for so long actually had feelings for her too! From that day on they saw each other every day and each time Emma looked into Nick's eyes it was like the first time they met, the butterflies were still there. Even Stacy was a little bit jealous. Whenever you saw Nick you knew Emma is just around the corner. It was like they were glued together! " Morning Em! You alright?" Nick asked. He had decided to pick his girlfriend up every morning, just to make sure she got to school safely. " I'm great, now you're here!" Emma grinned and gave him a long kiss. " You know I love you, don't you? I always will!" " Sure, I know that." she said giving him a hug. " Will you two get going! You'll be late for school!" Emmas's mum shouted from the kitchen. She was very glad her daughter was so happy, and she also liked Nick, a lot. They walked hand in hand to the bus-stop. They didn't have a care in the world. Little did they know, that in less than half an hour their happy world would be destroyed, for ever...
Emma and Nick missed their bus, but that didn't matter to them. " So we'll be late. Who cares?" Nick said, and pulled Emma close to his body. They kissed again and again... " Hey! Our bus!" Emma shouted and pulled away from Nick. She put her hand out and the bus stopped. After they showed their bus-passes Emma sat down and Nick sat down next to her. Because they had missed the normal school-bus, they were the only passengers on the bus. "What did the bus driver have for breakfast?"Emma joked,"He's driving like a madman!" Nick looked into Emma's eyes and put his arm around her "You'll be alright." But Emma was not so sure, she looked out of the window and saw how fast they were going, too fast! Nick also noticed that something was wrong :"I'll tell the driver to slow down, okay?" He got up, and that's when it happened. The bus had to go round a sharp corner, but didn't make it. It slid. Emma screamed. Nick couldn't hold onto anything. The bus crashed into a brick wall.
When Emma woke up she was wearing a white gown. She was lying in a bed she didn't know. She also had a thumping headache. Her mum sat next to the bed, she was asleep. "Mum?" Emma whispered. Emma's mother woke up. As soon as she saw her daughter was awake, she smiled : "How are you, my darling?" Emma wasn't really sure:"Where am I? What happened?" Her mother stroked Emma's hair before she answered:"You were in an accident...with a bus. You're in St. Thomas' hospital. I was very worried, You've been unconscious for the last three days...But you'll get better." Emma suddenly remembered, the bus... it was going too fast. She remembered Nick getting up...Nick! Where was he? Was he alright? She had to ask:"Mum, where's Nick? He's okay, isn't he? Can I see him?" Emma's mum avoided looking into Emma's eyes, her expression had changed :"You have to rest now. Go to sleep, Emma." And that's what Emma did, she was too weak to argue. The next time she woke up she was feeling much better. The pain in her head had disappeared and she was not so tired anymore. She looked around and found herself in a white room. Next to her bed she noticed a table with lots of Get-well-cards. On the other side stood a vase with a big bunch of flowers. By the door she saw her mum talking to a doctor. "Mum?" she asked. "Hey, you're awake again!", her mother said walking towards her. " This is Dr. White", she explained,"he's been taking care of you for the last week. And guess what, he's just decided you should be allowed home in a few days!" Inside Emma was happy, but something seemed to be missing, she just couldn't quite figure out what it was. NICK! Suddenly she remembered. He was probably in the same hospital. "Mum, when can I see Nick? Can we see him later?"
"Noooo!!" Nick was screaming as loud as he could and the nurses had a really hard time calming him down. He was waving his arms about throwing the cards and flowers on the table next to him to the ground. He was sobbing uncontrollably into his cushion. His life had been destroyed, wrecked forever. He would never be able to do anything on his own, always depending on someone to do the simplest of tasks for him. Paralysed from the hip down... Just like that! The doctor told him, that they did everything they could, but his legs were so badly injured, there was nothing anyone could do. "You could have just let me die!!" Nick screamed at the nurses and doctors in his room. "You will have to do a lot of physiotherapy in the next months. And you will have to come to terms with what has happened. But in order for us to help you, you have got to cooperate!" the doctor went on trying to ignore the boy's outburst, then he walked out of the room and left Nick alone.
When Emma opened the door to Nick's room he was asleep. This was the first time she had seen him after the crash. She looked at him lovingly and sat down on a chair next to the bed. He had a few bruises on his face and arms but other than that he looked fine. Emma wondered what all the fuss was about. It had been a week since the crash and Emma had not been allowed to see her boyfriend, and whenever she asked about him the doctors gave her vague answers or changed the subject. So she decided to find out for herself and sneaked out of her room. Suddenly Nick stirred and opened his eyes. When he looked into Emma's eyes he had an expression of horror on his face. " What are you doing here? You're not supposed to be here! Get out, I don't want to see you!" Emma looked disturbed. She didn't know what was going on. Why was Nick talking to her like this? " But Nick..." she started and put her hand on her boyfriend's arm. "Get away from me!" Nick screamed hysterically and pushed her hand away. For Emma all this was too much to take in and she started sobbing uncontrollably. She ran out of the room and down the corridor she just wanted to get away. She ran straight into her mother's arms. "Everyone was looking for you! I was really worried. Where did you go?" she asked her daughter and hugged her tightly. In tears Emma told her mother where she had been and what had happened. When she had finished her mother took her hand. "There's something I have to tell you," she started, looking for the right words, although there weren't any,"when you were in the crash Nick was... injured very badly." Emma looked at her bewildered. " The doctors tried everything they could, but they couldn't save his legs. Emma, Nick will never walk again. I'm so sorry." Emma stared at her mother, tears streaming down her face " Oh no. Oh please, please no. No...but...Oh God. Why, mum, why?" Emma fell into her mother's arms crying. And the two of them stood in the corridor, forgetting everything around them. They were the only ones in the world, united in their tragedy.
2 months later...
"That's good, now slowly lift your right leg...that's okay we'll try it again...take your time..." "I can't! I don't want to this! I'll be a cripple for the rest of my life!!!" Nick yelled at the therapist. Emma was standing in the doorway, just so she could watch without being seen. She had come everyday without fail for the last five weeks to watch Nick. She was used to his outbursts now. He had completely lost his will to live. He didn't even make an effort to regain some of the use of his legs. It hurt Emma to watch him like this, but being here made her feel close to him, and it ignited a glimmer of hope in her, that maybe, just maybe it could be a tiny bit like it was between them before. She had tried again to approach Nick since that first time in the hospital, but he had rejected her a second time. Emma didn't think she was strong enough to feel that pain once again. But she hadn't given up on him, she never would, ever. A while later, the session neared its end and Emma left to get a drink in a cafe around the corner. She walked on the pavement deep in thought, when someone walked into her. Awakened from her daydream she looked into a pair of concerned looking green eyes. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry..."the boy paused,"You look miserable."he added. "Well, thanks a lot!"Emma answered sarcastically. "I didn't mean it that way." he said slightly taken aback at her bitter response "My name is Simon and you look like you could use a cup of coffee!" And without waiting for Emma's reply Simon dragged into the cafe and ordered two large cappucinos. Emma felt so amazingly at ease with Simon and for the first time in months it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her and she could be completely relaxed. Although she didn't tell Simon about Nick or the accident, they talked about normal, uncomplicated things and it made her feel so good and alive again. After two hours Simon had to go, but the two of them made plans to meet up at the same place the next day. And they did. The two of them met up almost every day in that same cafe. At first Emma came right after Nick's physio session, but as time went by she attended these session more and more infrequently, until she didn't go anymore... Simon filled her whole life now. She felt like she didn't have time for other things anymore, other things like Nick. Their relationship and the happiness they had felt lay back what seemed like years. And the more she thought about it she couldn't remember what she had seen in him in the first place...
Nick left the building he knew only too well in his wheelchair. The physiotherapist was a nice lady, but it wasn't his legs that needed healing. The only reason he had gone there at all was to see Emma. She hid in the doorway, but he had seen her the first time she came. In the last weeks though she only seemed to come on rare occasions. Whatever he had said to her, he still loved her, but he couldn't bare her seeing him like this. Depressed and lonely he slowly pushed himself along the sidewalk. He watched as two lovers sitting by the window of a cafe held hands and kissed... Suddenly he felt a stab of fear as he looked at the girl more closely, it was Emma.
"So I'll see you tomorrow then?" Emma asked between the kisses she gave Simon. "Not if I see you first.." Simon replied, grinning. "You're such a dope..!" Emma gave him one last kiss before she left and whispered to a disappointed Simon "I have to catch my train, call me tonight, okay? I love you..."
Breathing hard he wheeled his way through the crowds, who were heading to the same subway station as he. Fighting to keep back the tears, the anger, the frustration everything that he had kept back deep inside him, because he knew that there was someone out there who loved him for what he really is. But now that someone had been wiped away from his life and he felt so helpless, so very alone...
Emma had to hurry if she wanted to catch her train. The crowds were all heading in the same direction, but she pushed her way through them anyway. She didn't really care what anybody thought of her, she was in love and the happiest girl on the planet. It felt so good to belong to someone, to not have to go everywhere alone, to have someone there to support her.
He took the elevator down to the level, where all the trains stopped and wheeled himself along the platform.
She ran down the stairs, narrowly avoiding running over a lady with a push chair. Now she had finally arrived on the platform and she could feel by the wind blowing into her face that a train was about to pull into the station. That was when she heard it, first a dull metallic sound and then the screams, loud hysterical screams. She felt herself walking over to where the sounds had come from. Then she heard what she thought was another scream, but it wasn't. It was the squealing of the subway train's brakes as it tried frantically to stop earlier than it had planned to. She started running now hearing another sound, like metal being squashed. Bits of conversation found their way into Emma's head: "He threw himself of the platform." "A guy in a wheelchair fell in front of the sub." "Another one of those suicidal punks, what is the world coming to?" The subway train had stopped now. A group of people had gathered around its front, all of them staring down the front of the track. She pushed her way through them, violently slapping away hands that tried to hold her back. And now she could see onto the tracks. The bent spokes of a wheel, twisted bits of metal and long blond hair under a baseball cap she had given him for his birthday. "Nick..." Emma struggled as it struck her : he was dead. "I'm so sorry, sorry, sorry..." she sobbed now as someone pulled her away from the edge of the platform. She stared into nothingness, as she realised what was in the back of her mind every time she met with Simon : "I chose the wrong person."