Thoughtless Words
Story by Courtney C. and Jessica B.
~~*Chapter Nine*~~
Thunder echoed through the quiet
apartment. Rain was raging down outside the dark window. Suddenly
a bolt of lightening lit the dark room. Great, I thought. A storm is all I need
right now. A sunny evening would
have been nice, but as I glanced outside I saw the sky was pitch black. It
seemed as though this was some sort
of punishment. Like I don’t already know what an asshole I’ve been.
Even though I had been in New York
since earlier that evening, tears still stained my face. My eyes
were swollen and my throat ached. I glanced at the clock and realized that the
concert had started in Orlando. It
felt as though something was missing, and something, or someone rather, was.
“God, I miss him,” I uttered to
myself. I propped myself up on one elbow to reach for another tissue. My
elbow accidentally hit the remote and the TV flickered on.
“You’re my shinning star, that is
what you are, there is no one like you...” I jerked my head around. Ironically,
the TV had come on to the channel showing the concert live in Orlando. I quickly
scanned the stage. No Jess.
“What?” I mumbled. “Where is
she?” All the dancers were onstage, but I noticed Kirstie had taken Jess’s
place. Kirstie had only danced during a show once before when Allie, (another
dancer), had sprung her ankle.
“Something’s wrong,” I said,
sitting up. The song was almost over. Nick and AJ were standing on the smaller
stage out in the crowd. The camera zoomed in and a tear fell down my cheek as I
saw Nick’s face. There was only a
few seconds of the song left. At the final cord, fire was supposed to shoot out
of both stages. The song ended and
I waited, holding my breath. The boys stood frozen in their final pose, waiting.
The pyro must be messed up, I reassured myself. I counted. One...two...three...four....five....six..
“Oh my God....no...no..” I gasped,
my breath catching in my throat. The pyro had finally went off, but instead
of shooting up and out at an angle, it went straight up, hitting the light
rigging over the small stage. I
held my breath once more. My body shuddered and I cried out. Right before my
eyes the stage holding Nick and AJ
collapsed. I blinked in disbelief as the lighting over them crashed to the
floor. I could see no bodies, just
a massive pile of rubble. The arena was dead silent as security and paramedics
rushed to the mess. Tears streamed down my
face as I saw someone step away, covered in blood.
“Oh God, Oh God, Oh God!” I yelled through tears as the screen went black and a news reporter came on. “God, please don’t let him die. Please God. I love him so much. Please...please...take me instead....”
I grabbed my coat and purse and headed for the door, praying the entire time.