quiet

final chapter

"love of my life, you've hurt me."

☆

"she's awake, you can come by." was what richie wanted to hear this entire summer. the sunflowers being held in richie's hands are bright, the color almost too unpleasant for richie's eyes. when richie reaches vanessa's room, his nerves try getting the best of him.

he looks through the small window to see her alone, wearily drinking strawberry milk. richie opens the door, happily smiling at the girl before him. vanessa's eyes go wide and she immediately opens her arms for richie to fall into. he sets the flowers on her bed before resting in her embrace. "i was so worried about you. i visited you every single day." he cries, his ear on her chest, hearing the thumps of her heartbeat. richie pulls away after minutes, vanessa caresses his face as he sits beside her. she takes the sunflowers and sets them on the nightstand, the polaroids of the group adoring the table.

vanessa takes out a photostrip from richie's bouquet, richie's smile softly finds its way on his lips. "i made you a copy of it because i thought it was really cute." he gushes.

the picture holds a lot of memory, it was taken in the ice cream parlor's photo booth after their first kiss together. vanessa wanted richie to keep it after they developed since she had many pictures of them together but he kept protesting until vanessa kissed him once more to get him to shut up.

"are you hurting?" richie asks, rubbing vanessa's hand. she shakes her head, giving him a thumbs up. he nods, looking at the gifts she received. he recognizes some, especially eddie's huge stuffed teddy bear. "i told eddie that bear was way too big." richie laughs.

for the next hour, richie proceeds to fill vanessa in on everything she missed. prom, graduation, her birthday and of course, the group slowly leaving one by one to college. he sees her tense up at the mention of stan leaving just a few days ago. "stan wanted me to give you this." richie whispers, pulling out a dainty bracelet with half a broken heart attached at the end. "he's wearing the other half, he told me to tell you that you will always be his best friend." vanessa smiles faintly, richie could see the tears forming at her waterline. "he's going to write you letters, he promises."

after that, it falls silent in the hospital room. another hour passes and richie is resting his head on vanessa's lap, who combs her fingers softly through his hair. he prays that this could last forever, that they could last forever. richie exhales deeply, anxiety hitting his chest like a truck once he realizes his time is almost up.

he lifts his head up to face vanessa, her eyes shut in a temporary slumber. she looks so beautiful like this, calm and relaxed. richie begins feeling guilty about the thought of leaving her, about having to leave her.

"vanessa, i have to leave in five minutes." richie softly announces, his heart suddenly aching. she looks at him reassuringly, giving him a nod with a gentle smile. "this is the last time i'll see you." vanessa's smile falters.

"this radio station in california hired me a few weeks back and i start on monday." he explains, avoiding the teary-eyed vanessa. he feels like vomiting, like jumping off the highest cliff there is, he can't stand the thought of making her cry. vanessa lifts his chin up to look at her, she smiles while tears stream down her cheeks.

richie pulls her into an embrace, her warmth making everything worse as he reminds himself that this is the last he'll ever feel of her. tears soak through his shirt and he's doing everything in his power to not breakdown himself. when richie's watch beeps, indicating his time is up, he only hugs vanessa tighter.

"i have to go." he whispers into her hair, his heart breaking at his own words. richie lets go of vanessa, her tears getting progressively worse. she grabs weakly at his hand, her eyes pleading for him to stay. "vanessa, i can't." richie whimpers, lips beginning to quiver. the sound of the heart monitor begins to beep a little more rapidly.

"please." the voice is raspy, scratchy, and barely audible but it comes from vanessa. richie's eyes go wide, a tear slips from his brown eyes. richie grips vanessa's hand tightly, leaning in to kiss her forehead.

no matter how much he loves her, he couldn't let himself stay. "i love you." richie whispers and before the girl can comprehend what is happening, he lets go of vanessa for the final time. the boy breakdowns silently in the hospital hallway, wanting nothing more than to stay with her.

richie only knew vanessa for a few months, he spent one month drooling over her and the last three months crying over her. however, within those short months, he fell in love with her and boy did he love her. richie believes in soulmates and he believes that vanessa was his in that short period of time.

richie looks through the window one last time to see vanessa, her body shaking due to crying and it undoubtedly breaks him. one last look and he walks away, leaving his first soulmate, his first love.