The Girl With Five Watches

20: His Story

I'll admit, the last thing I wanted to hear that day was that Sara's life depended on pills. At any moment she could die. Part of me at that moment wanted to yell at her. Another part of me wanted to walk away from her and drive away. The third part of me wanted to be with her at that moment and hold her. There wasn't any way I could leave her. And I really couldn't leave her after she found herself weeping against my chest. At that moment, she was alive.

Within an hour after we had finished our dinner, the sun was dangerously close to being finished setting. The night was almost upon us. The zoo lights were beginning to light up. They were beautiful. They were especially beautiful on the bridge that we walked on. It was especially beautiful with us being the only two on the bridge. At this point, everyone was at the center of the zoo waiting for the fireworks. Neither of us wanted to be with a large crowd watching fireworks. And at the moment, I was proud of myself for suggesting the bridge. Leaning against the rails of the bridge, Sara carefully placed the large box of popcorn that she bought for us on top of the rail. 

"This has been a fun date Jimmy," Sara commented. "Glad you took me here." She took a bite of her popcorn.

Looking at Sara while she chewed on her popcorn,  I noticed how vibrant her skin was in the slowly darkening sky. My eyes got lost in the beauty that she was. An innocent, sweet, and full of life girl. A girl with life in jeopardy.

She quickly noticed and giggled. "The popcorn too good looking for you?" she joked.

I couldn't help but laugh and take a few pieces. And at this moment, I realized that if Sara was able to tell me her truth, I needed to tell her my truth.

"Sara I need to tell you something."

Her attention lost focus of the sky where the fireworks would be and it went directly to me."

"You remember how I passed out in the bathroom?" She nodded and continued to listen as I tried to find the correct words to what I was trying to say. "I guess you could say I have a little PTSD." I took a moment to take a breath before I continued. None of this would be easy. "You see, my little sister Emily has been playing with my head." She continued to listen without being judgmental. "Usually it's either a dream or a vision. When I was a young child, we were visiting my grandparent's house for Christmas. I along with my little sister Emily were excited that Early Christmas Morning. We woke up my grandpa in that excitement. My grandpa suggested that we hike on over beyond the frozen river to show us where he and my grandma first met and had their first date. We had to put on our hiking boots because we'd be doing some serious hiking in the snow. Within twenty-five minutes, the snow made it nearly impossible to continue hiking and the only option to keep going was the frozen river. Being the stubborn idiot that I was, I demanded that we cross the frozen river. My grandpa was pretty hesitant and we all walked on the frozen river until I took a wrong step which broke some of the ice. I fell into the water with Emily.

I was doing everything I could to comfort Emily. In the short time that we had, I tried to get her on my back and find a way out of the river. With the coldness of my body, my back couldn't hold her and had to let go.

"Jimmy, I'm scared," cried Emily. "I just want to go home. I want to open presents and not die."

Crap, what had I done? Why did I let my grandpa talk us into this hike? Why couldn't we have just stayed in bed and wait as we should've? A little girl like Emily shouldn't have to experience something like this. "I promise I'll get us out of here." With that promise came a tight hug.

The current was getting harder with each passing second. Being the weak little girl that Emily was, she found a large stick and grabbed onto it hoping for support against the strong current. I stayed close to her in support and promised I wouldn't leave her side. Splash! My grandpa boldly jumped into the river.

"Grab on to my arm!" he commanded us.

I did as I was told with Emily grabbing his other arm. With all his strength he attempted to drag me to the ground where the snow laid. He was able to do so, but Emily slipped off and without a moment's notice, was washed away in the water. There wasn't much time for her to scream, but she was able to do so.

"My grandpa and I quickly got back to the house and called 911. Helicopters, Fire Trucks, and Ambulances arrived within minutes. A search team searched the mountain and was able to get my sister out of the water. Unfortunately, she was dead."

For a brief moment, I took a pause and took a breath. I couldn't believe I was able to tell this story for the first time.

"Christmas wasn't very jolly that morning. My grandpa battled a sickness the entire morning and just sat on his chair. He couldn't take it anymore and he was dead by noon. Imagine watching your grandpa die in front of you. It was the worst Christmas I ever had. Ever since I hated snow because it reminded me of that time. That's why I wear three rings."

My eyes looked at the rings on my fingers and Sara found herself touching the real one.

"I know I told you that two of them were from a cereal box. Emily was the one who found them and gave me one. And when they found her dead body, I took her ring to remember her."

"Is the real ring your grandpa's ring?" she asked.

"Yeah. It is. I don't know why I torture myself like this."

"But it's sweet of you that you do," she smiled.

Maybe it was sweet. Regardless, it was a relief to get all that out of me and I was glad Sara knew all of this. And I guess I was glad that I knew everything that Sara had gone through. From that moment, I knew there was something different between us. Both of us knew each other's personal struggles. We could trust each other. And with that trust, Sara moved her popcorn to the side to get a clear view of me. And I wanted a clear view of her. Neither of us said anything in that moment. Nothing needed to be said. Her eyes sparkled in the dark.

Without thought, my hand that laid on the rail moved closer to her hand that laid against the rail. For the first time, I witnessed her biting her lips while our fingers found themselves intertwined. Our bodies slowly moved closer to each other. With Sara's body moving closer to me, the box of popcorn fell off the bridge. Neither of us noticed. At least I didn't. If she did, she didn't care. Once our bodies were next to each other, I could see the complete trust in her eyes. Her eyes held an urge. They wanted something more. The beat of her heart could be heard. My other hand placed itself on her shoulder and quickly moved to her chin with my thumb moving across her bottom lip and back to her chin. This was it. This was the moment. She knew it. I knew it. There would be no going back if I walked away. There would be no going back if I conquered this moment. With a small amount of force, I pulled her chin towards me and placed my lips on her lips.

A small kiss was given. She gave me one of the biggest smiles I ever saw. There was still no need for words. I couldn't help but smile at myself. In that moment, I was alive. To continue that moment, she took the initiative and kissed me back. This time, the kiss lasted longer and our lips couldn't stop. Even with the fireworks beginning to light up the dark sky, our lips couldn't care less.

It's the chapter you've been waiting for! Hope you enjoyed it! Don't forget to comment, vote, and share!

Congrats to those that guessed Emily was Jimmy's sister!

Are you glad Jimmy finally told his story?

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