“I love you…” The phone went dead. I looked at it and it said “Call Disconnected”. Now I was really worried.
It’d been a few weeks since we last talked. She had gone away on vacation while I stayed at home to work. We were engaged for a few months now, been dating for around two years. The first time I met her, I had saved her life. She was planning on jumping…
I walked through the apartment building, trying to find my apartment, as I had just moved there. Suddenly I get word of a woman on top of a building, standing on the ledge. Some guys would just ignore it, some would call the police. I was one of the few that just ran up to the top of the building and the only one that walked out onto the roof.
“Excuse me miss, but what do you think you’re doing?” I asked, with a gentle tone, trying to coax her to trust me.
“What’s the point anymore? I’m done living, my life is useless. I’m a bad person.” Not the kind of reply I was looking for. Usually when someone talks to me, they give me all the details. But it wasn’t very surprising, given her current standing point.
“Listen, lady… How about you give me your name? It wouldn’t hurt for me to know your name now would it?” I smiled at her and moved a step closer.
“My name?” she asked, “My name is October.”
“That’s a very gorgeous name. I once knew a girl named May. Funny how being named after a month makes you sound cool, right? My name’s Eric. Say, do you like Pirates of the Caribbean?”
She gave me a weird look before responding with, “Why do ask that?”
I shrugged and smiled. “Because I have two tickets, but my friend bailed on me. I was wondering if you wanted to go. I mean, here I am, move into a new building and a new city, and the first face I meet is the one that’s the most beautiful I’ve seen.”
She looked down at the roof and turned, looking at the street. I walk a few more steps forward. “How about you step off the ledge and come towards me? We can get some coffee before the movie, get to know each other.”
She turned back towards me, tears in her eyes, her voice wavering as she spoke, “I can’t. I ruin everything I touch. It’d be better if the world didn’t have me.”
I smiled and shook my head. “Don’t talk like that. Obviously you do something right. You’re beautiful, and I may not know what got you out here on this ledge, but I sure as hell would like to try to get you off. The world is never the same when someone leaves it,” I walked closer and stretched out my hand, “All you’ve gotta do is let me try. Take my hand.”
Tears were now rolling down her cheeks, her brilliant eyes sparkling like jewels at this point. I dunno why, but when she cried, I thought to myself ‘There’s a girl I could fall in love with.’ After she took my hand we went to see the movie and have been dating ever since. The night I proposed was the perfect night. The moon was full and we were taking a walk around the California beach. I was talking about the first day we met and she was laughing at how naïve I sounded. But I told her, “Not as naïve as I’m about to sound.” I got on one knee and took her hand. “October, since the day I met you, I felt a spark coming from you. A spark that gave more life to my heart. I would be honored if I could spend my life, making you smile. Would you do me the honor of being my wife?” Yeah, I know, pretty cheesy, but it worked.
I put the phone in my pocket and walked towards the door, picking up my keys. She told me she needed to talk, and it was something important. But her tone told me it was something bad. Knowing her past, I thought that someone had hurt her, or she was about to get on the ledge again. I got in my car and drove down the road, playing a song from the radio. It was a terrible song, all depressing and I laughed to myself. It can’t be something that bad. I love her and she loves me. Anything could be worked out, right?
I tore my attention off the road to change the station on the radio when I heard a honking and saw out of the corner of my eye a bright light. I looked up and jerked the wheel, but was too late. Our cars smashed into each other and it was lights out for me.
I woke up in the hospital, all groggy at first, but as things came into focus, I looked around. My legs were numb, but my arm hurt all over. I noticed that I couldn’t move either my arm or my legs. It was my right arm; meaning writing and all my other stuff were out of the question until I could use it again. I then heard a sobbing next to the bed and looked to see October holding my left hand.
“Hey, what happened?” Of course I knew what happened to me, but I just wanted to hear her talk again, because her voice is that little piece of heaven that I’m addicted to.
“They said you got into a crash. Nine broken ribs, a broken arm and several severed nerves in your legs,” she held my hand tightly and was about to say more when I interrupted her.
“You told me you needed to speak to me. You sounded like it was a bad thing.”
She hesitated and looked down at my hand. I tried to sit up, but was grasped by pain and decided I shouldn’t move that much. “I’m… I’m pregnant, Eric.”