J'aime

This is pretty much the sappiest, most cliche thing I've ever written. And I'm not actually sure why I'm putting it up here.

“Ayden?”
“Jaime! Hey!”
Jaime smiled. “How’s college life? Ready to come back yet?”
Quiet laughter trickled into Jaime’s ear through the receiver. “I’ve been gone a month, Jaime. Give me a little more time to enjoy the experience before you make me come home.”
“Yeah, yeah… it’s just so far away. Like any of your profs?”
“They’re okay. What about you? AP classes hard?”
“Not as hard as I thought they’d be, so I’m getting by.”
“That’s good. You tell me if you aren’t. I’ll write an angry anonymous letter to the teachers about how the stress is killing the poor students.”
“Don’t do that. They might make us watch a video or something.”
“Ah, good point…”
“Ayden?”
“Hmm?”
Jaime let a few seconds of uneasy silence pass before she settled on a response.
“I miss you.”
“Aww, I miss you too, Jaime. But hey, you can come and visit any time you like, okay? Just warn me first. Don’t want me to die of shock or anything, do you?”
“No, no. Of course not. But I will take you up on that. You’re not so far that I can’t still harass you.”
“Damn right. But hey, I gotta go. Study group in ten minutes.”
“’Kay. Talk to you later, Ayden.”
“Bye Jaime. Don’t work too hard.”
“I won’t.” Jaime hung up the phone and flopped back onto her bed and sighed. She had thought before she called that hearing Ayden’s voice again would cheer her up, but now she could see that the call had only made things worse for her. She reached over onto the table beside her bed and picked up the picture of him she had sitting there, running her fingers over the frame. “It’s really not fair.” She told the picture sullenly. “I’ve known you forever… why did I have to pick the year before you left to fall in love with you?” She stared at the picture for a few more minutes, replaced it and reached up to turn off the overhead light.

*

“Hey Jaime…”
“Ayden! Hello, stranger. Long time no talk.”
“Yeah, I guess it’s been a while. Sorry about that. I’ve been busy with school and stuff.”
“I bet. What’s going on there?”
“Well… I have to tell you! I met this amazing girl.”
Jaime bit her tongue to stifle her gasp. “R-really?”
“Yeah! Her name’s Cassidy. She’s beautiful, Jaime. We have so much in common…”
“So that’s why you haven’t called in three weeks and a day.”
“Oh come on Jaime, it’s not like that.”
“Sure it is. You like her. Have you asked her out yet?”
“Well… yes. She’s prefect.”
Jaime worked to conceal the pain in her voice. “That’s great Ayden. Really great. I’m really… happy for you.”
Ayden’s carefree voice was laced with concern. “But you sound depressed. What’s wrong? Did I say something—”
“No! No Ayden. Of course not. I’m just… having a hard day. That’s all. Friends stuff and school stress and… you know. All of that.”
He didn’t seem convinced, but he reluctantly accepted her excuse. “If you say so… is there anything I can do?”
“Not really. Hey look… it’s been great talking to you, but I really have to start my homework. Can I visit you sometime soon?”
“Yeah sure. How about next month?”
“Okay. See you then.” Jaime hung up and let herself break down, let the tears flow, and let herself go completely. “You don’t care… you don’t know and you don’t care…” She sobbed gently to her picture. “Oh God… this has to stop…”  

*

“Wow, Jaime. That really sucks.”
Jaime did not lift her head. “You don’t need to tell me twice. I thought… maybe I had a chance…” Jaime’s voice wavered slightly. “I guess I don’t anymore.”
“They could get bored of each other.” Laurie rubbed Jaime’s shoulder gently. “There’s still hope.”
“Why doesn’t it feel like it, Laurie? I feel like I’m dying here.”
“It’s almost like you are. You haven’t smiled in so long…”
“I’m sorry. It’s just been hard, you know? I really have been trying, I promise.”
“I know you have. But you’ll get through it. You know we’ll all help.”
Jaime finally allowed herself to look up, letting her friend see her moist eyes. “Thanks Laurie. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Laurie hugged her friend. “Don’t worry about it. You were bound to fall in love sometime. It’s in your name.”
Jaime very nearly smiled at that. She hadn’t been aware of it until a French teacher pointed it out, but if she inserted an apostrophe between the ‘J’ and the ‘a’ in “Jaime” she would get “J’aime,” the French words for “I love.”
“Come on, lover girl. Let’s go get some ice cream.”

*

“Be careful Jaime. It’s so late. You really shouldn’t be driving. The roads are wet and…”
“Mom, I’ll be fine. I’ve been there before and it’s really not that bad out there. And what do you mean ‘late?’ It’s the middle of the day! I’ll be careful, I promise.”
“I still wish I could go with you but I’ve got to leave for that meeting. Be careful and call when you get there. Are you sure you won’t wait until tomorrow so I can take you?”
Jaime, already halfway out the door, snorted impatiently. “I’ve been waiting for this all year. I’m not going to let a little rain stop me from visiting Ayden on time. See you later.” With that, she was gone.

It took Jaime a little less than three hours without incident to reach Ayden’s university, but by the time she got out of the car it had begun to get dark. Just as promised, he was there to meet her, smiling as always.
“Ayden!” Jaime jumped out of the car, practically tripping over her own feet in her haste to hug him. “I’ve missed you so much…”
“I’ve missed you too! Come on; let me give you the grand tour of the campus.”
“Right behind you.”
As they walked, the crisp, autumn leaves crackled gently beneath their feet and it wasn’t long before a foretelling wintry breeze gusted over them. Jaime shivered and Ayden put a warm arm around her shoulders to keep away the cold. She felt the chill evaporate beneath the arm and inwardly she glowed. Maybe…
“Hear that?”
Jaime looked up from her reverie. “Huh? Hear what?”
Ayden stopped walking, encouraging his companion to do that same. “Listen…”
The wind whispered softly in the dead leaves that still clung to their trees, whistling through the open spaces. Jaime listened, mesmerized. “I never noticed that.”
“Amazing what you hear when you listen, huh Jaime?” He ruffled her messy brown hair affectionately. “But you know what I think it really is?”
“What?”
Ayden’s eyes grew dreamy. “I think it’s the sound of a saddened angel, sighing in heaven.”
“How poetic.”
He grinned. “That’s why I’m majoring in English. But some on, let’s go. There’s fun to be had on a college campus…”
Jaime was happy to follow, inwardly bubbling with content.

Ayden had just finished the tour when he hailed a long-haired girl as she was walking past. “Cassi! Hey!” He broke out of step with Jaime to greet her. Jaime watched wearily as the two embraced. Cassidy’s blonde hair glistened brilliantly even without the help of the sun and her breathtaking blue eyes twinkled merrily with inner happiness. She was tall, elegant, and beautiful. Jaime had nothing on her. Cassidy looked over at Jaime and smiled sweetly; Jaime had to force herself not to glare back.
“Who’s this, Ayden?” Cassidy asked. “Friend from school?”
“Oh! Where are my manners? I guess I was a little caught up in seeing you.” Ayden smiled and turned to Jaime. “Cassi, this is Jaime. She’s one of my good friends from high school. Unfortunately she’s still stuck there, right Jaime?”
“Y-yeah. Right. Nice to meet you.” Jaime mumbled awkwardly, faking a smile.
“You too!” She turned back to Ayden. “So what were you doing? Showing her around?”
“Well yeah, but that’s pretty much all there is to see. We were planning to hit the campus coffeehouse next. Why don’t you come with us?”
“Sounds great! I could use a break from psychology anyway.”
“Awesome!” Ayden looked over at Jaime, seeming not to notice her forlorn expression. “You don’t mind, do you Jaime?”
“Of course not. It sounds… cool.” Really cool. Cold.

Midnight had come and gone before the three companions emerged from the coffeehouse. Jaime had had fun, but not enough to compensate for the dull ache in her head or the agony in her heart. She could barely stand to see them together and strayed a few steps ahead of them as they talked. She stepped into the street, head down and lips pursed in pensive silence. She didn’t see the drunken headlights swerving toward her and by the time Ayden did, it was too late.
“JAI—”

*

Jaime awoke to burning pain coursing through her entire body, seeming to throb in time with the rhythm of the heart rate monitor near her head. She was surprised to be alive, but the fatalistic sense in the pit of her stomach told her not to be surprised for long. She looked through a dreamlike haze of sleepiness and tried to get her lips to function. “A… Ay…den…?”
The frazzled freshman looked up immediately at the sound of her voice. “Jaime! You’re awake! I was so worried… the doctors said… But they must be wrong… You’ll be fine…”
She smiled in an oddly accepting way. “D-don’t… h-h…old your br…eath.”
The philosophical grey eyes she knew so well widened in horror. “Don’t say that Jaime! Of course you’ll be fine! Y-you… you have to be…” Ayden looked near tears. In fact, unless Jaime was imagining it, the stains on his cheeks meant that he’d already cried. Dull hope flared in her heart for an instant before her mind soothed it. It doesn’t matter now… I’m fading… I can feel it…
“A-Ayden?” She struggled for words, knowing her strength was waning.
“Yeah?” He responded softly.
She saw the tears running down his cheeks and was tou*ched; it wasn’t often that he cried and she had never seen it happen until now. She took a deep, steadying breath and ventured to say the words she never had been able to say for months. “I… love… you.” His image blurred and she fell into unconsciousness a few moments later.
“Jaime!” Ayden was temporarily thrown into panic before he realized that the monitor was still counting the beats of her heart. He started at her unconscious form, shocked. “Oh Jaime… I was afraid of this…”

*

A week later, Ayden stood in front of the stone angel that guarded all that remained of Jaime. He cried silently as he reached out to touch the new concrete. “I’m sorry Jaime…” He murmured, speaking for the first time since she had slipped away. “I never knew you loved me. But the truth is…” he looked guiltily up into the angel’s distant gaze. “I don’t.” He turned and the wind whispered through the trees’ last remaining leaves.

Reviews

[Charles D. Moorer]

Good story. Dialog takes the reader to the heart of the story and move it along; yet, I feel something is missing.

[Tamme]

Wow. Tough ending kinda left me starring, mouth open, for a second it. I like how you moved the story along mostly through dialog. It went smoothly like a tennis match. Never once was I confused as to who was speaking. I love being shown a story as opposed to having it told. Silly thing I learned in high school English still sticks with me. Although, you are an English major and should be good at it ;)

[Maria C. Donado]

:'( this was sooo good. I cried. Gah, I'm such a softie! This was NOT sappy! It was exactly what I was looking for!