The thunder and rain poured down on the world; bring us all the showers of the night. The heart of the sea hung on my neck, as the raindrops ran down my window, clouding my version. Each of my tears were laced with an expression of sadness and emptiness. He was now gone, home with his family, friends and her. I missed the elegant rays of the sun that covered our back, as we laid on the sand. His embrace, warmth, lips, I missed everything. I promised him I would not shed a tear, I wouldn’t let his leaving break my heart again and again. I made an empty promise that I knew at the time I made it I wouldn’t be keeping it. He was my air, I am here suffocating. Daren was gone and he took my heart with him, my summer romance.

One Month Earlier

Today was the day, Daren is going home tomorrow. I wanted ever moment to count.

"I don't want you to leave," I whispered into his chest as he held me on my bed. Daren kissed my hair.

"I know," that was all he spoke, before pressing his lips to mine. "I love you," he cooed.

I smiled and spoke. "I love you too,"

I spent the night crying myself dry. I knew that if the morning light came it would be real. We weren’t perfect; we have flaws like any other couple. We are opposites like fire and ice, but at the same time we depend on each other like the sun and the moon. We have to work together to keep an eternal balance in our own personal worlds.

Present

My memory was still so fresh in my mind, I could taste his lips on mine. The summer rains were our favorite. My body took over for my mind; I throw on my sweatshirt and converse before running out the door.

The freezing rain hit me with force, but crisp air cooled my body. I let the drops of water soak my hair and clothing as I walked through the streets Daren clouded my mind, he was home in California, as I stayed in the rain of Seattle.

I walked past the strangers before coming to the beach; the waves sent their fingers out to the surface, coming out to reach the people. taking them under her grasp. I pushed my numb body through the storm towards the waters, letting Oceania take me. With each stride of my legs I came closer and closer, at the tips of her skirt. Feeling her strong arms take in me and embody my soul, I let go. I let go out all of my pain, my life flashing before my eyes.

Watching me cry myself to sleep from being bullied everyday as a child, having my heart be broken because boys liked to use me. My parents going through their divorce, not once asking or thinking what would be the best for my sister Maddeleine and I. Remembering the flash back of sitting next to the bedside of my baby brother as he fought for his life after that fatal car accident, watching both my mother and brother lay to rest from that accident. Coming home to a house filled with smoke and the smell of alcohol because my father couldn’t find any other way to heal the pain of his loss. Remembrance of the day I watched my baby sister walk into the house and fall into my arms telling me she had been raped only hours before. I remembered that day I met Daren, him accidentally running into my as he took a run on the beach sands. The day he told me he loved me, the day he first kissed me and the day he left me. The one good thing that happened to me in years was gone in an instant. My name is Carghter Love and September 29th is the day