Jonesy Adams stood in the gazebo, staring at the ocean. The gentle breezes blew through her hair and sent a shiver down her spine.
'Where is he?' she thought to herself, referring to her long time boyfriend, Nick Carter. He was supposed to meet her there a half- hour ago for their 2nd year anniversary. Yep, that certainly is a long time! Some marriages don't even last that long! But here are these two high school seniors still madly in love after twenty-four months.
"He's probably just late. He's always late," she said smiling to herself. The waves splashed against the jagged rocks, highlighted by the moonlight. She lost herself in thought. She was remembering the first time they met. Nick was a new student in Clearwater High School. He had recently moved there from Orlando. Jonesy had been one of his first friends…REAL friends. All the other girls were being nice to him just because he was cute and they were looking for a date for Friday night. But who could blame them, considering he had those irresistible baby blues and such a sweet personality that any girl would die for.
But Jonesy wasn't like that. Sure she found him attractive, but she'd want to get to
know him before anything would happen. And besides, if she was the new kid, she would want
to have real friends, too. They had a lot of fun together…playing basketball, going
to the movies, playing practical jokes on their parents…just plain kid stuff. But
their relationship soon developed into more than just friends. It happened their sophomore
year at the Winter Dance. Nick and Jonesy had their own dates, but Linda Amberman and Brad
Shepherd dumped them for each other. They were the off-and-on kind of couple.Nick had
feelings for her since the day they met, but he didn't want to say anything because he
wasn't sure she felt the same way. He finally decided to tell her that night, no matter
what her response would be. He
finally got his chance, when he saw her sitting in the corner of the room, all alone.
'Damn, she's beautiful,' he thought to himself as he gathered up his courage and slowly
made his way to her. She looked up at him and smiled..
"D-d-do you want to dance?" he choked out nervously.
"I thought you'd never ask!" replied Jo, as they called her, smirking.
He gently grabbed her hand and led her to the dance floor. Slow music was playing. The mood was just right. He placed his hands around her waist, while she rested her head on his shoulder. He bit his lip and tried to hide his nervousness, as he figured out what to say to her. Jonesy sensed his uneasiness and looked into his eyes. He avoided her gaze.
"Nick?" she asked confused about why he was acting this way. "What is
it?"
"I-I have to tell you something," he stammered, "and I don't know how
you'll feel about it."
"Well, tell me and I'll let you know."
"It's not that easy, but here goes," he took a deep breath, then let it all out,
"ever since I met you, I've felt something. I mean, I like you a lot."
"I like you, too, Nick…"
"I'm not finished. What I'm really trying to say is I REALLY like you. You've been such a good friend to me and so much more…"
She stared deeply into his eyes, already knowing what he was about to say. But she kept quiet. She wanted him to finish before letting him know how she felt. Just then her favorite song came on. It was "Truly Madly Deeply" by Savage Garden.
Nick continued…
"Ok I'm just going to say it. I love you, Jo. I always did, and no matter what you say, I always will."
Her eyes widened in surprise and pleasure at his sincerity.
"Nick, you know what? I love you, too. I've been waiting for you to admit it for such a long time."
Their hearts were pounding with excitement. She couldn't control herself any longer. She pressed her lips against his and was blown into heaven. It was the longest most passionate kiss they had ever had. They finally unlocked lips to come up for air. "Truly Madly Deeply" was still playing. They held each other close, not wanting to let go, afraid that this would only be a dream and that they'd awaken if they broke their physical connection.
But they had to, once the song ended and the dance was over. On their way out of the school, Jonesy suggested to make "Truly Madly Deeply" 'their song' since it was during that song that they finally confessed their love for each other. Nick happily agreed and from then on, they became the "Romeo and Juliet" of their school…always kissing, always faithful, seemingly willing to die for each other. The day she met Nick was the real beginning of her life and vice versa.
Jonesy snapped out of her trance and looked at her watch. She had been waiting for a whole hour!
"Ok, this isn't cute anymore. I'm going to kill him!" she tried to convince herself, but knew she wouldn't be able to stay mad at him for long.
"We could have come together, but nooooo, he had to buy something at the mall first! *sigh* I'll just wait ten more minutes."Soon those ten minutes turned into twenty, and those turned into forty.
"Ok, that's it! I'm leaving now! Boy is he going to hear it when I find him!"
Those were just empty threats and she knew it, but she tried convincing herself that she wasn't going to give in to his pouty lips or puppy-dog face.. She started walking out of the gazebo, when suddenly she felt a warm breeze and thought she heard her name.
"Must be my imagination," she murmured to herself as she continued walking.Then she distinctively heard her name being whispered. She turned around and saw Nick.
"Nick!" she ran over to him and hugged him. "Where were you?! I've been waiting here for almost two hours!"
She looked at his face. His expression was somber. He was ghastly white and his usually bright blue eyes were now a paler shade of blue and extremely sad.
"Nick, what is it? What's wrong?" she asked.
"Nothing. Don't worry about it," he answered quietly.
"But…"
"Shhh," he placed his finger against her lips, "just dance with me."
"But there's no music."
"Just close your eyes."
She did so but still didn't hear anything. She began to get creeped out.. She opened them again and stared at him.
"Nick, what's going on? I still don't hear anything."
He pulled her close and held her tight. "Trust me. Close your eyes and listen with your heart."
She closed them again and didn't hear anything for a few seconds until suddenly, that
all too familiar melody broke the silence…
"I'll be your dream
I'll be your wish I'll be your fantasy
I'll be your hope I'll be your love
Be everything that you need
I'll love you more with every breath
Truly madly deeply do
I will be strong
I will be faithful
'Cause I'm counting on
A new beginning
A reason for living
A deeper meaning
I want to stand with you on a mountain
I want to bathe with you in the sea
I want to lay like this forever
Until the sky falls down on me…"
Nick suddenly pulled away and took something out of his pocket.
"Here," he said, as he placed it in her hand. It was a necklace with a gold heart. The charm had their initials engraved into it and a sparkling diamond in the middle. "This is what I went to the mall for."
"It's beautiful!" she gasped.
"It will look even more beautiful on you," he said as he slipped it around her
neck. His fingers were cold to the touch, but the warmth and love she felt inside kept her
from shivering.
He wrapped his arms around her waist again and the song
continued…
"And when the stars are shining brightly in the velvet sky
I'll make a wish to send it to heaven then make you want to cry
The tears of joy for all the pleasure in the certainty
That we're surrounded by the comfort and protection of
The highest powers
In lonely hours
The tears devour you
I want to stand with you on a mountain
I want to bathe with you in the sea
I want to lay like this forever
Until the sky falls down on me
Oh can you see it, baby?
You don't have to close your eyes
'Cause it's standing right here before you
All that you need will surely come…"
Just then, Nick leaned over and whispered softly into her ear, "I'll love you, truly
madly deeply, 'till the day I die, and long after." Jonesy felt the hot tears
trickling down her face. She was crying the tears of joy, but she felt a wave of sadness overwhelm her and she didn't know why.
The song ended a few minutes later and they reluctantly let go of each other. Nick stared at the ground.
"I have to go," he declared quietly.
"Go? Where? You just got here!"
"I'm sorry, but my time's up, goodbye."
"Ok, then, goodbye," she hesitantly whispered, not knowing what he meant, but letting it go.
He gave her a long, loving, reassuring kiss. Jonesy didn't know that that would be the last kiss she would receive from him for a long time."Bye," he murmured one last time.
"Bye, see you later."
"Yeah," he whispered as he walked away from her, "someday." Then he disappeared into the night.
Jonesy drove home, perplexed and saddened. That feeling still didn't go away. When she got home, she entered her house cautiously. It was quiet …a little too quiet.
"Mom? Dad?" she called.
"In here," answered a strained voice from the kitchen.
She slowly walked into the kitchen. Her mother was sitting on a chair. Her elbows were
on the table and her hands covered her face. Her dad was standing behind her mother,
comforting her, with a saddened expression on his
face.
"What's going on?" asked Jonesy scared and anxious.Her mother looked at her. Her nose and eyes were red. It was clear that she was crying. Some fresh tears were still dripping down her cheeks.
"Sit down, Jonesy," her father quietly said. She did as she was told and gave
him a questioning look. She asked again
"What happened?"
"Mrs. Carter called a few minutes ago."
"Mrs. Carter? Why?" she started to panic as a thought entered her mind.
"Nick? Is it Nick?!"
"Yes, yes it is," he stated calmly.
"What happened to him?! Is he ok?!" If they didn't tell her soon, she was going to flip out!
"He was on way his to meet you from the mall. He had just pulled out of the parking lot. This pick-up truck came out of nowhere and hit him head on…"
She couldn't believe she was hearing this!
"The driver was drunk and was going at 80 mi./hr… Nick was killed instantly."
They waited for her reaction to the last sentence, but she just stared at them with no expression on her face. She remained in this trance until her father said her name.
"Jonesy?"
She blinked, and finally said, "No," just like that, blankly.Her father tried to hug her, but she pushed his arms away. She began breathing heavily.
"No! That's not true! Nick was with me just a few minutes ago!"
"Honey, that can't be. He died three hours ago."
"No! Why are you saying this to me?! Nick's not dead! He's not! You're lying!"
But the expressions on Jonesy's parents' faces proved otherwise. She refused to accept it.
"No! No! He was with me! He told me he loved me! He told me he loved me…" she fell to her knees and started bawling. Her mom ran to her and scooped her in her arms.
"Shhh, it's ok. It's ok, baby…" Her mother tried to be strong for her,
but couldn't. She was crying, too. Nick was almost like a son to her. Besides that, she
was enraged at the fact that an irresponsible, stupid drunk had taken the life of an
innocent young man, and ruined her daughter's life.Jonesy just let it all out in the
comforting arms of her mother. The
endless tears kept coming and the wails of anguish kept escaping her throat. She cried so
much, that after a long while, her eyes dried out and every time she opened her mouth, no
sound came out. All she could do now was pray silently. She realized the necklace he gave
her still dangled around her neck. Jonesy clutched the gold heart in her hands and
squeezed her eyes shut. She saw his face. He smiled at her, nodded… then faded away.
She remembered his words and his touch. He would never leave her. Not even death could
destroy their love. That was proven when Nick didn't rest until he said his final goodbye.
A single teardrop trickled down her face and splashed onto the shiny surface of the
beautiful charm.
"I'll love you, Nick," she whispered, "truly madly deeply 'till the day I die… and long after."
