Whiplash of the Heart

“I’d end my days with you in a hail of bullets,” she whispered into the night.

“I’m trying to let you know how much you mean to me,” a different voice whispered back.

The random voice scared Charlotte, and she jumped a little, almost losing her balance and falling off the ledge. Luckily, she caught herself.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“I’m Jasper. Who are you?” the voice answered.

“Charlotte. What are you doing here?” Charlotte wondered.

“The same thing you’re doing, about to jump off of this ledge,” Jasper replied.

“How do you-”

“I can just tell. You’re crying and singing on a ledge. What else would you be doing? Admiring the weeds?” Jasper explained.

Charlotte smiled for the first time in months. “Life isn’t even worth living anymore.”

“It’s not. It never was,” Jasper agreed.

“Are you just gonna sit over there and yell, or are you gonna come closer and talk to me? Because I need someone to talk me out of this,” Charlotte voiced.

In response, Jasper stood up and walked over to where Charlotte was sitting. He sat down beside her. “You know, there are probably lots of people who love you,” he reasoned.

“Are there? Or do people simply look the other direction and carry on with their own lives? Nobody’s ever taken the time to get to know me,” Charlotte said, being a pessimist.

“I’d like to. You seem pretty okay to me,” Jasper said with a smile.

Charlotte laughed, “I like you.”

“You barely know me, darling!” Jasper chirped.

“Hold my hand?” Charlotte asked.

Jasper obliged and took her hand in his. Charlotte closed her eyes and let this unfamiliarly pleasant feeling wash over her. Jasper’s hand was cool and rough. She could feel calluses on his fingertips. She decided that he must play a string instrument. Jasper’s vocabulary failed him. He was speechless. But he was enjoying Charlotte. And she was enjoying him.

“Will you stay with me all night?” she asked.

“Yes. I’ll stay with you as long as you want,” Jasper replied.

Charlotte nodded and looked at him. He had dark brown hair that fell just under his jaw and sparkling hazel eyes. He had a softer jaw bone than most boys she knew. She was beginning to like him. No other boy at her school would hold her hand for no reason at all.

Jasper laid back and rested on the ground, Charlotte rest her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. He ran his fingers through her hair and began singing to her.

“Hand in mine, into your icy blues, and then I’d say to you, ’We could take to the highway with this truck of ammunition, too, I’d end my days with you in a hail of bullets.”

“I’m trying, I’m trying, to let you know just how much you mean to me. And after all things we’ve put each other through,” Charlotte sang back.

They finished the song together. Charlotte began crying halfway through. Because she was falling in love. Falling in love so quickly, she was getting whiplash. Jasper was already in love with Charlotte. He began humming a tune. Charlotte wondered why it was so familiar, and then she realized. It was the tune her father used to sing to her when she was sad. It always made her feel better.

“That’s the song my father used to sing to me when I was sad! How do you-” Charlotte exclaimed, raising herself up from Jasper’s chest.

“Because I heard it. Charlotte, you don’t remember me because you were in the accident. When your father died, you were in the car with him. You had brain damage and couldn’t remember it, so we let you believe that he was still in war,” Jasper explained.

Charlotte began to cry even harder and clutch to Jasper’s chest. “You were my best friend. For 7 years. I loved you! How could you just waltz right back into my life like this?!”

“Because I love you. I’ve loved you all my life. Charlotte, don’t you see? We’re meant to be together! All I ever think about is you! I can’t breathe right!” Jasper yelled.

They sat up and cried in each other’s arms. “Jasper,” Charlotte whispered.

“Yes?” Jasper answered.

“Let’s jump. Let’s jump off this bridge together. Into the river.” Charlotte whispered.

Jasper nodded and they stood up. Charlotte took his hand and turned to the water. As they jumped, they both whispered a phrase.

“So long and goodnight.”