Take This to Your Grave and I'll Take It to Mine

I dropped my head onto his chest and bawled still saying, “Why’d you leave me? How could you?”

All of a sudden a light rose and it wasn’t the fires surrounding me it was right in front me, it was a bright white light, bright like the sun I hadn’t seen in six or seven hundred years.

I narrowed my eyes and brought up my head to see what the light was, hoping that it could have been the sun.

It wasn’t but I wasn’t disappointed by what it truly was.

Pete’s spirit was there glowing bright white. It hurt my eyes to look at him, but he was so beautiful (like always) I couldn’t take my eyes off of him.

“Erin I’ll never leave you. You’re so remarkable. You knew that I was going to be gone from you forever yet you chose to do this for me.” He smiled his beautiful smile, but now sans the fangs.

“You died how do you get your life back now?” My tears still ran.

“You’ll see.” He smiled. “I’ll never forget you Erin.”

“Nor I you, Pete.” I said trying to regain some composure.

“I love you Erin.”

“I love you too Pete.” My tears came back a little stronger for a moment.

After these words were said the guys spirits appeared behind him, although they weren’t glowing like him.

He closed his eyes and tilted his head towards the sky and began raising his arms.

As his arms went up he became more blinding, the bodies were disappearing under his light then it got so bright I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore. I had to shield my eyes.

What felt like a tremor passed through my body.

After the tremor passed the light wasn’t trying to force entry into my eyes through my fingers and eyelids.

I knew the light was gone and slowly opened my eyes.

I was back at the house. The house I lived at with the guys.

I looked around.

Looking for any sign of them, but there wasn’t one.

All of the rooms were empty of all things that belonged to the guys, there was furniture though.

Patrick’s old room was a computer room now and there was a double doored locker standing up on the back wall. Of course I rushed to that and opened it wide in hopes of finding something.

There were shelves in this locker, random things littering the shelves. Nothing to remind me of them.

Every bedroom was just as empty of their touch.

I went to the basement and to the attic with no avail.

It was no use, this was my house. I had always lived alone here, in this altered timeline.

I looked down, to my belly. I was still just as pregnant. Maybe I was showing more, I seemed more normal for four months then I did before.
I placed my hand there like I’d done so many times before.

“Just you and me kid.”

I sat down in the living room and turned on the glowing box that so hypnotized the people of this age.

The TV was on MTV (that‘s what it said in the bottom corner) “Up next we’re going to see Fall Out Boy’s Making The Video.” That was all I had to hear to put the remote down with no intention to change the channel.

Pete was speaking first. They had him heavily made up, he was playing a vampire in the video! The irony that he didn’t even really know about!

His smile was so beautiful without the fangs.

He and the other guys were so funny. So much life in them, the life they had to let go of to fight the monsters that were roaming the streets.

Even Andy was smiling and happy. He didn’t have to protect his friends from everything after them.

Then I saw someone I didn’t expect.

William.

William and all his men. All of the people in this video were ex vampires!

They all got to go back and live normal lives.

All but me.

Everyone stayed true to the role they once were. Everyone was there and accounted for, everyone but me that is.

Finally at the end they played the video in it’s entirety.

I saw something behind Pete in the kitchen scene.

A painting of a woman. It was black and white but I’d bet anything it was me.

She was in a tight shirt with a sword strapped to her back in her underwear.

"But you do look really hot with all those weapons strapped to you." Pete said with his eyes glued to my body traveling up and down.

"Why are you looking at me like that Pete?" I was terrified that this would give away our secret.

"I'm imagining you in your underwear." He smirked.

I wasn’t forgotten. He remembered me, at least a little.

I watched that video almost religiously for a month. I bought the records.

I had to learn how the new CD machines work. The worst part of that is they’re becoming obsolete as well. Music is becoming all digital now and that will be hell for me to learn if I ever do.

I continued watching MTV if only to catch glimpses of the guys and what I saw amazed me. Every popular band they showed were former vampires. All of the faces I saw were familiar. Alessa was alive too and still with Joe and the child was theirs. There was no man before Joe and they had a beautiful son.

But a month passed and I had grown even more. I had to buy bigger clothes actual maternity clothes.

So I was going through the locker because I wanted to know where everything is in this house, which I was alone in.

I got to the bottom shelf and most of the stuff in there had been standard stuff. Stuff that every house in this time period had.

Then I found a black shoe box.

I pulled it on to my lap and rested the box on my crossed legs as I pulled the lid off the box.

There was a note at the top of the box.

Erin,
Well you won. Although how could someone so beautiful and amazing not win at this challenge?
Sorry it took me so long to get these to you but we’ve been busy.
God, I’m usually way better at writing than this.
I love you so much that words aren’t even adequate for describing it.
I can’t say it any simpler, I love you.
The boots are just the size you told me. I hope you still find them comfortable even when you’re in your last trimester.
I’ve never forgotten a word you’ve ever said to me.
Eternal Love,
Pete

I was crying through the whole note.

I wiped my eyes and looked at what was under the paper and they were boots, as promised, just like my old ones.

So my world didn’t really change. I remembered him. I was still having his child. And now I got one last thing to remind me of him.

Not like I could forget.