Meant to Be

I coughed and David immediately ran his hand through my hair. I opened my eye and moaned. He held my hand and kissed my cheek. I looked at his eye and he kissed my hand.

“David what happened?” I asked.

“We were hit by a car. You almost lost your arm.”

“No what happened to you?”

“What do you mean?”

“What happens to you when I die?”

“You aren’t going to die.”

“Yes I am. David I love you but I’m not going to be with you for too much longer.”

“No you can’t I won’t let you. Please don’t die I just want to be with you for a little while longer.”

“Get some rest. I’ll still be here when you wake up.”

“You promise?”

“Yes go to sleep.”

“Ok.” David laid down in his bed and went to sleep. As he slept I stayed awake afraid to go back to sleep. Each breath I took became more and more difficult a sharp pain shot through my chest and lungs I cried out a few times but it helped me none. A few minutes later I actually fell asleep. The doctor came in and looked at my vitals.

” Daddy quit!” I yelled as I shielded my face. “David help me please.”

“Shut the fuck up!” dad tried to yell he was drunk his words slurred together. The smell of alcohol on his breath heavily. His hand went across my bare butt. He had ripped my jeans off a few minutes earlier. David was standing right there watching tears were forming in my eyes. His hand swatted me again. I tried hard not to scream and it was working until he grabbed the hairbrush. It came down on my butt hard. The stinging was just too much for me to be able to deal with.

“David please!” a sharp stinging went through my body, “help me make him stop. David please I can’t make him stop.” dad grabbed my shirt collar and climbed on my back he continued to choke and smack me. “David it really hurts.” I managed to croak out.

“Leave her the hell alone.” David yelled and kicked him. The kick was enough of a surprise to get him off of me. I was too afraid to move though I knew he would be back to finish what he had started. But for now his focus was on David why did I tell him to help me. David was backing up to get away from dad. Dad backed him into the corner David immediately fell to the ground and curled up in a ball. I could hear the blows from David’s head hitting the wall and I could hear the whimpers that he made as each hit was made. This was not the first time David had been beat by my father on my account. But this was the worst.

“NOOOOOOOO!!!!!” David yelled right before a snap was heard. David yelling in pain drowned out any other noise that there could have been. Dad came back to me unaffected by the screams and howls of pain. He stood me up faced David then pushed me onto his leg that was positioned in a grotesque way. Dad left and I cried with David.

“I should have told you to run.” I said. “I knew he was drunk.”

“It’s not your fault I should have been paying better attention.”

“I’m so sorry you’re hurt once again on my occasion.

“Don’t worry I’ll be fine.”

“Your leg.”

“Barley scratched.”

“I’ll call Chuck.” I got up to leave.

“No don’t call him tell your mom. I don‘t want him to know.”

“Ok if you insist.”

“I do.” I went and got mom and she took David to the hospital but left me behind. Dad came into my room after they left. He laid me on my bed and held me there. Not saying a word he held me there and licked my neck. I opened my mouth and he quickly covered it up

“I could always do worse to the retard.” he said quietly as if afraid someone else would hear.

“Leave him alone he deserves better then to be hit by you.”

“No he doesn’t.” dad got up and left. I was surprised he never leaves so quickly. I let out a sigh of relief when he left. Why did I let him get beat? Why did I let the guy I love get beat by the guy I am afraid of?”

“Doctor am I going to survive?” I asked as he turned to walk out.

“Alexis do you know much of a miracle it is just for you to be a wake and talking?”

“No.”

“You should be dead.”

“Oh I see I should be dead.”

“You should be dead and you should definitely not be talking even if you weren’t dead.”

“I see what is going to happen?”

“We’ll let you and David go home as soon as we run some tests on you to make sure you are alright. Can you move your leg?” I kicked my leg. “Amazing.”

“David will be alright too? He will won’t he I know it is a miracle that I am alive but he is alright correct?”

“Yes he is fine and we will let both of you go at the same time.”

“Ok I was just checking.”

“Get some rest we have tests to run on you.”

“Ok doctor.” He left and I fell asleep. David woke me up an hour later.

“Lexie will you wake up please?” David asked.

“Yes David?” I asked as I woke up.

“I just wanted to make sure you were still alive I was worried.”

“Don’t be I was just sleeping. Hey are you mad at me at all?”

“No why would I be I understand that you…”

“Dad. Are you mad because of all I let my dad do to me?”

“Oh no I understand that you can’t help that you were young.”

“But David what if I said I could of stopped.”

“No I know you would have been lying.”

“I could of I promise all I had to do was tell mom but she was so happy and I thought if it wasn’t for me she could be happy. I can barley remember the number of guys who walked away from her when they found out she had me. It was 7. She got dumped by 7 guys because of me and the 8th guy just wanted a quickie.”

“A quickie?’

“A quick bit of sex before he went back to his wife.”

“How do you know?”

“About the 7?”

“Yeah.”

“One of them looked at me then said he had to go tend to his mother he never called her again and that was their 7th date. Another one had to deal with me while I was sick. I puked and he left the house without even giving a reason we never heard from him again. Another one hit my mom when I walked out of my room.”

“I’m sorry I should of.

“I just wanted her to be happy again. Like she was when I was first born with dad. Stupid I know but I had to let her be happy.”

“Don’t be sorry I know you just wanted what was best. Ok I just thought I don’t know.”

“David I just what is going to happen once we get out of here? Can we really go back to the streets?”

“We have to go back to our parents. Chuck and Pierre are really worried about us so we have to go back. Umm but it will only be for a little while then we can move out and get our own apartment and we can have our own lives we can get married and live happily ever after.”

“David this isn’t a fairy tale.”

“It’s our fairy tale. Please let it be.”

“Fine it is.”

“Just let it be we will escape together. Promise.”

“Ok.” He kissed me gently.

“What about the band will they let you do that?”

“They don’t have a choice.”

“Ok I wouldn’t want you to quit that.”

“I won’t just like I won’t quit you.”

“Ok that’s great.”

“Hey David we’re back and look who we brought.” Chuck said as they entered the room with him and Pierre was Seb and Tabby.

“Alex you’re awake?” Pierre asked in shock.”

“Hi Pierre.” I said. He ran over to me and gave me a hug.

“Thank you so much I was so scared you weren’t going to wake up.”

“But I did so be happy.”

“I am.” he looked over at Chuck who was also smiling he knew what this meant for them not only as friends but as a band.

“Since we got you all here but Jeff who is at his grandmother’s house this time around I thought I would let you know we got a record deal.”

“What?” David asked shocked.

“Yeah depending on your guys well being was whether or not we were taking it.”

“Are we?”

“Yeah I think we are. But we have to go to Montreal for a while a long while like 6 months and we can’t take anyone.”

“Not even Alex and Tabby?”

“Not even Alex and Tabby.”

“Oh I don’t want to go.”

“David you have to. If you don’t go nothing you have worked for will matter.” I said. “I’ll wait for you.”

“No I don’t want to leave you at this time.”

“We won’t be leaving for 3 months.” Chuck said.

“No I don’t want to go why can’t she come? We can’t leave her, her dad is back.”

“We know and we tried to tell them that but they said no one can come because we would be at the studio to much for it to matter if anyone is there or not.”

“David go.”

“Are you sure?” he asked me.

“If you don’t go you will be stuck here forever always wondering what would have happened if you went and I don’t want to be responsible for that.”

“Ok I’ll go then I will be back for you I promise.”

A few weeks later we got out of the hospital dad had moved back into the house already and so did I. I was grounded for leaving and not coming back. I stayed in my room for 2 out of the 3 months I could have been spending with David before his departure. I only got to see him the last week before he left.

“I missed you.” David said as he opened his window.

“I missed you and I will miss you.”

“Come in it should rain soon.”

“Ok.” I climbed in his window and sat on the ground underneath it. “I’m really going to miss you.”

“Are you going to call me?”

“I’m not supposed to be here…”

“They are taking it hard still.”

“I’m supposed to get back together with Will.”

“Wait what about us.”

“I’m not supposed to be talking to you at all.”

“But we are still dating right?”

“I think we were lied to all our lives we aren’t meant to be. I have to go now before dad realizes I’m gone.”

“But you just got here?”

“I know but it’s dad and he should be coming to check on me any…” A chair went flying out my window. “Minute now. I have to go I have get back there or he could kill me. He was already upset with me earlier.”

“Wait don’t go yet just one last kiss.” He put his arms around me and he was shocked to see that he could wrap one around my waist almost twice. “You lost weight again?”

“I’m fine don’t worry. Mom’s pregnant I’m going to have a little sister.”

“Answer me when I ask this simple question when did you eat last?”

“When we left the hospital.”

“3 months ago?”

“Yeah that was my last meal I ate a little bit of a cracker every day this month.”

“I can’t leave you.”

“Then let me leave you.” I climbed back out the window and went back to my room. David watched me from out his window. 5 minutes after I climbed in mine I was thrown out again. He went to run out to get me but his mom stopped him. I laid out in the lawn for half an hour until Jeff walked over to David’s house. My wrists and throat was cut and so was my stomach. My face was bloody and bruised.

“Tell David I love him.” I whispered and closed my eyes for the final time. Jeff laid my head in his lap and held me until my breathing stopped completely. A child of 17 died in front of her own house, possible suicide, is what the newspapers would read. But to all who knew my family and me knew the truth it was a murder and it was meant to be.

“David I’m sorry. I didn’t know what to do I got there to late.” Jeff explained once the ambulance took me to the morgue. David just stared at my house not saying a word. “Look I didn’t want for her to die and I don’t even know half of what you know and the police were asking me questions that I couldn’t answer and they asked about her dad and I had no idea what to say. They will be talking to you.” A tear ran from David’s eye. He laid down not able to deal with the stress of the news. His mom ran out of the house to the porch where they stood. She looked at David’s limp body lying on the ground and at Jeff who was standing there helpless. His mom didn’t seem affected she just went back inside. “She’s gone.” David took a small breath and looked at Jeff. Then he got up and ran.

David ran for a few hours before stopping he stopped at the alley that we had called home for those months and he sat in a box and cried. He had never cried like that ever nor would he again. Will came up to him while he was crying.

“Get up retard. Did you hear the good news me and Alex are getting back together.”

“She’s dead. She died a few hours ago. So if you aren’t going to kill me leave.” Will walked away. David stayed where he was and watched him leave still crying. Pierre found him after an hour.

“I heard and I’m not going to say anything I just want to sit with you.” Pierre sat down and he and David cried.

“I could have stopped her. She lost so much weight he threw a chair out. She was going back to Will. She didn’t eat. I saw her go through the window I tried to get there mom stopped me. I should have helped her.”

“It isn’t your fault. We know her dad did it and.”

“And I let her go back even though I knew he beat her and I saw the chair go out the window. I loved I still love her and I let her down.”

“We leave tomorrow.”

“I want to die I have failed her.”

“It isn’t your fault. You can’t die on us now.”

“If I wouldn’t have let her go back she would still be here. She wouldn’t be dead. Pierre I can’t help that I was stupid but I can’t go on with out her. It was all the fault of the drunk driver who hit us 3 months ago.”

“Why?”

“If it wouldn’t have hit us we wouldn’t have went to the hospital Chuck wouldn’t have told us to go back to our parents and we would have still been in the streets alive.”

“It was your sister.”

“What was my sister?”

“The drunk driver.

“I’m never talking to my family again.”

“Don’t be like that. This is why we weren’t going to tell you.”

“How long have you known.”

“3 months.”

“I can’t leave until after the funeral.”

“But we told them.”

“I can’t leave until after. I have to go I have to.”

“But.”

“NO! I have to go to her funeral I have to be there she was my girlfriend I can’t dishonor her like that. It is bad enough I let her die.”

“David fine we will all stay.”

“Thanks.”

“You are staying with me tonight.”

“Ok.”

“Let’s go home. Before Will comes back.”

“Ok.” They got up and walked to Pierre’s house. David slept in the guest room and the next morning my obituary was in the paper.

Last night Alexis Jane Belford committed suicide. After cutting her wrists multiple times she threw herself out her window. She died shortly after impact. She is survived by her mother, father and her unborn sister. It is always a terrible loss when a child takes her own life. And sadly she was only 17 she still had her whole life ahead of her. The services will be held tomorrow.

“Suicide how disgraceful.” David said after reading the paper.

“Don’t be mad ok just remember that there is still good out there.”

“I can’t do this I miss her too much. She didn’t deserve to die.”

“I know.” David went outside it was a nice day the kind of day I would have loved. He sat on the porch and watched a small boy and girl play. They were playing 4 square. Then on the last bounce the girl ran up and gave the boy a kiss on the cheek.

I won’t ever leave you David I promise. How could she of said that then she had to go and get murdered then her dad is the one who killed her. They said it was suicide maybe I’m missing something. I don’t think so she would have just came back to me if she didn’t want to be there. He threw her out the window. Bastard!
Pierre shook him out of his thought. It had started to rain and David was drenched the boy and girl had gone inside to play.

The casket was closed at the funeral due to the cuts I had on my face. There were only 17 people there: David, Pierre, Chuck, Jeff, Seb, Tabby, The Minister, and a few others who had known me. The minister started to read from the bible and David broke down crying. There was no consoling him though many tried. Half way through my father showed up drunk. He started saying how sorry he was that I died he liked knowing someone would be there when he got home. David lost his temper he ran up to him started yelling about how it was him who killed me and he started hitting him. My dad was too drunk to care. Pierre had to restrain him. David cried into his chest and hit him. David was the only one who cried. He was the last one to leave. He was the only one who yelled at my dad. He was the only reason I ever felt loved. And I was the only reason he was loved. And for that we were meant to be.