Bye, Baby

I walked into the Get n’ Go gas station, pulling my maroon mittens from my hands. I stuffed them in my hoodie pocket and rubbed my hands together, my shoulders hunched. The man at the counter said hello to me and I nodded at him, and gave him a weak smile.

I walked over to the refrigerator section of the gas station and looked through the foggy glass for a gallon of milk, the only reason I was there.

“What are you looking for?” I jumped, my hand shot to my chest, my heart bumped against it like a jackhammer. I turned around meeting face to face with a boy. A snow hat was pulled down over his strawberry blonde hair and he smiled at me as if he felt accomplished for scaring the living daylights out of me.

“Milk.” I whispered. I pulled the sleeves of my hoodie over my hands and held them tightly. The boy smiled and walked to the other side of the store where another refrigerator was at and pulled open the door and pulled out milk. He grinned at me and walked back to where he was before, holding the milk out in front of me.

“Here you go,” The boy said.

I took the milk; it was cold against my fingers, “Thank you. Get milk here a lot?” I asked, smiling. The boy chuckled, “The only place I do. The price is great. What do you need the milk for?” He asked me. I decided the milk is too cold in my hands and switched to holding it in the crook of my arm, just like holding a baby.

“I’m getting Oreos, too. You can’t have Oreos without milk.” I told him. I started to walk to the snack aisle, and searched for the Oreos. The boy followed me.

“They’re right here.” I looked over my shoulder and the boy pointed to a pack of Oreos.

“How do you know where everything is?” I asked. I walked over to him and took the pack from his hand.

The boy smiled, “I have my ways.” I rolled my eyes.

“You have ways?”

“I do. Plus, the Oreos aren’t that hard to miss. You’re just bad at finding stuff.” The boy said. I had raised my eyebrows at him.

“How do you know? I don’t even know you and you don’t even know me.” I muttered under my breath, and walked past the boy, making my way over to the checkout counter.

“What’s your name?” The boy asked. I turned around to face him.

“Harley.” The boy smiled at me, his teeth were perfectly aligned.

“Hi, Harley. Im Maddie.” He held out his glove-clad hand. I stuck out my hand and his fingers enveloped mine.

“Isn’t Maddie a girls name?” I questioned with a smile. Maddie had smiled back, shrugging his shoulders.

“Isn’t Harley a type of motorcycle?” He raised his eyebrows and I laughed.

“Touché, Maddie. Touché.” Maddie laughed and I turned back around and finish my walk to the counter.

I paid quickly and the guy bagged my milk and Oreos, then he handed them to me.

“Thank you, “ I muttered, stepping over to the sliding doors. I set my bag on the floor and pulled my mittens from my pockets. I slid them over my fingers and glanced at Maddie while he paid for a pack of gum. I smiled a little and pulled my hood over my red hair and I remember thinking that boy is so weird.

Maddie turned his head to me, and caught me staring at him. I quickly looked away, blushing. I picked up my bag, sliding it through my arm so it hung from the bend of my elbow. I started to walk out the door when I felt a hand grab my shoulder.

“Harley?” I turned around; now outside in the cold November weather. Maddie stared at me and I noticed his eyes were a really pretty blue.

“Yeah?” I asked, staring back at him. Maddie cleared his throat and stuffed his hands in his jean pockets.

“I was wondering if I could share your Oreos with you.”

∞

Maddie became my boyfriend three days later when he came over my apartment with a pack of double stuffed Oreos and a flower. Every Saturday, he would come over to my cold apartment in the morning and we would eat fruit loops on the floor while watching cartoons. Then, in the afternoon we would sit on the floor of my balcony, our legs hanging over the edge, and we would talk about everything.

I only saw Maddie Saturday. That was it. I worked my ass off at a tiny coffee shop in town and at nights I would work at an Italian restaurant, Santos, as a waitress. Sometimes, though, Maddie would come to Santos and order a glass of water and breadsticks and I would wait for him. He always left me a tip that was over the top and I would try to give the money back to him but he would deny and say, “You earned it.”

Maddie knew I was struggling with money. My parents both died when I was seventeen, only a year ago, and I lived with my grandmother until she died just three months ago when I turned eighteen. So, I live in a ratty apartment with no heat and cold water. There is only a small kitchen, one bathroom, and a bedroom. The only furniture I own is a small, white iron bed that is covered in heavy quilts my grandmother knit herself, and an old coffee table that my father built with me when I was a child. He was a carpenter and he sold his work to people around town, he made good money.

Those two things are the only things I have in my apartment. I have an old TV, though, that I bought for thirty bucks at someone’s garage sale but I only get ten channels. I also have my laptop that my parents gave me for graduation. I was going to go to OSU but I dropped out because of my parents’ death and then because of my grandmothers. I never really got off easy.

But then, one day, something great happened and I thought my luck was up, finally.

It was Christmas Eve and I had Maddie’s present next to me. I splurged and bought him a really nice watch and a pack of Oreos (a joke we had) and he had my present on his lap.

“Can I give you my gift now?” I asked quietly, breaking our comfortable silence. Maddie tore his gaze from the sky and looked at me with a smile. He was quiet that night.

“Yeah. Will you sit by me?” He had asked. I nodded and grabbed my gift; Maddie had cleared his lap and motioned me to sit on it. I did, handing him his present. He opened it slowly and looked sadly at me when it was fully unwrapped.

“This must have cost a fortune.” Maddie muttered. I shrugged, “The cost doesn’t matter, Mad.” I had whispered, laying my head on his chest. Maddie kissed my forehead softly.

“Thank you so much, Harley. Really, thank you.” I blushed and buried my head in his chest. Maddie chuckled, “Time for you to open yours.”

I nodded and sat up. Maddie had placed his present in my lap. It was a small, tiny box. I looked at him through the corner of my eye and lifted the lid to the box. Inside was an Oreo. I looked at Maddie like he was crazy, just like I did the first day I met when he was buying his gum. Maddie chuckled, “Open the Oreo, Harley.”

I had looked at Maddie one more time before pulling the Oreo from the box and twisting the two chocolate cookies apart.

My heart stopped as I saw the ring buried in the frosting that glued the Oreos together.

“Ah,” I squeaked. I pulled the ring from the frosting. Maddie laughed and took the ring from my hand and took my hand in his. He pulled the glove from my hand and slipped the ring on my ring finger.

“Harley, I love you more than anything in the whole entire world. More than double stuffed Oreos and gas stations. Will you marry me?” He had asked, staring straight into my eyes. My heart had stopped and I nodded. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pressing my cold lips to his. When I pulled away I had whispered, “Yes.”

∞

It was eight o’clock on a Wednesday night and I was working my shift at Santos when my boss called me into his office. I was in a good mood that night because I had found my wedding dress that morning on my day off from working in the coffee shop. Maddie and I had just set a date for our wedding, November 12, the day we first met. It was exactly one month away.

I had two more hours before I could go home and see Maddie. He told me he had a surprise for me and would be waiting at my apartment.

When I walked into my bosses’ office I could tell something was off. He had the phone propped on his desk for me and he looked uncertain.

“You have a call.” He had whispered to me. I looked skeptically at him and picked the phone up, “Hello?” I had said.

“Is this Harley O’Neil?” The voice over the phone had sounded serious. I remember biting my lip so hard, it probably should have bled, but it hadn’t.

“This is she.” I muttered.

Over the line, the person cleared their throat, “You’re Fiancé, Maddie Russo, has been in an accident and is in the ICU at the Cleveland Clinic.” My head spun. My heart was pounding in my chest a mile a minute. I clicked the red button on the phone and the line went dead. I set the phone on the desk and stared at my boss.

“I have to go.” I whispered. I pulled off my apron and my boss had nodded and told me to call if I needed time off.

Everything happened so fast. All of it had been a blur.

The scariest half hour of my life was driving to that damn hospital to see my Maddie.

When I got there, I ran into the brightly lit hospital to the front desk where a lady was talking on the phone. I stared at her, my chest heavily moving up and down from being out of breath.

“Maddie Russo.” I whispered. The lady had muttered something to someone on the other line and hung up.

“One minute.” She started to type on the computer and then looked at me, “He’s in the OR right now, and you can’t see him.” My heart felt like it was torn out of my chest.

“When can I see him?” I had said. I remember the tears prickling the backs of my eyes. The lady looked at me, “I’ll call a doctor in to talk to you about the boys condition. Take a seat over there.” The lady pointed to a row of plastic chairs.

I walked over to them and sat down, placing my elbows on my knees, holding my head in my hands.

After awhile, it seemed like hours, a doctor had walked over to me, “Are you Harley O’Neil?” I looked up at him.

“Is Maddie okay?” I had asked. I blinked hard and clenched my teeth. The doctor cleared his throat.

“It’s not looking well. The accident he was in…he was his on the drivers’ side of the car; someone ran a red light and hit him hard. The chances of Maddie making it…” His voice trailed off and I couldn’t hold it back any longer.

I had started to cry.

I don’t cry. I didn't when my parents died, not when my grandmother died, but now that Maddie was gone, I couldn’t not cry. It felt like everything was just untied and collapsing on top of me.

“Can I see him?” I had managed to get out. The doctor nodded his head and lead me through hallways and up elevators to a room labeled 278.

“He’s not going to look well.” I heard the doctor say, but I was already opening the door.

I remember my hand shooting to my mouth and tears pouring themselves over my eyes. Maddies hair was gone, shaved off, and there was gauze over his head that had red underneath. There were so many scars on his precious face, he didn’t look the same. He had a cast around his neck and arm and he looked like he was run over by a train.

“Maddie,” I whispered to him. I walked over to him and his eyes were closed. I wanted to see his blue eyes again, “Maddie.” I had whispered again. Maddie moved his head a little but then moaned.

“I love you,” I whispered to him. I held tightly to his hand. Maddie just barely squeezed my hand as if to say, “I love you, too.” Maddies eyes started to close and the heart monitor had started to beep more slowly.

“Maddie. Maddie, stay with me, baby.” I had cried. I pulled myself up to his face and stroked his cheek. Tears fell from my eyes and I could barely breathe.

Maddies eyes opened, “Bye, baby,” Maddie croaked, “I love you.”

His eyes fluttered close and I looked up to the monitor. It flat lined.