Never Alone

Sam groaned, staring at the sleeping girl in front of him as he kicked himself in the ass over and over in his head. He was given chance after chance to ask this amazing girl out and he always chickened out. But now, he’ll never get that chance again. He was the reason tears fell down her face. He was the reason she was so miserable the past year.

All because he died.

He remembered when he had first woken up after his death, seeing the Grim Reaper for the first time.

Sam woke with a start, the intense pain he felt before gone. He squeezed his eyes shut, desperately trying to remember what had happened. He had gotten into an accident and had been rushed to the hospital. But after dealing with so much pain, he blacked out. And now he was here. ‘But,’ he thought to himself as he looked around. ‘Where is … here exactly?’

He opened his eyes and looked around. He was sitting in a chair set in the middle of a white room. The only other thing in the room was a door in front of him. He stood up, slowly walking to the door, but he stopped as the door swung open. A cloaked figure entered the room, his face hidden in the shadows.

“Sam Blaire,” the voice croaked out, a creepy shiver running through my spine.

“W-Who are you?”

He chuckled darkly, before he replied. “I am the Grim Reaper.”

“What?” Sam cried, his eyes wide as he began inspecting his body. “B-But-“

“Silence!” the Grim Reaper said, smiling as the blubbering fool in front of him shut his mouth. “That’s good. Now I’m going to explain all this once and then I’m leaving. I’ve got important things to do. Now, as you probably figured out, you’re dead. But you have one year to finish up any last business here on earth. At the end of the year, I’ll see you one last time and send you off to the afterlife, wherever the big guy decides to send you. I suppose that’s all and I’ll see you in a year.”

“Wait!” Sam yelled, but it was too late. The Grim Reaper just disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

“What am I going to do?” He muttered to himself, but then he felt himself fall through the floor, a scream leaving his lips as he hurtled towards the earth, his heart pounding as he slowed down enough to land softly on his feet. Shaken, he looked around and realized he was in front of the hospital he was taken to the night of the accident. The night he died.

Sam ran a hand through his hair, thinking back to the past year where he tried desperately to tell the girl he loved a final goodbye. He remembered the first time he saw her as a ghost, the first of many visits.

The newly made ghost walked in circles for who knows how long. Once in a while, he would pass by another ghost, some with determined looks on their face while others had lost, confused looks, much similar to the look on his own face. He sighed, looking up and was surprised to find himself in front of his old apartment. He stood outside the door for a few minutes, a wry smile on his lips as he turned to leave. But sobs were soon heard from the apartment. He paused, debating about whether or not he should investigate. Deciding he had nothing left to lose, he passed through the door quite easily and looked around the apartment, soon finding the source of the argument coming from his old bedroom. There, he recognized his mother sitting on his bed, sorting through his belongings, and Layla, his best friend and crush, staring into his closet with a blank look on her face.

Sam immediately went to his mother, timidly laying his hand on his shoulder. Although he could feel her, he knew right away that his mother couldn’t feel him. His mother shook and sobs racked her body. The sound seemed to break Layla from her trance as she looked at Mrs. Blaire before she rushed to the older women’s side, opposite of Sam, and hugged the sobbing women.

After Sam watched the heart-wrenching scene for what seemed liked hours, knowing that he was the reason his mom was feeling all these pain, he got up, not sure if he could stay and watch his own mom fall to pieces. But as he was halfway out of the room, his mom took that moment to speak up.

“I miss him so much, Layla. He was such a good kid, always watching out for his poor mother and tried to always put others before himself. Only Lord knows why he was taken from his life so early.” Mrs. Blaire rambled on like for a few minutes before she stood abruptly and headed to one of his dressers, searching through it until she brought out a black velvet box.

Sam felt his heart drop as he recognized the small box and quickly rushed to his mother, although he knew that there was nothing he could do to stop what his mother was about to do.

Mrs. Blaire took her seat again as she opened the box, showing Layla the ring that was inside the box and silently urging the girl to take it. Layla was very hesitant, but still complied with the older women’s wishes, taking the box from her hands and inspecting the ring inside.

“That used to be my wedding ring from my husband,” Mrs. Blaire said, a wistful smile on her face. “Such a wonderful man. It’s no wonder where my son got his disposition from. But I remember my last night I spent with my husband in that hospital room. He fought that cancer with all he had, but I knew he was tired already. He told me that his son was going to ask me for my wedding ring to give to the girl of his life. He was so sure of it. He then gave me his wedding ring and told me he would love me forever and he would always watch out for me. And after he was gone, that first year was hard. But … it felt as though he was still here with me, helping me get through the pain.” Mrs. Blaire sighed, shaking her head as she wiped at her eyes. “I’m sorry dear, I’m running off topic. But anyways, my husband was right. My son came up to me almost two years ago, asking me if he could use my ring to propose to the girl he loves. But he was so scared and shy, I barely found out who it was.”

Layla was silent, her eyes still fixated on the ring. After what feels like hours, she finally opened her mouth. “Are you going to give this to her? The women he loved?”

Mrs. Blaire nodded her head, a small smile on her face. “She’s already holding it, dear.”

Layla nodded, letting her hair cover her face. Sam was unsure of what she was thinking, but was instantly at her side when a choked sob escaped her lips. “Th-that idiot!” she shouted, shocking Sam. “Why? Why did he to feel obligated to make sure everyone got home safely? He could have been home, not in some stupid car accident.”

“Layla dear, what on earth are you talking about?” Mrs. Blaire asked, pulling the girl into a hug.

“That night, we went to a club. We all drunk except Sam. And when it was time to go home, he refused to let anyone drive home. He promised he would take care of our cars as long as he could drive us all home. So he got everyone to go with him and he dropped them all off. He dropped me off last and he promised he’d text me as soon as he got home. But he died! If only he didn’t drive all of us home individually, he wouldn’t have been at that intersection. He would have been safe at home.”

Mrs. Blaire just hugged the girl tighter, her hand rubbing her back soothingly. “Dear, you know Sam would have never left his friends, even if he knew he would die. That’s the kind of man he is. Besides, if one of his friends had died because they were driving drunk, he’d never forgive himself since he had the chance to get them home safely. I believe he had no regrets when he died. He got the ones he loved and cared about home safely and that’s all that matters to him.”

Sam couldn’t watch anymore and left, tormented to see the two women he loved dearly so broken.

Sam had kept a close eye on the girl, watching as she struggled to come in terms with his death, especially after his mom had told her his plans of marrying her. But his time was almost up. He had under 24 hours left on earth and She needed to say his final goodbye. He couldn’t believe his luck when the Grim Reaper gave him a deal. Or maybe luck wasn’t exactly the word he’d use.

Sam stood off to the side of the crowded restaurant, watching his love waiting on table after table. But then a cloaked figure approached him. Sam knew exactly who he was. His voice still haunted Sam even after so much time had passed.

“Sam Blaire,” the Grim Reaper called out in that same, creepy way the first time the pair had met.

Sam felt his heart drop. His time was up! That was the only reason why the Grim Reaper would be here.

“Y-Yes?”

The Grim Reaper looked him up and down. “I have a … proposition for you.”

Sam raised an eyebrow at this. “What is it?”

“Simple,” the grim reaper said, leaning against one of the walls. “You have roughly 48 hours left here on earth. I’m going to let you spend your last 24 hours being able to be touched and seen by one person.”

Sam’s eyes widened as he straightened out. It all seemed to good to be true. But then he got suspicious. “What’s the catch?”

The Grim Reaper just smiled, malice intent underlying that smile. “Your soul will spend all of eternity in hell.”

Sam gasped, not knowing what choice he should make. On one hand, he can finally show and tell Layla how much he loves her. On the other hand, he’ll go to hell.

“No need to rush making a choice,” the Grim Reaper said as he turned on his heel. “I’ll find you just before your last 24 hours are left. Then you can tell me your decision.” He then vanished in a cloud of smoke much like the last time, leaving Sam feeling confused once more.

Sam watched as Layla woke up, sitting up in her bed as she stretched. He was still unsure about whether or not he made the right choice, but at that moment, he didn’t care. He watched as she froze, turning her head as her hair whipping her face. Layla stared at Sam, not believing her eyes. “Sam?”

He nodded his head, moving close to her as he allowed her to touch him, her hand grazing over his body as she tried to grasp the fact that the man she loved, the man that she had thought died, was right here in front of you.

“B-But you were dead!” she shouted as she gripped his arm. He nodded his head, pulling the small girl into his body.

“I am. But I’m given this one last chance to say my goodbyes.”

She stared at him, her eyes twinkling with unshed tears. “Oh Sam,” she just muttered as she hugged the man as tightly as she could, sobbing into his chest. “I miss you so much.”

“As do I,” Sam said as he carefully laid the girl on the bed and cuddled with her. They spent hours and hours talking and cuddling, just enjoying each other’s company for the last time. But as the final hour dawned on them, Sam stared at Layla with sad eyes. He had to tell her. He couldn’t hold her back.

“Layla,” he whispered, cupping her face as he looked at her, trying desperately to imprint her image into his mind forever. “I … I’ll never see you again.”

“We’ll be together one day. One day, when I join the dead, we’ll be together again, right?”

Sam shook his head, not sure how he could tell her of his demise. “I … We’ll never go to the same place.”

She blinked, grasping his hand. “What are you talking about?”

He sighed, tightening his grip on her as he tried to find the words to tell her. “I … I’m going to hell. I made a deal with the devil and now, we’ll never be together.”

Layla gasped, somehow clinging tighter to Sam. “Sam … no, no Sam. Please, please tell me you didn’t,” she begged, though she knew he was serious as she looked up into his eyes. She sobbed, hitting her fist weakly against his chest. “Why? Why do you do all these stupid things?”

“I guess love makes people do stupid things,” he said, pressing his lips to her forehead.

“But now we can never be together. Don’t you get it?” she cried. He tightened his grip on her, trying to calm her down.

“We were never meant to be together Layla. Don’t you see? You’re still alive, you have your whole life ahead of you. I’m dead. You can’t go living your life in love with a dead man. That’s why I took this chance to see you one last time. You need to find someone else to love, someone who you can spend your life with.”

“No!” She screamed, tears cascading down her face. “I loved you Sam. And I still love you. And I can’t control how I feel. I don’t care if you’re dead or if you’re going to hell. I’ll find a way for us to be together. We can find a way to be together.”

He shook his head, sad eyes looking down on desperate ones. “You know we can’t. Not after what I just did. Where you’re going is somewhere I gave up on, a place that won’t let me in anymore. I can’t let you live a damned life for eternity for me.” As she protested and screamed, he kissed her forehead like the Grim Reaper had instructed and watched as her wild eyes slowly darkened as she fell unconscious. He turned to the Grim Reaper and winced at him. “Can I ask for one favor?” Sam asked the cloaked man.

“Depends on what it is.”

“Can you … can you make it so my existence never existed in her life?”

The grim reaper was silent. Sam waited patiently for him to answer, thought the longer he took, the more anxious he became.

Finally, the grim reaper nodded his head. “It will be done at the stroke of midnight. But now, it’s time for you to go.”

He nodded his head, turning to the girl cradles in his arm as he looked at her for the last time. He wiped her tears from her face and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. With a look towards the other man, both Sam and the Grim Reaper vanished in a puff of smoke.

When the clock hit midnight, Layla relaxed as all her memories of Sam were erased, making it seem as though she never met the love of her life.