C'est la Mort

They could all picture it like it happened yesterday. The memory was one that was burned deep into their minds, forever embedded. It was like a bad tattoo almost, always there, always a reminder. Of the twelve people in the room, not one could ever forget that memory, not even for a day. It was always there, especially when they looked at her.

She was broken. It was painfully obvious. No matter how hard she tried to hide it, she was dead inside. Her once bright, lively eyes, were now dead and lifeless. There was no indication of anything left in them. Her tan skin was paled, due to the lack of sunlight she got. Her blonde hair was growing out far too much, showing her natural brunette roots. She didn't care about anything anymore.

When any one of the twelve looked at Caris Neel, their hearts all broke. She tried to fake it all. She tried to laugh and smile with them, but they all knew her far too well. They all knew she was faking every line, every word, every smile, and every laugh. The Caris they once knew was gone now, buried deep into the ground.

John O'Callaghan had nightmares every night of that past memory. The nightmares were so real, so vivid, that it felt like they were happening all over again. He could remember the way she screamed and cried, like she was being tortured. He remembered the sound of her body being smacked into the hardwood ground. Her sobs broke through the eardrums of all twelve people, watching as she shattered before them.

The night it happened, everyone had been over at Tim Kirch's house. There was all five members of The Maine: John O'Callaghan, Jared Monaco, Kennedy Brock, Pat Kirch, and Garrett Nickelsen. Eric Halvorsen was there, Vito and Max were there. Austin Gibbs and Joel Kanitz were there. Jared's girlfriend, Tessa was there. Lastly, Caris Neel was there.

Nick Santino had left. He went go on a beer run, being the only one sober enough to trust behind the wheel of a car. Caris had insisted on going with him, so he wasn't alone, but he didn't allow her to. He told her stay there. With a long kiss on her lips, he murmured that he loved her more than life, and left.

Caris and Nick had been together for five years. Furthermore, they had been friends since they were thirteen. Only five years prior, had they finally admitted their feelings to each other. Five months before, Nick had proposed, on their five year anniversary. They were to be married in three months.

Once Nick was gone, Caris was partnered up with John O'Callaghan for a game of beer pong. They were playing against Joel Kanitz and Eric Halvorsen. Caris and John won the first game, while Joel and Eric won the second games. The four played a final game to dub the winner, which was John and Caris, of course.

By that time, Caris realized her boyfriend wasn't back yet, which worried her. She called him multiple times, only for the ringing to stop in his voicemail.

John reassured her that he probably just had to go to several different places, since it was so late and most gas stations and liquor stores were closed already. After his reassurance, another half hour went by. Caris tried calling again, but still no answer. Just as she was about to call again, John's phone rang.

He answered it, saying he didn't know the number. "Yes, this is him," John murmured into the phone. "What?" he asked, his eyes wide. John's face paled as he looked at Caris. "No, no... thank you. You, too. Goodnight."

"Who was it?" Caris asked, fear erupting inside of her. John sat down on the couch, telling Caris to sit next to him. By that time, everyone stopped what they were doing, watching the two interact. "What's going on, John?"

Opening his mouth to speak, nothing came out at all. He tried several times, before the words finally spilled from his lips. The room went silent at his confession.

Instantaneously, tears spilled from Caris' tear ducts. She sobbed loudly, repeatedly screaming that it was impossible. She shook her head and refused to believe it. As she screamed out, more and more tears fell, like a river during a flood.

When no one said anything, she stood up quickly, trying to leave, but she fell to the ground. Her body slammed against the floor so hard, that everyone in the room winced at the noise. Joel rushed over to her, pulling her into his arms. She sobbed louder, screaming out as if she were literally in torturous pain. He tried to soothe her, but nothing worked. She wouldn't calm down.

Her frail body pulled from Joel's and she tried to escape, but her body gave out on her again. Her knees and elbows slammed into the ground because the tears in her eyes made it near impossible to see. Joel tried to go to her again, but John stopped him. He went to Caris, yanking her body delicately into his lap.

John murmured her name, trying to calm her, but she screamed at him to shut up. He pressed his lips into a thin line, running his hand through her hair.

"You're a liar!" she screamed at John. "I hate you! You're a liar!" Her fists began to beat against his chest, pounding over and over again as she called him a liar over and over again. He took all the blows to his chest, since it honestly didn't hurt him too much. She was weak at that moment. "He's not dead!" she shouted.

As she yelled the phrase, Eric stormed out of the house, the front door slamming shut behind him. Jared followed him, which caused Tessa to follow him. Garrett left the room, going to the kitchen and Austin followed him. Joel was on the couch with his head in his hands. Pat was staring blankly, not saying a word while Kennedy stood next to him, silent tears occassionally falling from his eyes. Vito and Max finally went to the kitchen with Garrett and Austin, more than likely having to get another beer with them.

Caris slammed her fists against John's body one last time before finally collapsing into a fit of tears.

Nick had pulled up to a gas station, not seeing the figure dressed in all black inside the store. The man working the cash register was pulling all the money from the drawer while the robber had a gun pointed at him.

The paramedics said Nick's phone had a photo album pulled up, the picture showing being one of him and Caris. Nick had been too busy looking at his phone, to see the robber inside. When he stepped inside, the robber took one look at Nick on his phone, then instantly shot him, thinking at he was calling the police, when in reality, all he was doing was looking at a picture of himself and the love of his life.

The robber's luck was sour because at the same moment as he pulled the trigger, a police man had been pulling up the gas station to put gas in his car. He heard the gun shot and called for back up immediately. Not even five minutes later, the robber was arrested and the paramedics had Nick in an ambulance, but it was too late.

At the police station, the man robbing the gas station had his head in his hands. His name was Calvin Owens. He had told the officer that he didn't mean to kill him. He meant to aim for his leg or his arm, he didn't intend to hit him straight in the heart. Calvin said that he heard the last words of Nick. He said that he barely murmured out a single sentence. The words were "Caris, my baby, I love you."

That was the night that everything changed for Caris Neel. Her whole life was stopped and reversed to a new path, one that didn't include the love of her life, or at least who she thought was.