I Won't See You Tonight

"Come on Syn, have a drink!" Johnny yelled as Brian took a drink of his Coke backstage.

"No. Marissa can't drink, so I'm not either," he said, declining the offer for the fifth time now. I leaned over to rest my head on his shoulder, and he stroked my hair.

"Aww how cute," Zacky cooed at us. "Kiss her!" After he said that, everyone else joined in.

"Only if you want me to," he said staring into my eyes. I smiled, bit my lip and nodded my head. His lips met mine with a soft, sweet kiss and held there for about three seconds.

"Oh, that was wimpy," Jimmy slurred. "Come on, you can do better." Brian looked at me, his eyes apologizing, and kissed me again, but this time more passionate. His soft lips moved slowly against mine, and soon I joined in. I couldn't feel any part of my body. If Brian hadn't been holding me, I might've floated away.

"Holy shit!" I jumped, pulling away as my pocket vibrated. "Umm...sorry guys. I gotta go. My mom's leaving for work and my litter sister is sick." I got up to leave.

"I'll walk you to your car." Brian offered, standing up. He took my hand and guided me through the hallways and out the back door. "How old are your sisters?"

"Paige and Mackenzie are both five."

"Twins. Wow that must be a hassle."

"Yeah it can be, but I love them. Mackenzie has been pretty sick." My mind wandered to an image of her pale, weak form on her bed.

"Aww, well tell her I say hi and I hope she gets better." He was silent for a moment. "Did your other sister that answered the phone tell you anything?"

I giggled. "Just that the boy on the phone said he liked me a lot and he said not to tell me."

"Oh, boy. I bet that freaked you out." He nervously scratched the back of his head with his free hand.

"No, I just thought it was cute how you of all people were scared to say anything to me."

"I can be shy too, you know. I find that with girls I just think are hot, I can tell them they’re hot and it doesn't really matter what they think of me, or if I'm rejected,” he stated simply, honestly.

"Oh, boy,” I muttered and rolled my eyes.

"But if it's a girl I really like and can see myself in a relationship with, then I get shy for a while and try not to mess things up,” he said, this time his voice quieter.

"So, how many girls have you been shy like this with?" I asked after a slight pause.

"Probably two. You and my old girlfriend. With that I was right. We were together for 11 months. But I found out that she had been cheating on me for a little less than half of that time."

"Oh my God, with who?" I wondered. Who could ever cheat on him?

"I don't know. Some guy. He was a Senior, and we were only Freshmen,” he explained bitterly.

"Wow, that long ago?"

"Yeah. It was a week after my grandma died that she left me." My heart sunk.

"I'm so sorry. It must be horrible having all of the people you love get taken away from you like that."

"It's ok. Besides, I have you now, if that's alright?" Was he asking me out? I stood there with a blank look on my face.

"Did you-?" Was all I could manage to squeak out.

"Yes. I did." I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think straight. "Are you ok?"
With that same blank stare I nodded. "Well, do you need some time? I don't want to rush things." I shook my head and looked down. "It's a no isn't it? I never should have asked." He stood there and massaged his eyes.

"Brian?" I stood in front of him, about a foot away.

He looked up. "Yeah?"

"How could anyone in their right mind say no to you?" I smiled and jumped toward him. He caught me in his arms and picked me up, spinning me in a circle.

He put me down, and stared into my eyes. "Marissa." He said quietly.

"Yeah Brian?"

"I-I..." he sighed. "Thanks, you have no idea how much I like you. For two years I was scared to say anything that might scare you away."

"Aww, you would never-" I was cut off by his lips pressing to mine so lightly. Then he brought us a little deeper. But still, it wasn't one of those 'I want some' kisses. It was one of those that I could tell he really liked me. He slowly pulled away.

"You better go take care of Mackenzie and Paige now." Aww he remembered.

"Yeah I suppose. I'll see ya soon?"

"Of course. Bye."

"Bye." I hesitated on getting in. I didn't want to go. I wanted to tell him I loved him, even though it was so early. But what if he didn't say it back? I decided to wait. There's always another day. I got into my car, turned the key in the ignition, and backed out of my spot. I couldn't get him off my mind as I stopped at the light, waiting for it to go green.

I wish I didn't have to go. The light turned green and I began forward, my mind too busy to look before going. I really like him. I wish I would've told him.

Just then a car ran through the stoplight and slammed into the passenger side of my car. Everything went black as I felt myself being thrown from my seat.

Brain's POV

Just as I got to the door I heard the sound of tires screeching and metal crunching. Oh shit, that better not be... I quickly turned around and saw a car sitting in the road. A guy stumbled out seeming to be unhurt.

I looked to the left to see a car upside down in the ditch, but it wasn’t just any car.
"Marissa!" I yelled grabbing my phone from my pocket to dial 911. I heard the others come out behind me.

“Call the cops." I thrust the phone in Matt’s hand and ran to her car. Marissa was laying a few feet from the car. I pulled her close to me as carefully as possible. "Marissa wake up." I brushed her hair from her face. She was covered in blood. Gently, I kissed her lips. "Marissa, please." I closed my eyes as tears started to form.

"Brian." I heard her soft voice whisper almost inaudibly.

"Marissa." I held her face in my hands. "Please hold on. Matt’s getting help."

"Brian." Her voice came out a forced moan.

"Yes?"

"Tell my family... Tell them I'm sor-... I'm sorry I couldn't get home." Her face twisted in agony as she struggled to get the words out.

"Marissa, it's not your fault. You'll make it. Please Marissa." I started to cry again. She reached up, her hand shaking violently. She gently brushed away the tear.

"Brian, I-" she coughed.

"No, no. Breathe baby. You can do it." She stopped and looked me dead in the eye.

"I...love you Brian." She whispered.

"I love you to. With all my heart." With that said, she smiled, and her hand dropped from my face.

"Marissa," I whispered pulling her lifeless body closer to me. The low drone of sirens got closer and closer. Matt ran over to me.

"Oh, God. Brian I-" he broke off, putting his hand on my shoulder. "I called her mom too. She's on her way." The ambulance came wailing around the corner, a lifetime too late. The paramedics jumped out and pulled her away from me. I sat there, crying. Why does this always happen? Whenever I meet someone I truly love, they get taken away from me.

"Marissa?" I heard a women's voice plead. I stood up and turned to see what I guessed was her mom and two little girls, which I took to be her sisters.

"Are you Marissa's mom?" I asked. She nodded and I pulled her into a hug as tears streaked down her face.

"She didn't drink. I figured I should tell you."

"Thank you. And thank you for not letting her feel left out. You are a very kind young man," she croaked.

"You're welcome. And she also told me to tell you she loves you all and is sorry she couldn't be home."

Then she turned away. "Oh, my God, I can't believe she's gone. I never said I loved her. I shouldn't have yelled at her so much. I should have let her do more. It's all my fault."

"It's not your fault,” I told her sternly. She nodded and got taken away to the ambulance to be asked questions. I walked over to the two little girls.

"How are you guys doing?" They didn't say anything, just sniffed and wiped away tears. One, my guess Mackenzie, looked very pale and was wrapped up in her sister's arms. "Your sister was a really cool girl. You were very lucky to have her." Now Paige nodded.

"She took me to the park today. And read us stories."

I nodded. "She told me she loves you guys more than anything. And she's sorry."

"Why's she sorry?" Mackenzie struggled to say.

"I don't know. It wasn't her fault." We were quiet for a while until Paige spoke again.

"Are you the Brian guy she said she liked?"

"I guess."

"Oh. Will you come see us again?" She looks so painfully like her sister.

"Of course," I opened my arms and they crawled over to me. I sat in the grass for what seemed like hours with Paige and Mackenzie sleeping in my arms. I must have dozed off when Zacky came over.

"They're pretty cute. That one looks a lot like her," he said, kneeling down by us and motioning to Paige.

"Yeah. It's gonna be hard seeing them. But I can't leave them after this. I want to take care of them like Marissa did."

"That's good. I'm sorry man. She was a good girl." He stood and walked away. Yeah she was I thought as I replayed our last moments in my head. I will never forget her last words as her life was slowly taken from her.

"I...love you, Brian."

"I love you too, with all my heart."