Pitter Patter on the Roof Top
Pitter Patter on the Roof Top
Zack Merrick stared out of the van window, it was raining and it was well past three in the morning and yet he wasn't the least bit tired. Alex was in the back snoring loudly, as were Jack and Rian. They were on their way back to Maryland for a week at home; the longest they'd spent at home since Christmas. A photograph fell from between his fingers on to the floor that was cascaded with empty take-out boxes and pop cans. He'd be going home for the first time since she'd died - Emily's memory still ran fresh through his mind.
"Zack! Come on," Emily laughed running through the streets that were filled with the mid-summer rainwater. It was still raining steadily as Zack ran after her hoping to God they didn't get phenmonia from the cold rain.
Emily's naturally auburn hair was soaked, a smile spread across her face. They ran through the streets towards their homes which were barely a block away from each other on the same street.
Zack shook the memory from his head, that was one of the last times he'd seen Emily laughing. He picked up the photo from the floor, one of the last ones they'd taken together. Emily's hair had been pulled straight from it's natural curl her arms were wrapped tightly around his neck, his around her waist. The two of them wore smiles that were practically identical. It was hard to believe that in all their happiness together, her friends didn't want her dating him.
Rian stirred slightly beside him, readjusting his position in his sleep before shoving his face into his pillow once again and resuming his sleep. Zack hadn't gotten a lot of sleep in the months that had passed since Emily's death. His emergency flight home in the middle of a tour in the fall of that same year that they'd been running through the summer rain together was probably the hardest thing he'd ever endured.
Emily had always been popular and loved, that showed at her funeral where nearly two hundred people had attended. Her family wasn't large and a majority of the people there had once attended Towson High School or Dulaney High School. Zack stood alone, he didn't want anyone to talk to him as he watched her mahogany coffin being lowered into the ground. Soon he was the only person left at her grave site, even the friends that had so dissaproved of their relationship were gone.
He sat on the ground for a long time, staring at the covered hole in the ground. The dirt was loosely packed and Zack sat right in front of the granite stone bearing her name, birth and death date with the words: 'And I know once the clouds shed their tears...I know that I'll be okay', a lyric from Umbrellas and Elephants - one of her favorite songs by Cinematic Sunrise. He recalled sitting there for hours until rain poured down on him and his mother had eventually come looking to bring him home.
Flyzik dropped him off at his house at around four that morning, asking if he was alright while Zack grabbed his bags from the back of the van.
"I'm fine," Zack replied, "I'll see you later man."
"If you're sure," Matt nodded before getting back in the driver's seat of the van and leaving to drop the rest of the band and crew off. Zack unlocked his front door dropping his bags in the living room before leaving the house and walking the familiar path to the cemetary. He wasn't even sure if he was allowed in the cemetary at such an ungodly hour, but at this point he just wanted to feel like Emily was somewhere near him.
The grass had grown over her grave site, which didn't surpirse Zack it had been nine months since she'd been burried there. There was a boquet of old flowers that Zack knew weren't her favourite - she liked lillies, tiger lillies specifically and the boquet which were wilted and dried by now making Zack assume they'd been there quite some time had once been tulips.
His calloused fingers ran over the engravement of her name, before he leaned his forehead against the stone. It was cold compared to the temperature outside, foot steps pulled him away from his trance. He'd faintly realized that the sun had come up hours ago, there stood the girl that had once been Emily's best friend, Rylie.
"Zack, I didn't know you were back in town."
"I just got here," he replied. Had his voice always been so hoarse all of a sudden?
"I didn't expect anyone to be here this early," she said standing beside him.
Zack nodded, not exactly knowing what to say to the comment.
"I loved her," Zack said finally after five minutes of silence between the two, Rylie glanced up at him, "I still do."
"I know. She loved you too. I'm sorry, about everything I did to try and break the two of you up."
Zack nodded aknowledging that he'd heard her.
"You'll never know what Emily and I had," Zack finally said, "You weren't her friend. If you were, you'd know her favourite flowers were tiger lillies. If you were, you'd
have accepted me simply because she loved me."
"Zack-"
He didn't say anything more but walked towards the exit. He didn't want to get into a fight with one of her 'friends', halfway home a storm came up, the kind that lifted the humidity from the air. He began softly singing the lyrics that Emily loved best as the rain poured down. Zack would never feel for someone the way he felt about Emily, he knew this much. But for some reason, the visit to the cemetary had brough some closure to him, Zack was ready to get on with his life. And he did.
"Zack! Come on," Emily laughed running through the streets that were filled with the mid-summer rainwater. It was still raining steadily as Zack ran after her hoping to God they didn't get phenmonia from the cold rain.
Emily's naturally auburn hair was soaked, a smile spread across her face. They ran through the streets towards their homes which were barely a block away from each other on the same street.
Zack shook the memory from his head, that was one of the last times he'd seen Emily laughing. He picked up the photo from the floor, one of the last ones they'd taken together. Emily's hair had been pulled straight from it's natural curl her arms were wrapped tightly around his neck, his around her waist. The two of them wore smiles that were practically identical. It was hard to believe that in all their happiness together, her friends didn't want her dating him.
Rian stirred slightly beside him, readjusting his position in his sleep before shoving his face into his pillow once again and resuming his sleep. Zack hadn't gotten a lot of sleep in the months that had passed since Emily's death. His emergency flight home in the middle of a tour in the fall of that same year that they'd been running through the summer rain together was probably the hardest thing he'd ever endured.
Emily had always been popular and loved, that showed at her funeral where nearly two hundred people had attended. Her family wasn't large and a majority of the people there had once attended Towson High School or Dulaney High School. Zack stood alone, he didn't want anyone to talk to him as he watched her mahogany coffin being lowered into the ground. Soon he was the only person left at her grave site, even the friends that had so dissaproved of their relationship were gone.
He sat on the ground for a long time, staring at the covered hole in the ground. The dirt was loosely packed and Zack sat right in front of the granite stone bearing her name, birth and death date with the words: 'And I know once the clouds shed their tears...I know that I'll be okay', a lyric from Umbrellas and Elephants - one of her favorite songs by Cinematic Sunrise. He recalled sitting there for hours until rain poured down on him and his mother had eventually come looking to bring him home.
Flyzik dropped him off at his house at around four that morning, asking if he was alright while Zack grabbed his bags from the back of the van.
"I'm fine," Zack replied, "I'll see you later man."
"If you're sure," Matt nodded before getting back in the driver's seat of the van and leaving to drop the rest of the band and crew off. Zack unlocked his front door dropping his bags in the living room before leaving the house and walking the familiar path to the cemetary. He wasn't even sure if he was allowed in the cemetary at such an ungodly hour, but at this point he just wanted to feel like Emily was somewhere near him.
The grass had grown over her grave site, which didn't surpirse Zack it had been nine months since she'd been burried there. There was a boquet of old flowers that Zack knew weren't her favourite - she liked lillies, tiger lillies specifically and the boquet which were wilted and dried by now making Zack assume they'd been there quite some time had once been tulips.
His calloused fingers ran over the engravement of her name, before he leaned his forehead against the stone. It was cold compared to the temperature outside, foot steps pulled him away from his trance. He'd faintly realized that the sun had come up hours ago, there stood the girl that had once been Emily's best friend, Rylie.
"Zack, I didn't know you were back in town."
"I just got here," he replied. Had his voice always been so hoarse all of a sudden?
"I didn't expect anyone to be here this early," she said standing beside him.
Zack nodded, not exactly knowing what to say to the comment.
"I loved her," Zack said finally after five minutes of silence between the two, Rylie glanced up at him, "I still do."
"I know. She loved you too. I'm sorry, about everything I did to try and break the two of you up."
Zack nodded aknowledging that he'd heard her.
"You'll never know what Emily and I had," Zack finally said, "You weren't her friend. If you were, you'd know her favourite flowers were tiger lillies. If you were, you'd
have accepted me simply because she loved me."
"Zack-"
He didn't say anything more but walked towards the exit. He didn't want to get into a fight with one of her 'friends', halfway home a storm came up, the kind that lifted the humidity from the air. He began softly singing the lyrics that Emily loved best as the rain poured down. Zack would never feel for someone the way he felt about Emily, he knew this much. But for some reason, the visit to the cemetary had brough some closure to him, Zack was ready to get on with his life. And he did.