The sound of the heavy rain pounding against the roof of Bonnibel's house was oddly relaxing as she cleared old boxes from her closet. She didn't know what half of them even contained; judging by the thin layer of dust on top of them, they'd been here a while. Maybe even a few years.
She brushed the dust off the first one with her fingers and slowly lifted the lid of the box. If she was being completely honest with herself, she'd expected more. Not just a box full of papers and junk.
At least she thought it was papers and junk. When she pulled out one of the items to examine it, her heart stopped.
It was a photograph of her and her ex-girlfriend.
She stared at it, hard to believe that this was where she left everything after Marceline had gone; collecting dust in the back of her closet. Marceline had meant so much more to her than that.
A watery smile lifted the corners of her mouth as she stared at the picture. It'd been taken almost three years ago; they both looked so happy and were looking at each other with fuzzy smiles full of the love they'd never confessed, and it was hard to believe that only a week after Marceline had given her the photograph, they were torn apart.
All because a stupid guy decided to drive drunk and rammed into her girlfriend's car, killing her instantly.
She felt an ache in her chest, but that was nothing compared to how she'd felt when Marceline's twin brother Marshall had told her the news. She didn't think she'd ever be happy again; there was just a dull, empty feeling in her chest everywhere she went. She still felt it, especially when she woke up on a morning and Marceline wasn't there to greet her with a lopsided, toothy grin and soft kisses.
Bonnibel sighed, turning the picture over in her hands. She couldn't bear to look at it any longer.
And when she noticed Marceline's familiar, messy printing on the back of the photo, she felt like bursting into tears.
I love you, Bonnie.
She bit on her lip and her fingers grazed across the words Marceline had never said, squeezing her eyes closed tight. Marceline had deserved so much more.
God, did Bonnie love her too. And she didn't ever think she'd be able to stop.