Holding onto his picture, she felt a tear slip down her check before a faint smile flickered across her face. Turning her eyes to the ceiling above her, she crashed into her sea of creamy yellow and orange blankets.
It was nice to finally feel again.
For the past five years, she'd felt so incomplete. She was broken, always wearing a half-hearted smile on her face. Her deep blue eyes always flickered with sorrow. She saw ghosts of a future she desperately wanted.
For so long, all she heard was silence. And every melody was meaningless. Life was stringing her along. She really was incomplete.
That was until she heard him.
Although the others denied it, his voice was unmistakable.
For so many years, she would listen to it across the Atlantic as static crackled softly behind his words. She'd stay up all night just to tell him how her research fared. And she'd return the favor a listen to his wagged breathes as he mourned the loss of yet another soldier.
It was their story. The doctor and the soldier. She joined him on the field from time to time, but, more often than she liked, she was stuck behind a desk. Not that she minded for her mind loved to tinker with new ideas and concepts. And it wasn't to see that she never saw him because that was far from true. They saw each other all the time, especially during the raw hours of morning when she'd moan his name beneath her breath.
Holding onto his dog tags that she wore around her neck, she blinked away her tears.
I knew you'd never leave me.
Eyes closing, she attempted to find slumber. However, just knowing he was out there seemed to make it all the harder.
Tossing and turning, she found it impossible to even think about sleep. She had to see him. She had to know what he looked like, felt like. To know if he still loved her just as much as she loved him!
Reaching for her jacket and slipping on some flats, the blonde doctor made a bee-line for the door. She didn't need her keys, her phone, her wallet. All she needed in life was him. Everything else was meaningless, trivial.
For five years, she was solo singing. She was left to sing a tragedy. But now? But now she could write her happily ever after Disney fairy tale. They could finish their long song.
Running down the cobblestone street, she flew past sleeping structures. Not a creature was awake at this early hour. She felt free and light, as if she could fly! Nothing could stop her! She was finally coming home!
With each twist and turn down the road, she found her heart quicken. Her cheeks turned a deep red color as her nerves took hold. What would she do?! He'd been dead to her for five years. Should she scold him? Berate him? Attack him?
No.
No, she loved him.
She was beaming, grinning from ear to ear. He was alive and that was all that mattered. Whatever excuse he had to hide his face was his own. She didn't care. So long as he was there, she couldn't care less what his reasons were. She just wanted to dance to his heartbeat. She's put his song on repeat and fill her life with the joy she'd since lost.
Bang-bang-bang.
She slammed her fist against his door.
Please be here. Please be aw-
Her heart stopped as her body froze. A beat of sweat formed just above her eyebrow. She felt cold. Numb. Silence engulfed her.
The doorknob moved. It twisted to the side.
What will he say? What will he do?
The darkness between them soon turned into light as the door opened.
She wasted no time. "Jack!" she leaped forward. Fumbling, stumbling, she fell into his arms.
He uttered not a word, which caused her to swallow the lump that formed in her throat. "I'm sorry if it's all too much but-"
His arms tightened around her shoulders, erasing the gap between their bodies. His gesture confirmed everything. He still loved her too.
Weak to his touch, her head laid softly against his neck. Nose pressed against the protruding vein, she smiled while tears started to roll down her cheeks.
"I thought I had run out of luck. I-I never thought I'd fine this feeling. For so long, I've been living in silence. But now..."
His chest shook beneath her, which caused her brow to hitch. Was he... laughing?
A light chuckle pursed his lips. "You haven't changed a bit, Angel." His voice was smooth and soft, just like she'd remembered.
Awestruck, her shimmering baby blues looked up into his shadowy face. To hear him say her name was truly magical. It was like she was listening to a symphony. It was like a love song on the radio.
"Will you hold me tight and not let go?" she whimpered with a hint of fear evident in her voice.
Jack's grip shifted. Hoisting her up into his arms, he spun them around until they were seated on the dusty chair in the middle of the empty living room.
"Even if you asked to leave, I'd refuse to let you go," his stubbly chin tickled her neck. Two little pecks followed, which caused Angela to smile.
"Good," she cooed while stroking his soft pale-colored hair. "Because I don't want to leave. I don't want to lose you again."
"Don't you..." Silence fell between them. His body seemed to stiffen. He was... nervous? "Don't you hate me...?" he had to ask.
"I you want the truth..." she bit her lip before falling silent. What would she say?
Without much thought, she just spoke from the heart. "Every day you're here, I'm healing. For so long, I would cry myself to sleep because I thought I had lost you. But now that you're here, I'm not going to waste another tear on fears. You're here. That's all I've ever wanted, all I've asked for. How could I be mad? My prayers have finally been answered." Angela's head fell against his beating chest. "All I ever wanted was to hear your heartbeat so I could feel complete."
Angela felt his body shift. He was sobbing silently. Relieved that she didn't hate him. He was healing too. They needed this. They needed each other.
Pressing her lips against his jaw, she held her kiss there for a long while. "I missed this," she cooed.
His forehead fell against hers. Angela felt him smirk. "Heh, glad to know our melody is timeless."
Finding his hand, she squeezed it. "I'll always dance to your melody." She nuzzled his chin while her heart skipped a beat. His heartbeat was the symphony her ears has long sought out.
Body melting into hers, she felt her fears slip away. Tonight, tonight she could be whole.
Tonight, she could sleep peacefully for she was listening to his sweet, sweet melody.