While You Were Sleeping
She never even knew I was there. An orangish-black glow, generated from a crackling fire lit inside the handsome, marble fireplace, danced across her face, as she lay stretched across the couch. As I knelt over her sleeping form, I couldn't help brushing my hand against her cheek. She stirred slightly, inhaling sharply. At the sound of someone coming down the stairs, I moved towards the shadows, though I didn't need too.
Quietly he entered the room, pulling his robe tighter. With a sigh, he sank into a nearby seat, gripping his unruly raven hair. It didn't matter how he tried he couldn't understand her. She had always been so friendly, too friendly, to everyone. There never was anything in her eyes that indicated she felt even a fraction of what he felt.
Although all three of us had grown up together, nothing had ever been said between us. People always assumed she was interested in one of us. If it hadn't been for the accident, I had planned to ask her out that night, but now I'll never know if she felt anything for me. It didn't what happened, she had always been there for us, her love unrequited and unconditional.
A muffled moan broke the silence.
With a start, he turned and saw her stretched out across the couch, an arm tucked under her head as a pillow while her other hand rested in the middle of a book, the page half turned. Her chest rose and fell with slow and even breaths. Shoulder length, black hair lay sprawled out beneath her. As he came closer, he knew she had been reading The Complete Work of Edgar Allen Poe. As a ritual she had begun in high school, she read a story every night before bed. Although none of us had been popular, it didn't bother her. It was one of the many aspects he and I admired about her. She was happy with who she was.
The night before the crash, when he and I had stayed up talking about a girl, I didn't realize it at the time, but we had both fallen in love with the same girl. Then the following day, while driving home, a semi broadsided us. I lost control and the car rolled off the side of the road. I don't remember much, except for her screams, the car overturning, the shattering glass, and the pain, before darkness claimed me.
When I woke, I saw her crying while he stood holding her in his arms. I started towards them, but that's when I became aware of the flashing lights and the paramedics lifting someone into the back of their truck. My stomach tightened, as I got closer. Although there was an oxygen mask obscuring my view, I knew it was me.
I had died in the crash.
Even though the three of us shared a tight bond, I think she was the one who my death affected the most. Because he stayed by her side, helping her adjust, I think that's when their relationship shifted. Two years later, they both were accepted in to Hayward. I watched as several times while finishing their homework, he had tried to tell her how he felt, but somehow he never could go through with it.
She stirred again. As he knelt beside the couch, he gently brushed back a fallen strand of hair; instinctively she moved closer. Lightly, he brushed his lips against hers, before standing and with one more longing look, he walked back to his dorm.
A moment later, her eyes opened. Her expression wistful, she stared at the place where he had stood, her fingers touching her lips. If only she had had the courage to return his kiss and tell him that she felt the same.
Stop living in the past, I thought silently as she stood, picked up her book, and headed towards her dorm. A moment later I heard her knocking on his door and when he opened it, she told him she needed to tell him something. I smiled as she unexpectedly wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. When they drew apart, he looked confused.
"I heard you what you said while I was sleeping."
A/N: This is my first attempt at writing a story for this category. I'm curious; can anyone guess which characters are being represented? I'd love to hear from all of you. Please R&R and let me know what you thought.