Hey! Im back. So sorry I took so long but I discontinued "A Pirate's Life for Me", so I'm sorry to the fans of that story. Don't worry, I might put it back up again when I'm finished with it. Thank you for your patience and I hope you enjoy this story.
Rated M for mature for a reason.
Disclaimer: Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko and DIC. This is only a fanfic.
She couldn't do it anymore. But she also couldn't leave him. He was perched on the edge of a bridge calling out her name. All the news stations must have been there. The helicopters roared above her but all she could hear was the fast thud of her heart and it seemed like everything was moving in slow motion.
She was standing underneath the bridge, staring up at him while he was looking down at her. There was an angry look in his eyes, mixed with despair and pleading.
"Serena!"Alan, her recently ex-d boyfriend, yelled. "Tell them! Tell them you love me and promised to be with me for the rest our lives. Save me!" And that was the problem. Serena knew that if she didn't save him, it would be all her fault if he jumped off the bridge. But there was another problem. She couldn't tell him she loved him. She just couldn't.
Being in an abusive relationship for 2 years had taken its toll on her. Her self-esteem had dropped, she had rejected her friends' support, she had stopped any contact with her family, and she had stayed cooped up in an apartment with him just so she could be bullied around to follow his will. Well, not anymore. She, Serena Tsukino, was going to live life to the fullest.
Her surprising courage to leave him had come when her parents called and Alan had picked up. At the time, she was cleaning up the house for a gathering of friends.
Friends. Yeah right. Her friends hadn't even been invited, it was only Alan's friends who were coming to this gathering. They were as mean and abusive as he was, verbally telling her her faults. Well, Alan had picked up the phone and she picked up the other line.
She could hear her mother and father asking him if they could speak to Serena. "Sorry, she doesn't live here. There is no one I know of that name," he had said.
And just like that, he hung up. Just like that, Serena didn't feel like a person anymore. She felt as if she had disappeared, with Alan's words. As if she was gone from everyone's reach and she knew she had let their relationship come too far.
At night, at the gathering, she publicly announced that she was going to leave Alan. She was prepared for all the insults hurled at her for leaving him, but she was not prepared for the calm smile Alan had placed on his lips.
"Of course you're gonna leave me,"he had said as if it was a joke. Then everyone had started laughing. At her. She had stormed out, coming back the next day while Alan was at work to pick her all her belongings and leave. To cut him out of her life, and yet here she was. Serena was ready for a new start.
Since she didn't have her own apartment to stay at, she called her best friend Mina, who without pause had agreed to let Serena stay at her place until she figured out where to go on from there. It had brought tears to her eyes, how forgiving her friend was.
And there were tears in her eyes now. But not from gratitude. These tears were from a pain far worse than Serena had imagined. When she was a child, she figured she would have her fairy tale romance. Somewhere, Sometime in her life, all those dreams had disappeared.
As she stood there, she could barely keep staring at him. How was it that even near his death, he was able to ruin her life? She didn't want this. She didn't want to be trapped, DAMMIT! Why couldn't he just leave her alone. She thought it would be hard to leave him, but now she knew it was hard for him to leave her.
"Im ready to jump Serena! Hurry up!" Alan yelled. A smug look entered his eyes as though he expected her to forgive him. Just how she expected to forgive him. And then something unexpected happened. A flash of light flew through the bridge and her arms closed in on her. She fell to the floor with a gasp, having her breath torn out of her lungs.There were two crashes, one from the waves near the bridge and the other one from the lightning from above. The waves succeeded in expelling the lightning, but one flashed right on top of the bridge, breaking it apart into two pieces.
But surprisingly, the bridges remained in place, with no visible damages except the deep separation between the middle. Alan looked frantic but he still wouldn't budge."Come on Serena, I don't have much more time," and with that said he lifted one foot and arm over the bridge. No. Serena's eyes overflowed with tears. He had no right to be punishing her.
So what, let him die, he deserves it, said a part of her mind. And then it felt like everything went backwards, she was on the floor again, clutching herself, the bridge was together again, the cars on the bridge were still there and the people weren't shocked. The only thing that remained the same was Alan's bargain with death and his arm and leg swung over the bridge.
Then she saw something at the corner of her eyes. There was man standing near her, holding his hand out for her. Trying to support her. He looked like he had tear streaks down his face. His eyes were a deep shade of blue and his dark hair was rustled by the wind. And in that instance, she clicked with him. She felt as though he could feel her pain and in that moment, it was enough.
She didn't need to think she was worthless. She knew she wasn't. But her wounds were still fresh and she was content that this man was able to stand beside her while she was forced to make this decision.
Slowly Serena stood up, but she didn't budge. She would have to let Alan take this one. She wasn't cruel but her choice was made. It was either feel this pain for a moment or another lifetime if she stayed with Alan.
She was tired of feeling sad and she was tired of feeling sorry for herself. Yes, she was aware that in this span of a few minutes all she could think about was her feelings. But that didn't make her selfish, it made her care.
"Don't I deserve more?" She asked the stranger beside her. Then, she saw everything happening at once. She saw the man nod at her, she saw Alan jump off the bridge, she saw her parents sitting at their table, she saw Mina with her new boyfriend, she saw Rei in her fast racecar, she saw Ami with her patients, and she saw Lita at her home gardening.
No, Serena wasn't delusional. But she knew that these things were going on, odd wasn't it?
She heard someone scream and too late found it was her. Somehow Alan's shirt got stuck on a branch as he fell and that eased the blow and pain of the fall. Still, his head started to bleed, and his arms were stuck at a weird angle. The paramedics rushed towards him as well as the new reporters.
She ran towards him and everthing felt like a movie in slow motion. She was reaching towards him as the news reporters were talking, and everyone was talking pictures. She was pushed aside by someone when Alan got into the emergency van.
The same person who had pushed her now held her in her arms, but she flinched away, not ready for anyone to comfort her. Next thing, the shock was too much for her and darkness overwhelmed her as she fainted in order to get away from this outburst of emotions.
"Is she alive?" Lita asked as she prodded Serena with her finger. "hey! Lita, thats rude! What if she can hear you?" Rei hissed. All the girls sat in a group together in a circle around the bed which Serena was resting on in Rei's old shrine.
"Well, after all she's been through shes not gonna care what Lita has to say," Ami explained logically. 'But still, you're right shes been through a lot and we shouldn't disturb her," Mina said sadly.
Just then, Luna's old cat jumped on Serena's bed, as if expecting something. After Serena had moved in with Alan, Alan had thrown Luna out the door, claiming that he was allergic to cats. Pssh, yeah right, Mina thought. She knew from the beginning that Alan was no good and he was a control freak. She just didn't have the heart to tell Serena because it was her after all that had introduced him to Serena. None of the girls ever doubted Mina's uncanny eye for seting up the right couples together.
She still felt guilty. Let her rephrase that. She always felt guilty. But the girls would always reassure her that it wasn't her fault. It was his fault for deceiving her. She had met him and he had been so nice to her, an instant friend and she thought he would click with Serena so she had introduced both of them. Look at the result now, he had caused Serena more pain than what he was worth.
"Hey look! Shes awake!" Lita exclaimed with her eyes wide open. And yes, she was. As soon as all of them crouched near her, Serena bolted upright from the bed. All the recent happenings crashed into her mind, making her rememember.
"No!" Serena yelled, clutching her head, eyes wild. Then, she grabbed Mina and brought her nose to nose, "say it's not true." 'It is true, Sere," Mina whispered. "And for good too! He deserved every broken bone in his body that he got!" Lita yelled. "Oh god, how bad is it," Serena said as she turned to Ami.
"Not as severe, if the branch hadn't caught him he would have been dead, but for now he's in intensive care suffering a few broken ribs, a concussion, and, as Lita said, broken bones." Ami explained. " Do you remember everything? Its better to talk about it. " Rei asked. At that, Serena looked down and clenched her finger tight. 'Too early," Ami whispered harshly to Rei.
Serena then looked out the window and whispered, "I do remember the stranger."