This story has been in the making for a while, on and off. I also
assumed Luis was 28 so just go with it.
****
Sheridan Crane grumbly got up out of bed. She hadn't been out
side her room in eight days. The only time she ever even
opened the door was to pick up the tray of food Pilar had left for
her.
Everyone begged her to come out, but she had always refused.
Even Julian had asked her to come out. But of course it was so
that it didn't make the family look bad. Luis hadn't asked her to
come out. That probably hurt the most. She knew he would
never speak to her again, and it hurt so much at that realization.
But today was going to be different. She was going to get up
and do something. In fact she knew exactly what she was
going to do and, if she needed to, she would take all day.
Sheridan climbed into her car and drove slowly down the
highway. Luis would be proud at her sense of control behind
the wheel. He had always warned her when it came to driving,
and now that she had finally gotten it right, she wished that he
were there to commend her. But he wasn't, and never would
be.
He had left her for good.
She navigated her vehicle into an empty space at the entrance
to her destination. Steel gates greeted her, but squeaked in
agitation when she pushed them open.
"Someone should grease those." She said aloud. As if it made
any difference, no one paid any attention to her here. They were
all to consumed in their activities.
She walked slowly along the path, admiring the structures that
cluttered the ground around her. Some were huge and she
admired them from afar. For she felt intimidated around them,
and decided to keep her distance.
The path narrowed a bit and came to a clearing. The land here
was hardly used, and she could tell that the structures here
were much newer then the ones at the front. She continued to
walk along the gravel path, but soon came to an abrupt stop.
She turned right and paused then kept going, only this time
cutting across.
When she neared her destination, her heart started to beat
faster. Her pace slowed and her heart quickened. Her paced
slowed to a crawl, before stopping completely. She looked
down at her feet, hoping that the earth would open up and
swallow her whole. She stared just to the left of her left foot.
"Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald. 1972 - 2000." She read aloud. Her heart
felt like it had flat lined and she burst into tears.
******
Nine Days Prior
******
"Wow Luis, really?" The sarcasm dripped off Sheridan Crane's
question like ice cream on a hot day in July. She smiled to let
him know she was only kidding.
She was genuinely happy. She and Luis had discussed their
feelings, but had decided that despite the fact that both wanted
it, chose not to move forward at this time. They had kissed a
few times, but nothing ever got really heated.
She would kiss him whenever she needed to, and vice versa,
but the kisses were to be chaste and innocent. For now. Once
everything in their lives was resolved, then they would move
forward.
At this exact moment, Sheridan had been teasing Luis about
knowing so much about Manta Rays. He had told her that they
were magnificent creatures, which brought with it an obviously
sarcastic remark from Sheridan. It was late and they were
sitting on the couch, lazily flipping through channels when they
came across a presentation on the aforementioned sea
creature.
Sheridan yawned soundlessly, and curled closer to Luis, as he
described the mating habits of the manta ray. When he realized
his audience had dozed out on him, he gently poked the left
side of her cheek.
"Wake up." He whispered. He poked her again and her cheek
twitched. She yawned again and then her eyes fluttered open.
"Hi." She said, her voice muffled with sleep. He smiled at her.
"Hi." He replied. He leaned his head down and she lifted her
ups, and their lips met in a chaste kiss. He pulled back and
smiled again. Then leaned down and kissed her again. His
lips opened above hers and she pulled back.
"Uh-uh." She said shaking her head gently. "Remember,
chaste and innocent." She smiled and he smiled back. He
stood up and held out his hand and she took it willingly. He
walked her to her room and kissed her quickly at the door.
When the door had clicked into place, he then returned to the
couch.
"She'll be the death of me."
***
That night Luis was having a terrible dream. He dreamt that the
drug cartel had hired another hit man and they had come for
Sheridan in the night, and he watched her die.
He whimpered loudly and it stirred Sheridan awake. She
climbed out of bed and went to check on Luis. He was asleep
on her couch, in the throes of a bad dream.
She kneeled before him and held his hand. He physically
calmed and then his eyes fluttered open. She saw pain and
fear in his gaze, and when he muttered her name, it was her
undoing.
He kissed away her tears and then kissed her mouth.
"I should be the one crying and scared, not you. Not my strong
willed beauty. My touchstone and the only one who owns my
heart." His declaration only brought with it more tears, which he
again kissed away.
She sat up and he pulled her down. They kissed and kissed,
the heat escalating to a hilt. Sheridan ultimately broke the kiss,
but she had no intention of stopping what was happening. In
stead she led him to her bedroom. The door closed with an
inaudible click.
***
Sheridan lay in the circle of his arms. Their eyes had stayed
open, and Sheridan had known from that point on that Luis
was in fact the only one she was meant to love. Their joining
had been explosive and Luis had whispered, "Love you, always
and forever." She had kissed him her response, in hopes that
the kiss would convey what words could not.
Luis was asleep and his arms were around Sheridan loosely.
He kissed the nape of her neck and smiled when she
snuggled in closer to him. This was perfect.
Luis heard a noise. He immediately covered Sheridan's body
with his own. She squealed and he covered her mouth with his
hand and told her to be quiet. The fear in her eyes scared him
so much, that he wanted to cry and take it all away.
He heard footsteps approaching the bedroom and Luis
reached for his gun, which lay next to Sheridan's cell phone on
the nightstand. He scrambled off Sheridan and grabbed her
cell phone off the nightstand. He shoved her into the bathroom,
with a responding yelp from her. The door closed and Luis
posed to attack. Luis had only to wait for a moment, before two
men burst through the door.
***
Sheridan hadn't ever been so scared in her whole life. She
dialed the police department the moment the bathroom door
closed. She got a hold of an officer and reported what was
happening. When she hung up the phone, she was in near
hysterics. She grabbed her massive blow drier, as a last-ditch
attempt at a weapon.
Tears had sprung in her eyes, and tumbled down her cheeks
leaving wet trails on her fair skin. She could do nothing but
wait. She clamped her hands over her ears, in an attempt to
block out everything that was happening. She closed her eyes,
and sang a song. She heard a sharp and short sound. She
sang louder, and her voice drowned out more commotion that
was growing in her bedroom. She heard more then two people
now.
A lot of shouting, two gun shots, and loud feet were all that she
had heard through her insatiable singing. A minute later, the
door swung open and two officers walked in cautiously. She
looked up and everything she was feeling and thinking played
in her eyes. The officers both dropped their eyes and stepped
out of line of vision. She looked past them, into her bedroom.
When her eyes focused more she saw the worst sight she had
ever seen.
Luis lay, bloody and battered, in the tight grasp of death.
Sheridan lost it then.
******
Present
******
"Hello Luis." She said, as she took a seat next to his white
head stone. "I miss you so much. I love you so much too. Did I
ever tell you that? I'm sure I did, and if not I know you know
anyway."
She sighed, and tears were forming on her eyes.
"I would have visited sooner but I refused to get out of bed. The
world is so much more chaotic without you. But I made an effort
to come out today. I was supposed to have lunch with Julian
and Ivy. But I'm canceling it, and spending the day with you.
Nothing matters but you, everything else seems trivial."
She let some of her tears fall down her already damp chin and
cheeks.
"I have some good news, well I know you don't like Ethan, but
Theresa and Ethan are together now. You should see how
happy your sister is, she radiates love and happiness. Ethan is
so in love with her. And get this When Ethan told Gwen he
couldn't marry her, she was actually relieved. Apparently she
had been seeing someone, with out her parents consent and
he had asked her to marry him."
She glanced around at everything surrounded her.
"It's very beautiful here you know? Your mother picked a very
nice lot. I love you. But I'm positive I mentioned that already
Come back. I mean, forget about the drug cartel and come
back. You can do that right?" She was crying hard now. "I know
you can't I drove all the way here without any accidents. Are you
proud of me? I hope so. I love you like no other I have ever
loved, or ever will."
Hours had passed and Sheridan had told Luis everything that
had gone on that she knew about. Considering she hadn't left
her room in eight days. She sighed, and when she noticed the
descending sun she sighed again.
She kissed her fingertips and placed it over the picture that
graced the center of the head stone.
"Love you forever and always." With that she left. She didn't
once look back, she knew she would die inside all over again if
she did.
assumed Luis was 28 so just go with it.
****
Sheridan Crane grumbly got up out of bed. She hadn't been out
side her room in eight days. The only time she ever even
opened the door was to pick up the tray of food Pilar had left for
her.
Everyone begged her to come out, but she had always refused.
Even Julian had asked her to come out. But of course it was so
that it didn't make the family look bad. Luis hadn't asked her to
come out. That probably hurt the most. She knew he would
never speak to her again, and it hurt so much at that realization.
But today was going to be different. She was going to get up
and do something. In fact she knew exactly what she was
going to do and, if she needed to, she would take all day.
Sheridan climbed into her car and drove slowly down the
highway. Luis would be proud at her sense of control behind
the wheel. He had always warned her when it came to driving,
and now that she had finally gotten it right, she wished that he
were there to commend her. But he wasn't, and never would
be.
He had left her for good.
She navigated her vehicle into an empty space at the entrance
to her destination. Steel gates greeted her, but squeaked in
agitation when she pushed them open.
"Someone should grease those." She said aloud. As if it made
any difference, no one paid any attention to her here. They were
all to consumed in their activities.
She walked slowly along the path, admiring the structures that
cluttered the ground around her. Some were huge and she
admired them from afar. For she felt intimidated around them,
and decided to keep her distance.
The path narrowed a bit and came to a clearing. The land here
was hardly used, and she could tell that the structures here
were much newer then the ones at the front. She continued to
walk along the gravel path, but soon came to an abrupt stop.
She turned right and paused then kept going, only this time
cutting across.
When she neared her destination, her heart started to beat
faster. Her pace slowed and her heart quickened. Her paced
slowed to a crawl, before stopping completely. She looked
down at her feet, hoping that the earth would open up and
swallow her whole. She stared just to the left of her left foot.
"Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald. 1972 - 2000." She read aloud. Her heart
felt like it had flat lined and she burst into tears.
******
Nine Days Prior
******
"Wow Luis, really?" The sarcasm dripped off Sheridan Crane's
question like ice cream on a hot day in July. She smiled to let
him know she was only kidding.
She was genuinely happy. She and Luis had discussed their
feelings, but had decided that despite the fact that both wanted
it, chose not to move forward at this time. They had kissed a
few times, but nothing ever got really heated.
She would kiss him whenever she needed to, and vice versa,
but the kisses were to be chaste and innocent. For now. Once
everything in their lives was resolved, then they would move
forward.
At this exact moment, Sheridan had been teasing Luis about
knowing so much about Manta Rays. He had told her that they
were magnificent creatures, which brought with it an obviously
sarcastic remark from Sheridan. It was late and they were
sitting on the couch, lazily flipping through channels when they
came across a presentation on the aforementioned sea
creature.
Sheridan yawned soundlessly, and curled closer to Luis, as he
described the mating habits of the manta ray. When he realized
his audience had dozed out on him, he gently poked the left
side of her cheek.
"Wake up." He whispered. He poked her again and her cheek
twitched. She yawned again and then her eyes fluttered open.
"Hi." She said, her voice muffled with sleep. He smiled at her.
"Hi." He replied. He leaned his head down and she lifted her
ups, and their lips met in a chaste kiss. He pulled back and
smiled again. Then leaned down and kissed her again. His
lips opened above hers and she pulled back.
"Uh-uh." She said shaking her head gently. "Remember,
chaste and innocent." She smiled and he smiled back. He
stood up and held out his hand and she took it willingly. He
walked her to her room and kissed her quickly at the door.
When the door had clicked into place, he then returned to the
couch.
"She'll be the death of me."
***
That night Luis was having a terrible dream. He dreamt that the
drug cartel had hired another hit man and they had come for
Sheridan in the night, and he watched her die.
He whimpered loudly and it stirred Sheridan awake. She
climbed out of bed and went to check on Luis. He was asleep
on her couch, in the throes of a bad dream.
She kneeled before him and held his hand. He physically
calmed and then his eyes fluttered open. She saw pain and
fear in his gaze, and when he muttered her name, it was her
undoing.
He kissed away her tears and then kissed her mouth.
"I should be the one crying and scared, not you. Not my strong
willed beauty. My touchstone and the only one who owns my
heart." His declaration only brought with it more tears, which he
again kissed away.
She sat up and he pulled her down. They kissed and kissed,
the heat escalating to a hilt. Sheridan ultimately broke the kiss,
but she had no intention of stopping what was happening. In
stead she led him to her bedroom. The door closed with an
inaudible click.
***
Sheridan lay in the circle of his arms. Their eyes had stayed
open, and Sheridan had known from that point on that Luis
was in fact the only one she was meant to love. Their joining
had been explosive and Luis had whispered, "Love you, always
and forever." She had kissed him her response, in hopes that
the kiss would convey what words could not.
Luis was asleep and his arms were around Sheridan loosely.
He kissed the nape of her neck and smiled when she
snuggled in closer to him. This was perfect.
Luis heard a noise. He immediately covered Sheridan's body
with his own. She squealed and he covered her mouth with his
hand and told her to be quiet. The fear in her eyes scared him
so much, that he wanted to cry and take it all away.
He heard footsteps approaching the bedroom and Luis
reached for his gun, which lay next to Sheridan's cell phone on
the nightstand. He scrambled off Sheridan and grabbed her
cell phone off the nightstand. He shoved her into the bathroom,
with a responding yelp from her. The door closed and Luis
posed to attack. Luis had only to wait for a moment, before two
men burst through the door.
***
Sheridan hadn't ever been so scared in her whole life. She
dialed the police department the moment the bathroom door
closed. She got a hold of an officer and reported what was
happening. When she hung up the phone, she was in near
hysterics. She grabbed her massive blow drier, as a last-ditch
attempt at a weapon.
Tears had sprung in her eyes, and tumbled down her cheeks
leaving wet trails on her fair skin. She could do nothing but
wait. She clamped her hands over her ears, in an attempt to
block out everything that was happening. She closed her eyes,
and sang a song. She heard a sharp and short sound. She
sang louder, and her voice drowned out more commotion that
was growing in her bedroom. She heard more then two people
now.
A lot of shouting, two gun shots, and loud feet were all that she
had heard through her insatiable singing. A minute later, the
door swung open and two officers walked in cautiously. She
looked up and everything she was feeling and thinking played
in her eyes. The officers both dropped their eyes and stepped
out of line of vision. She looked past them, into her bedroom.
When her eyes focused more she saw the worst sight she had
ever seen.
Luis lay, bloody and battered, in the tight grasp of death.
Sheridan lost it then.
******
Present
******
"Hello Luis." She said, as she took a seat next to his white
head stone. "I miss you so much. I love you so much too. Did I
ever tell you that? I'm sure I did, and if not I know you know
anyway."
She sighed, and tears were forming on her eyes.
"I would have visited sooner but I refused to get out of bed. The
world is so much more chaotic without you. But I made an effort
to come out today. I was supposed to have lunch with Julian
and Ivy. But I'm canceling it, and spending the day with you.
Nothing matters but you, everything else seems trivial."
She let some of her tears fall down her already damp chin and
cheeks.
"I have some good news, well I know you don't like Ethan, but
Theresa and Ethan are together now. You should see how
happy your sister is, she radiates love and happiness. Ethan is
so in love with her. And get this When Ethan told Gwen he
couldn't marry her, she was actually relieved. Apparently she
had been seeing someone, with out her parents consent and
he had asked her to marry him."
She glanced around at everything surrounded her.
"It's very beautiful here you know? Your mother picked a very
nice lot. I love you. But I'm positive I mentioned that already
Come back. I mean, forget about the drug cartel and come
back. You can do that right?" She was crying hard now. "I know
you can't I drove all the way here without any accidents. Are you
proud of me? I hope so. I love you like no other I have ever
loved, or ever will."
Hours had passed and Sheridan had told Luis everything that
had gone on that she knew about. Considering she hadn't left
her room in eight days. She sighed, and when she noticed the
descending sun she sighed again.
She kissed her fingertips and placed it over the picture that
graced the center of the head stone.
"Love you forever and always." With that she left. She didn't
once look back, she knew she would die inside all over again if
she did.