you let go
summary: He needed her to come back, just once. But she didn't come back. Very short oneshot.
a/n: Hullo, this is me. I recently finished Bridge to Terabithia, and for some reason I couldn't get it out of my head tonight. So I did this when I was supposed to do my Section Summary for Treasure Island. It's set after the book, when Jess visits Leslie's grave. Anyways, enjoy!
Jess stared at the gray, cloudy sky with a feeling he thought he could never feel for Leslie, for someone who was almost as close as family. Loathing swirled in his gut, pulling at him, telling him to just fade out. To let go.
No. He was strong, stronger than this. Leslie was his best friend, and she would never, ever want Jess to hate at her like he was at the moment.
But Leslie had left him. She had left Jess alone, utterly alone, in a pit of his own despair he had concocted at her death. She, out of all his family, had left. She, who outshone him and hoped for him and stuck by him and loved him like family and had been always so faithful to him. She, who had experienced the worst of times and the best of times with him. She, who followed him everywhere, who became so close to being family, who given him all the best things she could give, was gone. She was gone, gone, gone, gone, gone. Leslie had left him.
"I hate you," he said softly at first. Looking up at the sky, Jess let the tears roll down his face. "I hate you!" This time, he screamed as loud as he could. "You said that we could be king and queen of Terabithia forever. You let go, didn't you? YOU LET GO!" Waves of despair and anger washed over him.
Jess choked out the last sentence. "Come back, Leslie. Come back." He stared at the gravestone pleadingly.
Something grasped his hand and held it. Looking over, he saw May Belle staring up at him with her wide, wide eyes. He closed his own to stop the downpour of tears, and they faded until he couldn't feel them on his face anymore.
A flood of memories came back to his mind. Leslie, sitting on the fence in all her tomboyish glory, when they first met. Leslie, running ahead of him and stealing his chance of becoming the fastest runner in the entire fourth and fifth grade. Leslie, leading him into the woods and to Terabithia. Leslie, with shining eyes, looking at Prince Terrien with adoration. Leslie, forging the note for Janice Avery. Leslie, on Easter Monday, swinging on the rope above the swelling creek-
No, he couldn't think about it anymore. Don't think about her, not her, not here, not now.
But wasn't it always about her anyways?
May Belle squeezed his hand again.
The tears came back. Jess pushed back the memories until they receded into the depths of his thoughts and opened his eyes, wishing for Leslie so desperately. He needed her to come back. He needed her to be in Terabithia with him. He needed her to be queen again.
Nothing.
Because in the end, she had given up. She had let go.
Jess had no more tears for her.
She had always left him in the dust anyway.