What Science Can't Solve
Hello people! This is my second one-shot and it is MUCH more depressing than what I usually write... if that's even possible...
Enjoy!
READ AND REVIEW!
P.S: Special thanks to Victory's Raconteur for coming up with the title for this story!
'It's a bad day…' I told myself, but I shook my head and corrected myself. 'No, not a bad day… it's a horrible day…'
I looked up, dark gray clouds filled the sky and moisture filled the air, and that foretold that soon, the heaven's tears would break through the thick clouds and pour upon the Earth.
Those tears healed everything, right?
No. Nothing could heal this day. Nothing can undo what had been done.
I slowly walked through the black iron gates. I took a quick glance behind me; my family was following my every move. But they were keeping their distance.
No one wanted to come with me today; they didn't even want me to go. They told me that it was too soon to come here; it had only been three days ago.
But I don't care…
I had every intention of coming here today, and I was prepared to come alone… and they knew that.
So, they ended up coming with me. I suppose it was because they wanted to make sure that I didn't do anything drastic.
They don't trust me…
They've told me countless times that I've been blaming myself too much. That it's not my fault.
But they're wrong…
It is my fault. It's entirely my fault, and even though the guilt and sorrow has been tearing me apart both mentally and physically… I deserve it.
As I walked along the cemented path, my face remained expressionless, but my vision shifted across the field.
There weren't too many people here today, and the few that were here… I didn't recognize.
I looked further down and along the sides of the path I was following, reading the stone tablets as I passed them.
My body finally came to a halt as I came across the stone I had been seeking.
As I came closer to the stone, I felt my breathing become heavier as I struggled to hold back tears.
It didn't work…
I choked and fell to my knees as warm tears flooded my eyes and stained my cheeks. My family immediately came to my side, but I pushed them away.
This was my fault, my mistake, and I needed to deal with the consequences… alone.
I tried to stop the tears from falling from my eyes, but I couldn't. I stayed in one spot, reading the stone I was kneeling in front of over and over.
And as my heart ached, as my tears continued to drench my face, the memories of that awful night forced their way to my mind…
-Flashback-
As I lay in my bed sleeping, I heard him suddenly interrupt my peace.
"Ah! Today's going to be a wonderful day!" He said as he pulled up the blinds on the windows causing a bright light to shine on my face.
"Ugh!" I groaned as I covered my face with my blanket and flipped over so that I was facing the other direction.
"Come on," He laughed. "You don't plan on staying in bed all day, do you?"
"Why are you so up-and-about today?" I asked in annoyance.
"What? You don't remember?" He asked in a shocked voice. "The reason why it's awesome being sixteen?"
I sighed in response.
I remembered, but I honestly didn't care. The only thing that mattered to me was going back to sleep.
"Let's go!" He said as he grabbed the edge of my blanket and ripped it off of my bed and out of my grasp.
"Hey!" I pouted, but as I opened my eyes to face him, he was already by the door.
"Good, you're up!" He said as he inched out of the door. "Get ready, we're going to go soon."
I sighed heavier than before as I slowly climbed out of my bed and walked towards my dresser. We had turned sixteen almost two weeks ago, and today we were going to get our permits.
As a child, driving never seemed to get my hopes up or make me wait in anticipation. As a matter of fact, I dreaded the responsibilities that came along with it.
Of course, at sixteen, I had a job already. But I cherished the money I made, and I didn't enjoy the thought of having to pay for gas.
And there was also the safety issues that I had always been afraid of. I heard so many stories about numerous people getting in car accidents and getting banged up, becoming paralyzed, or even dying, and some weren't even their faults.
Everyone knew me to be the most responsible out of my brothers. Simon, the Seville that was honest, hard-working, trustworthy, and responsible… but getting into a car accident was one of the things that scared me the most.
So many things could happen in those few seconds that the cars collide, and it chilled me to the bone. I was sure that I would never do anything to get in an accident myself, but I wasn't so sure about the other drivers driving along with me.
The thing that scared me the most was that I couldn't control it. No matter how many times I read the books, no matter how many times that I practiced driving, there could still be one careless driver that could cost me my life.
"Si," He called from the bottom of the stairs, snapping me out of my thoughts. "You ready yet?"
"No, I haven't even taken a shower yet!" I shouted back, and even though I was still in our room upstairs, I could hear the disappointed groan that he made.
I quickly opened my dresser drawers and pulled out a clean set of clothes and made my way into the bathroom. I turned on the shower and quickly bathed myself before dressing myself accordingly.
As I walked down the stairs and into the kitchen, I saw him waiting impatiently by the door.
"Took you long enough…" He said as he opened the door.
"Don't we need to wait for Dave?" I questioned.
"Nope, he's already waiting outside." He said, pointing to Dave's car in the driveway.
As he and I walked out to the car, I noticed that Dave was the only one in the car.
"Where's Theodore?" I asked as I entered the vehicle.
"He's with Eleanor; I think they went on a date for lunch." Dave answered as he started the engine of the car.
"So when is he going to take the test?" I questioned as we began driving down the road.
"I'm not sure," Dave began. "But he doesn't seem too interested."
"Why not?" He asked. "Diving's going to be awesome!"
"Not everyone is excited as you." I retorted.
"Well, that's not my fault." He said as he crossed his arms.
"Simon's right, Alvin." Dave scolded. "I wasn't too excited when I was able to get my permit."
"Really?" We both asked in unison.
"Yeah, I wasn't up to the idea of having so many more bills to pay." Dave chuckled. "As a matter of fact, you both realize that having a car means paying ALL of the bills, correct?"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah…" He sighed.
"Besides," Dave began as he rolled his eyes. "That's IF you pass the test…"
"Don't worry, Dave…" He began as he rubbed his hands together. "I'm GOING to pass that test."
I shook my head in annoyance as we pulled into the parking lot for the driving school.
Two hours later
"YES!" He cheered as he jumped up and down and I watched him.
"I see you got your permit…" I muttered as I continued to watch him.
"How'd you tell?" He asked, prompting me to roll my eyes. "Did you get yours?"
"Of course," I said as we walked back into the parking lot. "There's Dave." I exclaimed as I fixed my sights on a familiar blue car.
"Hey guys," Dave greeted. "How'd it go?"
"We both got our permits." I said as we handed Dave our certificates.
"And now I'll finally be able to drive!" He exclaimed.
"No, Alvin," Dave began as he handed us our certificates back. "Having a permit means that you CAN drive, but you need a legal adult with their own license to be in the car with you."
"WHAT?!" He asked as his eyes opened with shock. "You must be kidding me!" He pouted.
"No, I'm not." Dave sighed. "Now come on, dinner will be done soon."
One hour later
It was pretty late in the day. We had finally finished eating and we were both sitting in our room.
I was sitting in my bed, silently reading my book. And he was texting someone, who I presumed to be Brittany.
"Boys, can you come down here please?" Dave called from downstairs.
"Yes, Dave?" I answered as we walked down the stairs and met him at the front door.
"Theodore's going to spend the night at Miss Miller's and I need to go to work." Dave replied as he put on his coat.
"This late?" He questioned as he raised one of his eyebrows.
"Yes, Alvin, but I should be back in a few hours." Dave said as he patted his pockets to make sure he wasn't forgetting anything.
"Uh, Alvin, can you go get my briefcase in my room, please?" Dave asked.
As he walked up the stairs, Dave pulled me down to a huddle.
"Alright, Simon," Dave began. "My boss is going to pick me up in his car, so I'm going to give you the keys to my car... just don't let Alvin have them."
"Sure thing, Dave." I replied as I nodded my head.
"Thank you." Dave sighed.
Suddenly, Dave turned around and saw that Alvin was running down the stairs with his briefcase.
"Thanks, Alvin." Dave said as he grabbed the briefcase and opened the door. "Bye!"
"Bye!" We both said in unison as we headed back upstairs.
"So, Si," He began as we entered our room. "What do you want to do?"
"I don't know…" I sighed as I reopened my book and began reading again.
"I saw that Dave gave you his car keys…" He began as he eyed my pocket.
"No." I said sternly.
"Please?" He asked again.
"No." I said again, slightly aggravated.
"Pretty please?" He asked again, this time, cocking a grin.
"No!" I shouted.
"Why not?" He whined as he lay on his bed.
"Because Dave doesn't want you doing anything stupid…" I said as I tried to go back to reading my book.
"All I want to do is drive around a little!" He groaned. "Why does nobody trust me?"
"Maybe because you're 'Alvin Seville'…" I sighed.
"Exactly." He said as he snapped his feelings. "And I won't get any respect unless I can prove myself, right?"
"I guess…" I replied as I noticed his mischievous smile.
"So, you should trust me!" He smirked. I simply rolled my eyes and turned my attention back to my book, again. "Come on, all I want to do is drive it around the corner!"
"And you'll be careful?" I asked, trying to reassure myself that I was doing the right thing.
"I promise." He said.
"Fine," I sighed. "But only once around the block."
"Deal." He said as he extended his arm and cupped his hand.
I looked at his hand and sighed before I reached into my pocket, pulled out the keys, and placed them in his hand.
"Thanks, Si." Alvin said as he smiled at me.
"No problem." I said as I smiled back.
One and a half hour later
I was pacing around the bedroom floor. 'He probably just went to Miss Miller's… or a party! Yeah, that's it!' I thought, trying to calm myself down. But it didn't work.
I suddenly heard the phone ring and I darted for the stairs. I quickly jumped down the stairs and dived for the phone.
"Hello?" I asked into the phone.
"Simon?" A voice asked.
"Dave?" I asked into the phone.
"Yeah, it's me." Dave said as he choked. I was almost positive that he was crying. "Listen, Miss Miller's coming to pick you up…"
"What? Why?" I asked into the phone. "Dave, what's going on?"
"Simon, Alvin got in a car accident…" Dave said quietly.
I felt my heart stop. I couldn't believe what Dave had just told me, I just couldn't put the pieces together.
"He's in the hospital." Dave said, snapping me out of my brief trance.
"Is he okay?" I asked into the phone.
There was a long, uncomfortable silence.
"I don't know…" Dave finally answered. "I need to go…"
"Wa-" I began, but I heard the dial tone and I cut myself off.
As I grabbed my coat, I heard a beeping from outside and dismissed it as Miss Miller.
I quickly shut off all of the lights, headed out of the door, locked it, and headed towards Miss Miller's car.
As I entered the car, everyone was crying. But no one said anything. We all remained deep in thought as we wondered if Alvin was going to be okay.
As we pulled into the hospital's parking lot, we immediately headed into the building and ran up to the main desk.
"We need the room number for Alvin Seville." Miss Miller said suddenly, surprising the woman behind the desk.
"Room 108." The woman said as he pointed down on of the hallways.
We passed the waiting room as we continued our quest to find the room, and we saw Dave sitting in there by himself.
"David?" Miss Miller asked as we entered the room.
Dave didn't respond, he just got up from his seat, ran over to me and Theodore, and gave us both a long hug.
As we broke apart, someone cleared their voice.
We turned around as saw that a doctor had walked into the waiting room as well.
"Hello, you must be the family for Alvin Seville." The doctor quietly.
"How's my son, doctor?" Dave asked.
"Please, take a seat…" The doctor sighed as he waited for us to promptly sit in the chairs around the room. "I'm sorry to say this, but we did everything we could…"
"You don't mean…" Dave said as tears dropped from his eyes.
"I'm sorry… but Alvin has passed away…" The doctor finished, not daring to meet any of our eyes.
At the point, my body, my mind, my being, froze…
Alvin was dead…
And it was all my fault…
Over the next two days, we had the entire funeral planned and executed.
Everyone was upset, but it was no secret that I was taking it the hardest. Everyone tried to comfort me, but I kept pushing them away, making them even more worried. They thought that I was going to kill myself, and I didn't blame them.
I thought about it multiple times, but I knew that I could never go through with it…
I tried to deal with the fact that he was gone, but it wasn't that part that I couldn't let go… it was the fact that I had caused the accident.
Every moment of every day was spent thinking about how things would've been different if I had never let him have those keys. But every time I did, it reminded me of all the things that we wouldn't be able to do together anymore… and it broke my heart.
I decided to pay a visit to his grave and pay my respects again, even though it WAS too soon. I hoped that there, I could find the answers I was looking for…
-End of flashback-
As I continued to read the gravestone, my tears poured down my face even harder.
'Alvin Seville
1978-1994
Your loving memory will remain in our hearts forever…'
I felt a hand on my shoulder, and as I looked up, I met the pair of green eyes that my love belonged to. She smiled weakly at me, and I struggled to smile as well.
But I couldn't…
I swatter her hand away in a mix of both anger and sadness and ran away from my family.
I ran along the cemented path until I felt that my legs were ready to give out from exhaustion. I lowered my pace to a steady jog and walked off of the path and sat on a bench that was beside me.
I spent the next few moments like I had been spending the past few days… motionless, depressed, and constantly in thought.
I tried to push my thoughts of him out of my mind, but that only made things worse. I wanted to apologize to him for all of the things I had said to him over the years, all of things I have done… but now it was too late. I would have to live with guilt for the rest of my life.
The fact that I had caused the accident wasn't affecting me much anymore; it was what was left undone which drove me into my tears now. The most painful thing was that I couldn't even remember the last time that I told him that I loved him… or how much he meant to me… and now, he would never know…
After a few minutes, I felt the same hand wrap around my arm. I looked up and saw that the previous beautiful green eyes I had fallen in-love with, were no longer open. Instead, they were tightly shut closed and tears were dripping from them.
I sat still on the bench, not daring to move, as the woman I loved cried into my shirt. Regardless of my feelings, I continued to sit still and let her bawl her eyes out.
As I heard her sobs subside, I moved slightly and tried to pull my arm free of her grasp. In response, she gripped my arm tighter.
"Why?" She whispered.
"'Why' what?" I replied harshly, much more harshly than I intended to.
"Why are you doing this to everyone?" She asked, her voice cracking half-way through the question as tears gathered into her eyes again.
"What do you mean?" I sighed as I dropped my head towards the floor, refusing to look at her any longer.
I didn't want to stay with her. I wanted to run away again, but with her holding my arm, I knew I couldn't.
"Why are you pushing everyone away?" She asked as she bent down and tried to force me to look at her.
Angered, I tried to rip my arm out of her grasp, but she was too strong. Not that I wasn't strong, it was the fact that I had eaten in the past day.
"You need to deal with this, Simon." She said as she forcibly pulled my head up so that I was looking at her.
"I am dealing with this!" I retorted as I swatted away her hands, stood up, and began to walk away.
"No, you're not." She said as she followed me, but I heard her footsteps seize as I began to pick up my pace. "Ask yourself something, 'do you think this is what Alvin would want?'"
I immediately stopped in my tracks as my mind tried to comprehend the question.
"What did you just say?" I growled as I turned around to face her.
Receiving no answer, I began to slowly walk towards her until I was face-to-face with her once again.
"What did you just say?" I repeated.
"You heard me." She said, uncharacteristically coldly.
I stared into her eyes and saw a mix of compassion and anger, and I calmed myself down.
"Why?" I asked quietly as I turned towards the floor.
Suddenly, my vision became blurry and I felt something warm drip down my face. I tried to keep myself from falling over, but my weak legs gave out and I fell to the ground, still crying.
"Why does everyone keep trying to helping me?!" I shouted as I cried into my arms. "It's my fault that he's gone! How can you just forgive me?"
"Because I love you…" She whispered as she bent down and wiped the tears from my eyes. "And so does everyone else, including Alvin."
I didn't reply, but I knew that I had a confused look on my face making it clear that I didn't understand what she meant.
"Nobody blames you, Simon." She sighed. "We all know that it wasn't your fault, we just want you to return to normal."
"I… I can't…" I cried as I looked away from her.
"Simon, it's not your fa-"
"I know, I know!" I exclaimed, cutting her off. "That's not the reason…"
"Then what is?" She asked.
I didn't respond.
"Please, talk you me…" She pleaded as she grabbed my hand and squeezed it lightly.
"It's because… because… I miss him… so much…" I said as I broke down and began crying again.
I could hear her gasp, and after a while, she was holding me tightly.
"I know you do…" She whispered as she gently ran her fingers through my hair, trying to calm me down.
"He was my older brother…" I cried as my voice cracked. "And now… I'll never see him again…"
"I know it's going to be hard… but he's in a better place now… you need to believe that…" She said as she continued to embrace me.
"Are you sure?" I asked as I sniffed back my tears.
"I'm sure." She answered. "Now, come on." She said as she pulled me to my feet. "It's time you return to all of us." She said as she pointed towards my… no, our family. "Everyone's ready to move on… they're just waiting for you…"
"Even Brittany?" I asked.
"Well…" She sighed. "I don't think she'll ever get over him… but under no circumstances does she blame you…"
"Okay…" I sighed as I began to walk with her. "Jeanette?" I asked.
"Yes?" She replied.
"I love you…" I said as I pulled her to me and kissed her lightly on the lips.
"I love you too…" She giggled.
About one year later
As I walked through the iron gates, I quickly made my way to the stone I had been longing for. As I reached it, I wiped the tears that were threatening to form in my eyes and placed the banquet of flowers I had brought on the stone.
"Happy birthday, Alvin…" I whispered as I softly rubbed the edge of the cool stone with my hand.
"I'm sorry that I haven't been coming around as much as I used to…" I apologized as I turned my vision towards the floor.
"I've been trying to move along with my life just like you would like," I began as I pulled out an object out of my pocket. "And today, I'm going to ask Jeanette to marry me…"
"I hope I've made you proud, Alvin… because…" I hesitated as tears started to flow down my cheeks. "Because… I've always been so proud to have been your brother…"
"Hey, mister…" A voice from behind me called.
I quickly wiped my tears and turned around to see a young boy standing behind me.
"Oh, hi…" I replied awkwardly.
"Who was he?" The boy asked quietly.
"Who was 'who'?" I asked in confusion.
"Him." The boy responded, pointing to the grave I had been standing next to.
"He…" I began, but a smile crossed my lips as all of my memories of us together came back to me. "He was the best brother anyone could ever want…" I answered as I smiled at his grave.
"What was he like?" The boy asked curiously.
"He was… complicated." I chuckled as I walked towards the cemented path.
I looked behind me and saw that the boy was still following me, waiting for an answer. I slowed my pace, allowing the boy to catch up with me and answered.
"He was cool, goofy, arrogant, head-strong, and big hearted…" I finally replied.
"He seems like he was a really nice guy!" The boy complimented as he smiled at me.
"Yeah… yeah, he was…" I sighed as I continued to walk with the boy.
The End.
And, that's the end.
Sure, it wasn't THAT happy... but it wasn't THAT sad... right?
Either way, REVIEW!