You Didn't Ask me to Stay
"Elizabeth!" Lucky shouted as he walked through the park. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong. He had briefly seen Elizabeth at the school dance but then she had disappeared before he had a chance to ask her to dance.
He sat down on the snow covered bench to catch his breath when he heard a faint wounded cry coming from the bushes.
"Hello," he called out, "Is anyone there?" He asked again when there was no reply.
He stood up from the bench and then he saw her, crawling through the snow on her hands and her knees. Her dress had been torn and he knew from the red crimson color on the snow beneath her that she was bleeding. She looked up at him with fear and he knew that he had been right…something terrible had happened to her.
"Elizabeth…it's me…it's Lucky. What happened to you?" He asked as he knelt by her side.
"I…I…I lost gram's bracelet. I have to find it…I can't go home without it," she said as tears streamed down her face.
"It's okay Elizabeth, I'll find her bracelet later, but right now I need to get you to the hospital."
"No! No hospital," Elizabeth said adamantly.
"Okay, then will you let me take you to my house so that I can take care of you?" Lucky asked as he reached out to help her to her feet.
She winced as he touched her and he dropped his hands to his side. Elizabeth slowly stood up. "I'll let you help me," she whispered as she began to walk towards his house with him.
"Why did you leave the dance?" He asked her.
"I left because you never asked me to stay," she whispered.
He woke up in a cold sweat feeling haunted by the choking guilt that consumed him. Elizabeth had never blamed him for the rape, but he blamed himself. If he had just asked her to stay with him that night then she never would have been raped. He climbed out of his bed and quickly got dressed feeling the need to be with her.
He picked some red roses from his rose bush in the front yard and walked through the park. He thought about that night he had found her as he passed the snow covered bench and he could almost see her crawling through the snow towards him.
XOXOXO
"Elizabeth, I had to come and see you. I've been thinking a lot about you lately. I miss you so much and I wish that I could have done more to save you," he whispered as he laid the red roses in the snow at the base of her grave.
"I know that you never blamed me, but I blame myself. I can't help but wonder how differently your life would have turned out if I had just asked you to stay. Maybe you would still be alive if I had just told you that I loved you," he stated as he traced her name that was written on the headstone.