TITLE: If Tomorrow Never Comes
AUTHOR: Kerry Johnston
EMAIL: Kerry316uk2001@yahoo.co.uk
RATING: Ummm suitable for all I guess
CONTENT: Deals with death
SPOILERS: None
SUMMARY: I guess the principle of this story is to remind us all that
nothing can ever be certain, so just encase something happens. Forget the
arguments, forget the bickering, just hold your loved ones close and tell
them how much you love them. The song "If Tomorrow Never Comes" was the
inspiration behind this.
DISCLAIMER: You know the drill I own no one blah blah blah
DISTRIBUTION: Please ask
I lay there in the uncomfortable hospital bed, pain searing through my body. I'd felt pain before but it was nothing like this, it was like someone was stabbing me with a thousand knives and dragging them through my skin and insides, I couldn't bear it, I knew it wouldn't be long now.
They had phoned my wife as soon as the accident had happened, I know I'd hold on until she got here, I had too; I had to be able to tell her how much I loved her. Our last conversation was an argument, I can't let her carry the thought around with her, that I didn't love her. I had left her in tears that morning and hadn't spoken to her all day. Then on the way home, that's when it happened. Some bastard in an lorry had hit me sideways on, the witnesses said the car had flipped over three times, I can't remember that, all I remember is the sight of the lorry coming toward me. I don't know how the lorry driver is and frankly I don't care. This is his fault, I'm not going to live to see my first grandchild, I'm not going to live to run the company and I'm not going to live to grow old with my wife. I've broken my promise to her; I had always promised her that we'd grow old and wrinkly together and one night, when the time was right we'd die together, old and happy in our bed. But now because of a lorry driver, who thought he owned the road, I'm not going to be able to do that.
Oh God, it hurts so much, I need her here, where is she? And then, as if God had answered my prayers, I saw her, I felt her take hold of my hand. My poor baby, she's crying. Why is she wasting her tears on me? I did nothing but give her grief all throughout our marriage; but somehow she stuck with me, when no one else would of, she did. From those who looked in from the outside, they probably though I was the strong one, oh how wrong they were, I'm weak and I always was. She was my strength, she was my rock. I would have amounted to nothing without her and she knows it.
She tenderly stroked the side of my head; "Vince?" I heard her whisper. "Don't leave me, I need you."
She was wrong, I KNEW she would be fine without me; right now she might feel bad, it would take time, but she'd be alright. Our children; whom we both worshipped would pull her through and she'd find love again; how could she not? Anyone who ever met Linda fell in love with her instantly; she was that sort of person.
I struggled to get my words out as I pulled of the oxygen mask that was covering my face; "You'll be ok," I panted, "I love you and I'm so sorry."
"I'm sorry too," she said to me, I knew she was trying to control the tone of her voice so she wouldn't break down completely. "I shouldn't have shouted."
"No, not that." She was talking about the argument we had that morning. "I'm sorry for hurting you like I did." I couldn't even remember the amount of times I had cheated on her; but somehow she always forgave me. And yet even after that, after I stopped, she indulged my ego and let me flaunt around with the likes of Trish, Stacey and Sable on WWE TV, and even if it was pretend I couldn't help but admire her. How many other women would be so sure of themselves to let their husbands do that, let art imitate life? Even to this day, I don't know why I did it. Why did I run around on my wife? It wasn't like we weren't happy, yeah we had our rough patches but I was still totally in love with her. I guess I did it because I could; everyone else around me was doing it, so why not me? I lived to regret it, every time she found out; it crushed her; she was devastated, and I hated seeing her like that. Fortunately in the past decade or so, I had been able to think with my brain rather than my trousers and Linda and I had been incredibly happy. "I love you."
And with that, she couldn't hold it in any longer, she put her head on my chest and cried. Painfully I pulled my arm up and stroked her head with it. "You'll be fine sweetheart, I know you will." My breathing was laboured now; I knew I only had a few more minutes at the most. "Tell the kids I love them and give the new grandbaby a hug from grandpa when it arrives. Please look at me."
She slowly lifted her head off my chest and for the first time since she arrived, I studied her. Her eyes were red, her mascara was running and those baby blues were filled with an infinite pain and sadness, I prayed that would go away with time and they would twinkle again. I brought my hand up and stroked her face.
"Never ever doubt how much I love you, remember what we've got Lin. Whenever you're feeling sad; remember I love you."
"I love you, I tell the kids and I'll tell our grandchild how much you love him."
"Or her." Shane and Marissa were not sure what the baby was, they didn't want to know and for a second, I though I saw a faint grin in her beautiful face but in the same instant it was gone.
A pain, worse than normal struck my side and I yelled in pain as I clutched it, a machine started to buzz and I felt my eyes closing. I felt so tired as I felt I was being lifted from the table and suddenly I was looking down on me, on the scene. Doctors and nurses around, working on me but it was no good, I was already gone. Linda was in the corner, sobbing in the arms of a nurse; I desperately wanted to put my arms around her and tell her it would be ok but I couldn't. I felt myself being pulled from the scene.
"Come on son," I heard a voice say, one that sounded strangely familiar. I turned around and my dad was there, his arms outstretched. "There's nothing you can do now, you can watch over her. She knows how much you love her and that's the important thing." I glided over to him and embraced him, the scene below was moving further and further away.
Dad was right, Linda knew how much I loved her and that love will get her through all of this. Tomorrow won't come for me, but it will for her and she'll be ok, because our love is strong, she's got the fruits of our love; our children and one day I'll hold her in my arms again because our love is strong enough to survive, even death.
With that thought in mind I willingly let myself be taken from the mortal earth, into eternity where one day, I'll meet my true love again.
THE END
I lay there in the uncomfortable hospital bed, pain searing through my body. I'd felt pain before but it was nothing like this, it was like someone was stabbing me with a thousand knives and dragging them through my skin and insides, I couldn't bear it, I knew it wouldn't be long now.
They had phoned my wife as soon as the accident had happened, I know I'd hold on until she got here, I had too; I had to be able to tell her how much I loved her. Our last conversation was an argument, I can't let her carry the thought around with her, that I didn't love her. I had left her in tears that morning and hadn't spoken to her all day. Then on the way home, that's when it happened. Some bastard in an lorry had hit me sideways on, the witnesses said the car had flipped over three times, I can't remember that, all I remember is the sight of the lorry coming toward me. I don't know how the lorry driver is and frankly I don't care. This is his fault, I'm not going to live to see my first grandchild, I'm not going to live to run the company and I'm not going to live to grow old with my wife. I've broken my promise to her; I had always promised her that we'd grow old and wrinkly together and one night, when the time was right we'd die together, old and happy in our bed. But now because of a lorry driver, who thought he owned the road, I'm not going to be able to do that.
Oh God, it hurts so much, I need her here, where is she? And then, as if God had answered my prayers, I saw her, I felt her take hold of my hand. My poor baby, she's crying. Why is she wasting her tears on me? I did nothing but give her grief all throughout our marriage; but somehow she stuck with me, when no one else would of, she did. From those who looked in from the outside, they probably though I was the strong one, oh how wrong they were, I'm weak and I always was. She was my strength, she was my rock. I would have amounted to nothing without her and she knows it.
She tenderly stroked the side of my head; "Vince?" I heard her whisper. "Don't leave me, I need you."
She was wrong, I KNEW she would be fine without me; right now she might feel bad, it would take time, but she'd be alright. Our children; whom we both worshipped would pull her through and she'd find love again; how could she not? Anyone who ever met Linda fell in love with her instantly; she was that sort of person.
I struggled to get my words out as I pulled of the oxygen mask that was covering my face; "You'll be ok," I panted, "I love you and I'm so sorry."
"I'm sorry too," she said to me, I knew she was trying to control the tone of her voice so she wouldn't break down completely. "I shouldn't have shouted."
"No, not that." She was talking about the argument we had that morning. "I'm sorry for hurting you like I did." I couldn't even remember the amount of times I had cheated on her; but somehow she always forgave me. And yet even after that, after I stopped, she indulged my ego and let me flaunt around with the likes of Trish, Stacey and Sable on WWE TV, and even if it was pretend I couldn't help but admire her. How many other women would be so sure of themselves to let their husbands do that, let art imitate life? Even to this day, I don't know why I did it. Why did I run around on my wife? It wasn't like we weren't happy, yeah we had our rough patches but I was still totally in love with her. I guess I did it because I could; everyone else around me was doing it, so why not me? I lived to regret it, every time she found out; it crushed her; she was devastated, and I hated seeing her like that. Fortunately in the past decade or so, I had been able to think with my brain rather than my trousers and Linda and I had been incredibly happy. "I love you."
And with that, she couldn't hold it in any longer, she put her head on my chest and cried. Painfully I pulled my arm up and stroked her head with it. "You'll be fine sweetheart, I know you will." My breathing was laboured now; I knew I only had a few more minutes at the most. "Tell the kids I love them and give the new grandbaby a hug from grandpa when it arrives. Please look at me."
She slowly lifted her head off my chest and for the first time since she arrived, I studied her. Her eyes were red, her mascara was running and those baby blues were filled with an infinite pain and sadness, I prayed that would go away with time and they would twinkle again. I brought my hand up and stroked her face.
"Never ever doubt how much I love you, remember what we've got Lin. Whenever you're feeling sad; remember I love you."
"I love you, I tell the kids and I'll tell our grandchild how much you love him."
"Or her." Shane and Marissa were not sure what the baby was, they didn't want to know and for a second, I though I saw a faint grin in her beautiful face but in the same instant it was gone.
A pain, worse than normal struck my side and I yelled in pain as I clutched it, a machine started to buzz and I felt my eyes closing. I felt so tired as I felt I was being lifted from the table and suddenly I was looking down on me, on the scene. Doctors and nurses around, working on me but it was no good, I was already gone. Linda was in the corner, sobbing in the arms of a nurse; I desperately wanted to put my arms around her and tell her it would be ok but I couldn't. I felt myself being pulled from the scene.
"Come on son," I heard a voice say, one that sounded strangely familiar. I turned around and my dad was there, his arms outstretched. "There's nothing you can do now, you can watch over her. She knows how much you love her and that's the important thing." I glided over to him and embraced him, the scene below was moving further and further away.
Dad was right, Linda knew how much I loved her and that love will get her through all of this. Tomorrow won't come for me, but it will for her and she'll be ok, because our love is strong, she's got the fruits of our love; our children and one day I'll hold her in my arms again because our love is strong enough to survive, even death.
With that thought in mind I willingly let myself be taken from the mortal earth, into eternity where one day, I'll meet my true love again.
THE END