Chapter Fifteen

Everyone makes mistakes. There are those who regret those mistakes that they make, those who think not about them, caring not, feeling not, and those who are in denial. No matter what you do, or how you deal with these mistakes, they are always there, waiting for you, following you around. They are hiding in the darkness, watching you, waiting for you to make that one mistake that will reveal all of your other mistakes around you to all those that you love and care for. Some of these mistakes can be tiny dents in your past that only you think about--those of other categories, life changing situations, can appear and destroy all that you have built in your life, all that you have worked hard for, all that you live for and would die for and, in the end, may have to. There are several types of mistakes, and several types of people who deal with the different, life changing mistakes. You have the choice, everyone does. And now, in this very story, there are those who have to deal with their own mistakes.

There is Summer, who accidentally killed Yugi while trying to escape from his vicious rage.

There is Marissa who fears what is to come, and therefore destroys everything that she has built.

How will they deal? What will they do? Will they be responsible, care not, or be in complete denial? It is their choice, and their responsibilities.

New York City, New York

Summer kneeled there in the pool of blood, staring there at the lifeless body in seeming awe. She wasn't really aware of what had happened as of then. She knew that it was something bad, something that she could be accused of, something that she didn't want to be accused of doing. She knew that she was sitting there in a pool of blood, mouth slightly agape, wanting to scream and cry and puke everywhere but being unable to do so. She wanted to pick herself up and run, run away from the building, from the area, from the city, from the state, from the country. To hide herself in the darkest corner of the world and never move. That was when it began to register in her head what had just happened to her and Yugi. Summer had been trying to run and he had stopped her. When he pulled her to the ground, Summer had made a grab for the backdrop, pulling it down with her. When she pulled down the backdrop, it knocked down the lamps around her, like dominos. Summer had screamed as she saw them fall, one by one. Two had nearly crushed her, and, when she had looked up, she saw Yugi lying on the floor in a pool of blood. But just because he was bleeding, that didn't mean that he was dead, right?

Oh no.

She had killed a man, even if by accident. She had caused the death of a man she had once loved, and now she didn't know what to do, where to turn. Could she tell Seth? Go to the police? But how it looked…it looked as if Summer had deliberately killed Yugi, killed him on purpose.

But it wasn't true.

It was all a really big accident.

If he was dead.

But she couldn't touch him, because if she did and he really was dead, then she would have touched him and her fingerprints would be on his body and that would be too much evidence, enough to prosecute her for the death of Yugi.

Summer just sat there, staring at his body, emotionless. She didn't know what to do, so she just kneeled there, over his lifeless body, until someone came into the room.

It was his assistant, a young woman named Candy.

Candy gasped, standing in the doorway, shocked. "What happened?"

Summer didn't speak.

"Summer, what happened?"

"The light…" Summer looked up at Candy, her face pale as a ghost. "The lamp fell and…" Summer's emotions finally kicked in, as tears began to stream down her cheeks. "And the lamp smashed into his head and killed him and I just sat here and I don't know what to do!" She grabbed Yugi's body and hugged his head to her bosom. "Yugi!" she sobbed. "Yugi, what have I done?"

Candy backed away slowly, her eyes all the time focused on Yugi. Once she reached the hallway, she turned and ran as fast as she could towards the nearest phone.

Phoenix, Arizona

Marissa had returned to her home before Gary left the wake. She wanted to just climb into bed and fall asleep. She began to walk down the hall towards her bedroom, it was dark and she could barely see, but it didn't matter. She knew the house by heart and she was so tired she could have just fallen asleep on the floor. That was when she saw the beams of lights stretching through the windows and she knew that Gary was pulling into the driveway. She pulled open the bedroom door, walking in and beginning to undress. Once in her pajamas, she walked over to the bed, ready to climb in and go to sleep.

That was when someone grabbed her from behind, pulling her towards the closet and putting his hand over her mouth. She tried to scream but couldn't. "Shut up, bitch," said the man. Marissa was sobbing, trying to be still so that he didn't have any reason to kill her.

That was when Gary walked into the room. "What the--" he began, but the man pulled out a gun and pointed it at Marissa and said:

"Give me your fucking watch or I'll blow this girl's head off."

Marissa's thoughts shot to the fact that he would just throw him the watch and the thief would take it and run away. But she was shocked at what Gary did next. He grabbed a nearby lamp and began to charge at the thief and Marissa.

Marissa managed to scream just as the gun went off. Luckily, the thief had pulled the gun away from Marissa's head and was pointing it at Gary. He shot him in the legs, and then released Marissa, who immediately fell to the floor sobbing.

The thief, who Marissa saw was a tall black man with a ski mask over his face, walked towards Gary and began to take off his watch. Then he asked Marissa where any other valuables were, and Marissa told him where he could find her jewelry.

He sacked the house and then left, exiting through the window. As soon as she was sure that the thief was gone, she called the police. Once she hung up the phone, she turned back to Gary and looked at him. "Are you okay?"

Gary moaned, "Yes."

Marissa nodded and grabbed two suitcases she found in the closet and began to pack Gary's cloths into them.

"What are you doing?" asked Gary. He was shocked.

"You would have chosen a fucking watch over me," said Marissa, frustrated, throwing in many of his shirts. "You would have let me die."

"Marissa, I am so sorry--"

"I want you out!" screamed Marissa, zipping up the suitcase and throwing it out of the window which the robber had opened.

Gary stared up at her helplessly. "What?"

"After the doctors bandage you up. Find a house of your own. As soon as I pack up my stuff, I'm leaving."

"Where are you going?"

Marissa looked down at him, her face full of rage. Suddenly, it softened. "Back to Newport."

Later

As Marissa got ready to board the plane, she knew that something had sent her a message. Maybe God, maybe something else, but something. It showed her that she was not meant to be with Gary, that he was not a true love for her. And so Marissa was leaving, going back to Newport, and praying that, someway, somehow, Ryan would take her back.