TWS: I remember writing a Shatter Me story before, though I never published it, about how Warner would be like when Juliette dies. I wrote a not-so-short summary of it on Tumblr, but it ended up being some short story that made me question my own existence. I don't think I'll be posting the full story anytime soon, but I'll post the short one here.
Disclaimer: You already know it.
"I love you every day. And now I will miss you every day."
Mitch Albom, For One More Day
Prompt 5: True Love Never Dies (Even When The Person Does)
It's been a year since Aaron Warner lost the one person he loved the most. A year since he had lost the soldier who managed to change the world with her own two hands.
A year since Juliette Ferrars' death.
He knew that death was inescapable, and that no matter how strong and invincible they both seem, they were still fully human; they were still flawed beings. But it was always love that drove people to do the most insane things, and that was the reason why Juliette died even if she didn't deserve to.
The chaos and suffering that Anderson left behind had immediately disappeared the moment Juliette took his seat. She had started to take everything into order, bringing peace into the continent and happiness to those who lived among it. She was able to rebuild the world with her own two hands, and it was incredible.
He never admitted it to her, but she knew that she had saved so many lives as well. His life most of all. She had dug him out of the grave he made himself and showed him what lied beyond the walls he created in his own heart. She showed him that he was capable of love.
But she never told him that love can ruin a person, and he sometimes hated her for that. He hated the fact that she was ruined because of love—because of her love for him. He had blamed it all on her desire to be a martyr, to do what no one had the courage to, but he mostly blamed himself for letting her be ruined to death.
The bullet was never meant for her. But she took it anyways.
And, on some days, he's just so mad at himself for allowing this girl's love to be more than just an illusion, because he knew that an illusion would be much less painful than something that will never be again.
He meets a girl who seems all too familiar in the streets of Sector 46, their neighboring sector, and for one second he thought that maybe this was all some cruel dream as well. He's always dreamt about her since the night of her death, it wouldn't surprise him if this was one of them.
She's a girl who was old enough to have the same age as his brother James. She had long brow hair that fell on her shoulders and possibly the most painful shade of blue-green eyes that brought pages and pages of memories into his head. But it was the way she moved, and the way she smiled at her friends, that made him see it: her posture, the way her eyes lit up like fireworks that danced in the sky, and the headstrong attitude that she carried with her everywhere.
It may not be her, but she resembles the woman he once loved—he'll always love.
So he takes his chances and tries to find out who this young woman is.
Alexandra Ferrars. The second and youngest child of Eric and Evelyn Ferrars.
It makes his blood run dry and his mind lose control over this information. He finds it difficult to say it out loud, lest to think of it, because he knew that Juliette never knew about her. She never knew about the 17 year old girl who could've been there for her.
She never knew about this girl who's her sister, and that's what made it even worse.
It explains why her parents had always tried to avoid her when they had the chance to apologize to their child; they had another child to take care of. One that doesn't have any powers or any forced genetic alterations that could've made her something that seemed impossible. Her parents must've been afraid to tell Juliette, for fear that she would think that they tortured this little girl as well.
But it was in Alexandria, he realized, that their parents had known their mistake and its consequences. She was the result of a desire to change and fix all of the mistakes that they have made.
She was the result of Eric and Evelyn's love, something her older sister never had as a child.
After Warner finds more about the girl, he manages to find a way to approach her and talk to her occasionally. He wasn't as bad as making conversations as before, wherein he wouldn't even want to try to make small talk, but Juliette changed that part of him. It was also because of James, his brother, who never stopped asking him questions until the very end.
The months pass by as the remembrance of Juliette's death grows stronger in him and the friendship that he developed with Xandra became deeper. He ends up loving—not falling in love—the shy but courageous girl.
And then he tells her all about the sister she never saw, the sister her parents rarely told her about. He tells her how beautiful she was and how she reminded him of the girl whom he loved more than the stars and the moon.
He tells her that if he ever had the chance to be with her again, he'd take it without any regrets.
At the end of each day their bond grows stronger, closer, and he wishes that Juliette could see them right now and see the girl who can prove to her that being blood related doesn't always mean you're not family. He wishes that she is happy to see them, wishes she's happy James, who has fallen in love with the young girl.
He wishes that she's happy right now, because for the first time since her death, he has finally learned to smile again.
But, in the end, not everything is what it seems.
The weight of her death still strikes him everyday, crushing his bones and his heart in the process. But it is what all he has now; it's the only thing that's making him feel alive.
It's been 6 years since her death. He comes to her grave and stays there until nighttime, and goes somewhere else to drown himself.
Aaron Warner is a 30 year old man who has never married after Juliette. And now he's sitting alone, half out of his own mind, in a local bar.
Most men that come here drown themselves in anger, sorrow, or boredom. Some drink for the sake of mourning over wasted opportunities, while some drink for the sake of drinking.
He was there for neither of those things.
Aaron Warner was there not because he's lost his mind and his heart to his own sorrows, nor because he's lost his love for her; It was never because he had fallen out of love.
He drinks to forget.
He drinks in honor of her. In honor of what could've been their 8th year anniversary.
But it's only half the truth.
He'll never admit that it's because he misses her so badly, or because he blames himself for being the cause of her death.
No matter how much he persuaded her, her heart won't change. She wanted to give birth to their son, no matter what the consequence was, but it was something that was too heavy for him to bear. He only ever had one choice:
To lose his wife, or to lose his own child.
In the end, he looses both.
But he will never admit that he drinks because of that.
A/n: Uhm... Okay. I'm not quite sure if I should post part 2 of the story, but I do think it'd be the best and most satisfying end to this short oneshot. Maybe I should... What do you think?
"The bullet was never meant for her. But she took it anyways."
That line was a metaphor for Juliette and Warner's baby. Even though Warner doesn't think he deserves to have her carry his child, Juliette tells him that it'll all be okay. But of course she and their child weren't able to live through it. If you translate the line then it's kind of like "She was never meant to carry the child of a man like me who is so undeserving of this girl. I don't even deserve to be a father. And yet, she decided to carry the weight of my burdens without hesitation."
In a way, there's also an implication that he's afraid of becoming Anderson...
So basically, if we put things in a much easier, metaphorical way: Warner deserves to die, someone tries to shoot him, Juliette loves him and takes the bullet instead, even if she wasn't supposed to be the target.
... Er... Please don't throw unlit cigarettes at me...
Reviews, corrections, and... violent reactions are highly appreciated. Thanks...!