Goodbye is Easy to Say When You're Not Alone

"I mean he's totally avoiding me! He won't marry me! He won't even move in with me! WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME!?!?" Aurora shouted at her best friend Samantha.

"Shhh! He's sleeping." Samantha rocked her baby carefully, checking to see if she was waking up. Aurora scoffed and kept pacing back and forth in the room. The room was painfully pink. Atleast that's how my daughter looked at it. Aurora squinted against the sun coming into the room, but completely blamed it on the peachy pink reflecting off their skin. Not to mention mine. I decided I didn't want to push my luck and backed up into the shady part of the room.

Aurora was now twenty-five. Josh had yet to propose to her, and here she was watching all her friends with their new babies.

"Aurora why don't you just ask him? It's the sixties! It's not like we live in times where we could barely talk without being smacked by men." Samantha rolled her eyes and growled. It was obvious Samantha was high on feminism.

"You think he's going to break up with me?" Aurora was paniced, and had stopped her pacing. She then stormed out of the room, grabbing her coat on the way.

"Aurora? Aurora!" Samantha called after her, but it was too late. I spead back to the house to check on Charlie, I could wait to hear about Josh. I stepped gracefully into his bedroom to see him walking towards the bed. He coughed, covering his mouth with a hankercheif. He hadn't been doing well at all. He had started a horrible cough and fainting spells for about a month now, and it was beginning to worry me. It wasn't like he was insanely old either. He layed down carefully, starting another coughing fit as he did. I sat on the other side of the bed, shaking my head.

"Aurora should be here." I whispered, watching over him until she came back. About two hours later, Aurora came bursting into the room.

"Guess what!?" she shouted, causing Charlie to shoot up.

"Josh proposed!" A new ring graced her ring finger. She squeeled and placed something down on the dresser. She then leapt onto the bed and hugged Charlie.

"Oh dad! Can you believe it!? I'm going to be married! And I'm moving in with him!" Her voice was covered by his coughing.

"Can't you see he's in pain!?" I shouted. Her realization finally struck.

"Dad, are you okay? I thought you got over this."

"Apperently not. I went to the doctor's today. He says I have walking pneumonia. He says I'll need assistance, but it's okay. I'll be fine." Aurora almost cut him off at that point and started talking about her wedding. I looked over at the dresser and saw what she put down. I walked over and looked at it. I had never seen it come out of her grasp before. I remembered it around her neck as a toddler, around her tiny finger, and then finally able to fit. Fighting for it like it was the key to her life. Now it just lay here, pointless, unwanted.

I looked over at Aurora, and suddenly saw something completely different. I felt like I had missed everything. How her ambission to be a doctor faded, how her talk of me had faded, how her prays to me had stopped. She had moved on...

****

"Dad!"

"Just please stay Aurora!" Charlie said with anger. I had never seen him with anger before.

"Dad I don't want to be here anymore! I'm done! I want my life now! You're treating me like...like how mom was treated when she left!"

"Don't say that! Your mother had every intention of returning!"

"You make it sound like I'm not going to!"

"Because I know you won't! You'll run off with that boy and-" he was cut off by his cough, quickly covering his mouth.

"Look at you." Aurora whispered. Tears were trickling down her face.

"You can't even be happy for me. You are so stuck on mom still, you've never even seen me grow up. Can't you see dad!? Mom didn't want us! Mom didn't want you! Mom didn't want me!"

I felt my breathing stop as I looked at my daughter. I couldn't believe her words.

"Don't say that." Charlie said low and cold.

"Wake up Charlie! We weren't wanted! You can give me the bullshit that mom died, but I have a feeling she just left us. She didn't want us."

"You don't know your mother."

"And whose fault is that? Not mine dad! Now if you don't mind, I've got my wedding to plan! Feel free to show up and feel happy for me!" The door slammed almost simutaniously with a loud thud from across the room. I whipped around to Charlie. THe thuds continued in an uneven beat. His heart. He clutched his chest and started to fall to the ground.

"Charlie!" I ran over to him, hesistant. I had to do something. My mind was panicing. I quickly ran to the door and looked at Aurora. THen I let myself be seen.

"AURORA! HELP!" I screamed and shut the door. I turned back to Charlie and looked at him.

"Everything will be okay Charlie I promise!" He then looked at me, his eyes bulging out of his head. His breath became even harder. He could see me...really see me. I'd forgoten to put my guard back up.

"Oh shit." I whispered. Aurora came running into the house and I quickly ran into the other room unseen.

"DAD! OH MY GOD DAD!" I watched as Aurora frantically reached for the phone.

****

Aurora did not leave his side. Neither did I. I kepy my sheild up tight as we both watched Charlie, awaiting his eyes to finally open. He had been unconsious for four days now. THe beeping in the background monitered his heart. But I could hear it and moniter it better than any machine could.

On the seventh day, Aurora left to go get Helen and the others. She didn't want to tell them over the phone, and since Charlie's condition wasn't changing, so she thought it would be safe to leave for a day.

I was flipping through their old magazine at lightning speed when I saw something in the corner of my eye. I looked up to see Charlie's eyes opening. I gasped lightly. I listened to his heart carefully, and felt pain hit me. I went my eyes sting from the tears that wanted to be there. I looked at him as he looked disapointed that Aurora wasn't there. SHe wasn't going to see him. I had to be there, so I let myself be there.

Charlie quickly looked at me. Shock covering his face again.

"Sh! Charlie please! Just calm down for me. I want to talk to you." I waited for Charlie to calm, which took less time than I thought. However tears started to fall down his face.

"Hi." I said gently, smiling.

"Hi. You know hun, you could have come back my age. It's hard to be leaving with the 19 year old version of you." I laughed, and then realised he thought I was an angel.

"Charlie, you don't understand. I'm a...well. I'm still...here. This is me." I took his hand as I watched his face turned to confusion.

"When you saw me that day. Do you remember what happened?"

"How could I forget it?"

"Well, you weren't just seeing things. That man was a-a...vampire. He turned me into one as well. I've been with you and Aurora about three years after I was taken.

"So...you've been with us this whole time? And you're a..."

"I know, hard to believe. I haven't been able to tell you because if they knew, they'd kill me, you and Aurora." His look was still disbelieving but he held my hand as tightly as he could. He suddenly closed his eyes and took a long breath.

"I'm going to die, aren't I?" I could already feel his heart fluttering lighter. I nodded, feeling a broken sob break the surface.

"I never wanted this for you Charlie. This is all my fault. You would have been perfectly healthy and fine if it wasn't for me. You had a perfect like, and then I came in..." I covered my mouth, more sobs hitting my throat.

"Hey hey. Eliza. It's okay. The fact that you loved me back at all was enough for me." I smiled at him and kissed his forhead.

"You know despite what you think Charlie, I have aged with you." I laughed holding his hand with both hands now. He smiled, his eyes lids becoming heavier for him.

"Elizabeth, please know I loved you. I didn't care about your past. I loved you for you." His heart was fading fast and he was clinging on to keep his eyes open.

"His ring, it's in my nighttable drawer. Take it. I want you to have it again. And mine." I looked down at the hand I was holding. I nodded, feeling myself clench in hurt.

"I love you Charlie. I'll watch over Aurora for you."

"Thankyou. And Eliza?"

"Yes?"

"Don't be afraid to move on. You'll always have us. Just, find happiness." I nodded once again and brought my one hand up to stroke his cheek.

"I'll see you again Charlie. I promise." But it was too late. His eyes finally closed, and his head fell into my hand. I closed my eyes as well, and lowered my head. The heart moniter beside me went flat, and doctor's came rushing in. Soon after Aurora and Helen came rushing in. I stood back, watching as Aurora and Helen embraced Charlie. Tears flowed down their faces like I wish I could. I sat in the corner of the room, watching everything...fall apart.