Our Fallen Pieces [ short story ]

A short story I've written for class (once again), and it's honestly the best I've written, the best I've worked on. Be warned, this contains spoilers for the ending of my first novel, but you don't need to read the novel in order to understand what's happening. It works as a stand-alone short story.

            When he got the call, it was nearing midnight. He had spent Thanksgiving at his girlfriend’s house. Her parents invited him over. The loud ringtone woke him up. He picked up the phone and saw Charlie’s name on the screen. His heart fell. Arthur was not okay, he thought. He didn’t want to answer, but he had to. He put the phone against his ear, and hoped that their car had just broken down.

            He heard Arthur’s screams and Charlie’s panicked voice. “Jackson died,” she told him. He left the bed and grabbed his sweater. The room was dark; he stumbled over his shoes. The bedside lamp was suddenly lit and Cecelia sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. “Where are you going?” she asked, her voice still heavy with sleep. He waved his hand at her and told her to go back to sleep. He wondered if there was a cab free at this hour. He called the agency, and they said to wait.

            “I’ll call you later,” he told his girlfriend. He left the room and closed the door behind him slowly. He looked to the right, at the end of the hallway, at her parents’ room. The door was closed. Pictures of Cecelia when she was young, and of her parents, were hung on the wall in front of him. There was a picture of the three of them on her graduation day. He went down the wooden stairs, careful not to make any sound.

            When he stepped outside to wait for the cab, he shivered. He hated going out in London at this time of the year. It was wet and cold, and even after years of living in this city, the cold never failed to send chills down to his core. He zipped his sweater up to his neck and pulled the collars up, trying to keep his neck and ears warm. While he waited he kept thinking about Arthur. Arthur was not okay. He had never heard his friend scream like that. His screams were agonized, his voice breaking. Charlie was scared, her words were barely understandable. He’d only heard the news of Jackson’s death and where they were over and over. This wasn’t supposed to happen to any of them, they didn’t deserve this. Arthur didn’t deserve to lose someone he loved.

            He found them on the side of the road, their car was on, and they were sitting outside. Arthur had his head on Charlie’s shoulder. He paid the driver, left the cab and ran to them. Charlie smiled at him, but she was tired. He hugged her when she stood up. “Thank you,” he whispered to her and he felt her nod. When Arthur stood up, he felt his throat go dry. Arthur had been crying and he looked afraid, and angry. He quickly pulled his friend into a tight embrace.

            He wanted to say that they were going to get through this. He wanted to say that everything was going to be okay. But he knew that the words would choke him. And that he would start crying. Arthur didn’t need that.

            He felt Arthur pat his back. “Jamie, I’m okay,” he told him, and he could hear the annoyance in his voice. He let go of his friend and nodded.

            “Well, we better go home,” Jamie managed to say. He got into the driver’s seat while Arthur and Charlie both sat in the back.

            Jamie started singing as soon as they were on the road. He was a musician and knew that Arthur liked the way he sang. When he looked at them from the mirror, he found that Arthur had fallen asleep, his head on Charlie’s shoulder. She was stroking the side of his head, but she was looking out the window. She was crying. She tried hard not to shake or sob. Jamie stopped singing. He knew at that moment that Charlie loved Arthur. He lived to save people, that was his job. He shouldn’t have lost someone. The world was wrong and cruel.

            He dropped Charlie off at her apartment. She reached out and squeezed his shoulder. “Keep an eye on him, please.” Then she woke Arthur up and whispered, “I’ll come by tomorrow, okay?” Arthur nodded and she kissed the top of his head and got out. Jamie looked back at Arthur and told him to wait. He left the car and quickly walked up to Charlie before she got into the building.

            “How did it happen?” he asked when they stopped at the entrance of the building.

            He saw Charlie’s eyes shift towards Arthur in the car. Then, she looked back at him. “I don’t know, Jamie… He was on the floor in the cabin and his throat….” She stopped talking and placed a trembling hand on her mouth.

            Jamie’s heart clenched. Although he knew and dreaded the answer, he still asked, “Did Arthur see him?”

            Charlie nodded. “He saw him first.” Her voice broke at the end, and Jamie stroked her arm.

            “Are you going to be okay on your own?” he asked her. She nodded and wiped her tears.

            “I have to be,” she said and smiled at him. He nodded at her as she went inside the building.

            The drive back to their apartment was silent. Arthur looked out of the window while Jamie kept his eyes on the road, occasionally looking back to check on his friend. Arthur sat still and did not speak.

             When they arrived and unlocked the door, he felt a sense of relief and security wash through him. They were home. Arthur stepped inside the apartment and headed straight to the couch. Jamie followed him and turned on the television.

            They sat for a few minutes in silence. He kept looking at Arthur to see if he had fallen asleep. His eyes were open every time he looked at him.

            “Are you ready to talk now?” Jamie asked, turning his towards his friend. “You’ve been silent since we got here.”

            Arthur groaned and rubbed his eyes. “I don’t feel like talking.” His eyes did not meet his friend’s.

            “Arthur, I know you. You can’t stay silent about it.” Jamie scooted closer.

            “I’m going to be fine.”

            “Fine? You’re nowhere near fine,” Jamie told him, and Arthur sighed and tried to focus on the television. “When Charlie called me near midnight I knew that you were not fine. This silence isn’t a sign of you being fine.”

            “Jamie, please.” Arthur’s voice broke a little.

            “Can you please just tell me how it happened?” Jamie begged and touched Arthur’s shoulder.

            His friend shrugged off his hand and took a deep breath. “I went to the diner with mum and Charlie. He said he didn’t want to join because of other things.”

            “You didn’t see it happening?”

            Arthur shook his head, and Jamie could see the tears building up in his friend’s eyes. “No. I didn’t see it coming. But I knew why he picked Jackson.”

            Jamie could hear how angry his friend was. He couldn’t blame him. “Because he knew that it would take its toll on you.”

            Arthur rubbed his eyes.

Jamie thought back to the times he met Jackson. Jackson was the polar opposite of Arthur. When Arthur was nice, Jackson was a demon. But Arthur loved Jackson, he was his brother. Arthur couldn’t hate his brother.

            “I wish I had said good bye.” Arthur’s voice broke Jamie’s thoughts. “I wish I had taken back everything I said to him.”

            Jamie fell silent. Arthur wiped away his tears.

            Jamie asked after a while, “So, what are you going to do now?”

            “I want to keep you safe. I want to keep Charlie safe,” he answered, looking at Jamie. “I can’t afford losing anyone else.”

            Jamie exhaled a laugh and placed both of his hands Arthur’s on shoulders. “Hey, I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to be around for so long you’re going to get sick of me.”

            “I won’t,” Arthur said seriously.

            “I’m sure you won’t.” Jamie smiled and got up. “Do you need anything?”

            Arthur shook his head and nodded at the television. “Just leave it on.”

            “Don’t you want to sleep?” Jamie asked, looking at the clock on the wall. “It’s three in the morning.”

            Arthur shook his head again. “I can’t.”

            “Okay, if you need me, I’ll be in my room.” Jamie walked to his door.

            “Keep your door open,” Arthur said.

            “Alright,” he replied. His hand touched the door handle.

            “Hey, Jamie.”

            “Yeah?” Jamie looked back at his friend.

            “Just try to stay alive for as long as possible, for me.” Their eyes met for a brief moment.

            Jamie fell silent, looking at his friend. He forced a laugh. “Didn’t we already agree that I’m going to be around for a long time so I can annoy you?”

            Arthur shrugged and looked back at television. “I’m just saying.”

            “Good night, Arthur,” Jamie said and walked into the room.

            “Night, Jamie.”

            It was the last thing he heard before he stepped into the room. Jamie leaned on the wall next to the door, where Arthur couldn’t see him, and slid down to the floor. He held the tears for a while, but then he couldn’t anymore.

            His friend was not the same, and would not be the same after that.