Untitled
By Muriel D’Alessandro
As she walked away, the rain began to pound down around her, yet she was oblivious. She broke into a run, the tears falling freely now, blending with the raindrops hitting her face. The heavier the rain fell, the faster she ran. She didn’t know where she was going, she didn’t care. Her left hand still clenched the rose, so tightly that the thorns pierced her skin, allowing the crimson blood to drip down the elegant stem. Whilst this continued, the blood stained the white satin petals. And as she ran, all she could think was “How could he?”
On the night of the twenty ninth of November, Julie walked into the coffee shop, laughing, with Jeremy at her side. As they sat down, Julie noticed a boy in a dark sweat shirt, sitting alone in the corner table. As she stared at him, he looked up and their eyes meet.
“Michel,” she breathed, praying it wasn’t him. But it was. He rose, pushing his way out of the shop disappearing into the night. She turned to Jeremy.
“I have to go.” The anxiety was controlling her normally beautiful voice. Jeremy stared back at her.
“What…” he asked, his confusion obviously clear.
She sighed. “You wouldn’t understand.” With that statement hanging in the air she left, pushing her way out of the crowded shop.
“Julie!” Jeremy shouted after her. “Julie!” But she was gone.
Julie pushed her way down the street after the dark figure in the distance.
“Michel!” She called after him. “Michel!” But the figure did not pause, or even look back. For what seemed like hours she ran after him, chased him down the crowded New York streets. Suddenly, he was gone, like he vanished in thin air. She turned, and began the long walk home, hugging herself to keep warm, and attempting not to let the tears run down her face.
As she unlocked the door she heard the answering machine. “Julie!” Jeremy’s voice floated through the empty house, her parents gone for the week . “Call me as soon as you get this!” There were six other messages, all like the first. But there was only one person Julie wanted to talk to. Her hand shaking, she picked up the phone and dialed Michel’s number. Again and again she called him, and again and again he refused to answer. As the hours passed, she found herself in a small ball. Drifting away in a sleep, she was clutching the phone to her chest. Her cries swallowed up by the night.
The morning after the twenty ninth, Julie woke on the couch, the phone still in her hand. As she recalled what had happened last night, she started to wish she hadn’t woken up. She glanced at the clock and found that it was already after nine, which meant school wasn’t an option. A loud banging on the door radiated through the house, startling her. Through the curtains she could see Jeremy’s faint shadow. A nervous chill ran through her body as she approached the front door. However when the door swung open, it was not Jeremy, but Michel who stood outside.
“Walk with me.” His words showed no emotion as he handed her a white rose. Julie searched, but there was nothing.
“Sure, I guess.” She tried to say this the way he had but it didn’t work. She could still hear the fear in her voice.
They approached the park, looking like two figures in a stony silence. It was only when they came to the old oak, did Michel speak.
“Who was he?” The stillness in his voice made her blood run cold with fear.
“He… he’s just an old… family friend.” His cold stare made her breathless, choking on her own words.
“He’s an old family friend? How come I’ve never meet “Jeremy”? How come you’ve never talked about him?”
“He… moved when…we were younger.” He began to pace back and forth. After a moment or so he stopped and turned to face her.
“You’re lying. You only met him yesterday. You went to the movies together.”
“How could you think that?” Her voice was rough, and she was struggling with her words. “Yes, we went to the movies, but we’re just friends.” The tears were beginning to build up in Julie’s eyes. “After everything we’ve been through, how can you say those things? I thought you trusted me.”
Their eyes met, and for a moment Julie thought everything would be fine. She was wrong.
“Trust…is for stupid people. Julie, you could have at least told me to my face when you started seeing someone else. It’s over.” Leaving that statement hanging in the air, he turned and left, back down the path they had come. And without anywhere else to go Julie turned and walked away from the old oak tree.
And as she walked away the rain began to pound down around her.
Elementary Young Writers 