It felt like dieing. His heart had been torn into a thousand different pieces, and he'd fallen dead on the ground not even bothering to try picking them up. He just lay there staring at them, numb and unable to move. The fall wasn't a long one; David only stood five feet six inches tall, but it felt as if he'd just jumped from the top of a New York Skyscraper. The impact had been shattering to say the least.
For a brief moment in life David had found what everyone looks for, but few ever find. David had found his soul mate, the one person in the world capable of making him feel truly complete, and then he had lost her. He was only 16 at the time. Lizzy had been a year younger. She was the new girl in school. An army brat; she was very shy. She'd never been anywhere long enough to have many lasting friendships and generally avoided people. She stood 5'1" tall at the time with short dark black hair, beautiful hazel eyes and pale white skin, which contrasted wonderfully with the color of her rich pink lips. She wore an expression of aloofness on her face, and generally didn't like to be bothered. On the rare occasion that her stare and body language weren't enough to scare people off she knew exactly what to say and do to get rid of them. Being the daughter of a career Military Man, she knew well how to take care of herself.
David was a far from average kid living a pretty average life for the first time in a long time. He'd gone to a private school for most of his life where he'd had about two good friends. He'd never been popular, and never really had the desire to be. David liked who he was and wasn't about to change for anyone. He'd been picked on because of this, but he knew how to stand up for himself. Eventually he'd learned how to stop being so hot headed and let things go a bit more. Rather than viewing derisive comments with anger, he'd learned to see them as stupid and laugh at them. When he finally went back to public high school, for the first time in his life he'd found himself able to fit in with an entire group of friends. They weren't popular either, but they weren't unpopular. They shared his interests, and he generally enjoyed their company. For the first time in a long time he'd felt really at ease with his life. That is, until he met her.
Now everyone noticed Lizzy, it was impossible not to. She was just too beautiful, but what David found gripping about her wasn't just her beauty. When David looked at her he saw the sadness in her eyes. The sadness she was trying so hard to hide behind that stare. He'd worn that same stare himself for much of his life, especially his childhood. It was the stare of someone for whom human contact only ever led to misery. He now knew that this wasn't always the case. He felt for her. He smiled deeply when he saw her twist the arm of some jock who'd been bothering her until the poor fool fell to his knees begging her to let go. Again what he noticed was the look in her eyes, the menacing look that said stay away if you know what's good for you. It brought back images of his childhood fighting days.
Now David had never been particularly brave around women before, and though this one above all others should have had him running for the hills, he found himself much more comfortable with the idea of talking to her than to anyone else he had ever met.
Now David wasn't anywhere near the most handsome guy in school, but he was still a pretty good looking young man. Women tended to call him cute rather than hot. He had short dark brown hair, deep dark brown eyes, and pale white skin. He wasn't overly muscular, but he was certainly physically fit. He was slim, but quick and flexible, and he had a smooth gentle face.
The first things Lizzy noticed about him were his eyes and his smile. His eyes seemed to hold such a vast amount of knowledge and empathy in them. They were so deep she felt she could very easily get lost in them. His smile was just so genuine, so caring and happy that she couldn't help but be cheered by it. She had to work very hard not to let it show.
He first approached her in Science class. She was a year ahead in that, and had her sites set on eventually becoming a doctor.
"That was pretty nice" he said referring to the incident with the boy who'd tried to harass her just before class. They had been told to pick lab partners, and while she scared most people away, he'd gone straight to her.
"That was a warning."
"And a good one." He said smiling. "I'm impressed."
"But not particularly bright, are you?"
"Are you kidding I'm the brightest person in the room because unlike the others I chose you for a lab partner and you're the smartest person here. Don't even bother denying it. You're in an honors science class a grade above you." He said smiling even more brightly.
"You think you're pretty clever, don't you?"
"Smarter than some I guess, not as smart as others."
"Alright smart guy, just grab a beaker and get to work." She said and almost smiled before she caught herself.
Success, he'd never been so elated in all his life. She wasn't pretending to hate him anymore. It was a relatively small victory, but he'd take it.
For her part, Lizzy was a little annoyed with herself. She was beginning to like this kid and that was never a good thing for her. Something in his eyes told her that he could see right through her and that really scared her. Whatever it took she could not afford to let him see how she was feeling. She'd almost smiled at him for Pete's sake. What was wrong with her? After that she didn't talk through the entire lab except to give directions.
For his part David just obeyed, occasionally commenting on the experiment, offering up different suggestions on what to do, and commending her on the precision with which she did things.
Lizzy thought he was smart and sweet, but she tried to convince herself that it was all an act.
Over the next couple of months David continued to partner with her in lab, and slowly he started getting her to open up more and more. It turned out that they had a lot in common. They had similar taste in music and movies, similar philosophies about life and political ideologies. When he finally asked her out she didn't even have to think about it.
Of course they wound up falling head over heals in love with one another. She loved his complete and unabashed openness and acceptance of everything. He had a good heart and he was exceptionally sweet.
For his part, he loved her for her never ending lust for life. She was so easily able to appreciate the little things in life. She loved going on adventures as much as she did just going to the movies or eating pizza. What's more she had a very good heart. Underneath her façade she was really very kind and compassionate. She was a wonderful person and he adored her.
The time came when they confessed everything to one another. After that they couldn't bare to be apart. The taste of her lips drove David crazy, and the comfort of his arms made Lizzy feel safe. Then one day it all ended. Lizzy's father had been reassigned again and she was forced to move with him. She wept for an entire night. David just felt shattered. He promised he'd see her again though. He vowed he'd find her some day, and that he would never forget her as long as he lived. Then he said goodbye with the sweetest and saddest of kisses he'd ever had the pleasure to be a part of, and watched her drive away feeling, as was said before, like he had just died a thousand deaths, his heart shattered into a million pieces.
Time went by and neither was ever the same. Lizzy never let anyone in again. This blow had destroyed her. She'd had other relationships and been with men, but none had ever been allowed to touch her heart the way David had.
David tried to let others in eventually, but he felt like there was a great big hole inside him that no one else could ever fill no matter how hard they tried. He became a Property Manager for several buildings in New York City. He had a reputation for making big ideas become practical realities. He was really on his way up.
Having gone to and graduated from college at an early age, Lizzy was able to graduate from Medical School at the age 25 and become a doctor like she'd always wanted. When they met again 10 years had passed since their parting.
David had a very gifted cousin who attended Columbia University on a scholarship. He was studying to become a doctor like his parents before him, and had landed an internship at the hospital. Though they were about 5 years apart in age, David had always seen his cousin as the little brother he never had, and now that he was old enough to go out drinking with David, David frequently invited his cousin out. One night he went to the hospital late to meet his cousin for drinks after work, and while he was waiting for his cousin to finish getting changed, who should walk into the room, but Lizzy. David's heart practically stopped beating. He was speechless.
Lizzy noticed him out the corner of her eye, and immediately felt faint. Breaking the kind of news she was about to break was difficult enough, but this was too much. She felt like she'd just seen a ghost. All the joy of their time together and the immense pain of their parting just came rushing back to her.
She broke the bad news to the patient's family as best she could. He was alive, but the outlook wasn't good. Then she left the room she had taken them to, to face her past head on.
She got up the courage to walk up to him, but once she was there she wasn't sure she had the courage to actually speak. When she did, all she could say was "Hi".
"Hi" he replied feeling like his heart might beat out of his chest and his lungs might collapse all at the same time. "You look amazing. I can't believe you're here. I must be dreaming."
His words touched her, but she had been so hurt the last time. How could she go through this again? Still what she found herself saying was, "You look pretty good yourself. I missed you."
"There's so much I want to say to you, so much I've wanted to say for so long. In spite of all my promises, I never really thought I'd see you again. We have to catch up!" he said beginning to smile, "I want to know everything. God you're a doctor now. That's fantastic! You really made it happen. I'm so proud. When do you get off work? I'm going to a bar around here with my cousin. You must join me."
