Doom Befallen (Part 6)

The darkness had circled in, covering everything.

I could no longer see. I could no longer hear. I could no longer feel.

How long had I been here? Who was I? The only thing I knew anymore was that I would never get to know who Alex actually was. I had started losing my grip on reality, but Alex was a name I could still recall. I think we had been friends, maybe? But it felt like he was more than that to me. I sigh. Then I try to remember more. I think I had a mother, but she didn't seem very present in my memories. She seemed fuzzy, and it was as if I didn't want to remember her. And I had no idea about a father.

Then the name Alex began to grow into actual memories. And the darkness seemed to get dimmer while a light began to shine brighter.

Riding our bikes together when we were kids. I smiled at the memory. He had been really good at it, but I was really bad. I would fall down and then skin my knee. But he would jump off his bike and run over to me.

I sat on the curb, crying as he comforted me.

"I'll never be good at this," I wined as tears fell off my cheeks.

"It's okay," he told me.

"No, it's not," I wailed. "I'll never be good like you and-and then we won't be friends anymore." I kept crying, but Alex smiled a funny smile.

"Hey, I'll be your friend through everything. It doesn't matter if you can't do what I like to do, I still like you." I sniffled at his words.

"R-really?"

"Of course!" He smiled that big smile of his again. "Now, c'mon, let's go inside and get some lemonade."

Another memory slowly made its way to the surface. Getting ice cream with him when we were a bit older. I could feel something tinge in my eye at the thought of this.

We were sitting in a booth at a cheap restaurant while munching on fries and slurping up milkshakes. I had just beat him in a race to see who could get a brain freeze first. I sat, groaning in agony as he laughed at me openly. His laugh was bright but short-lived.

"Get up, Abigail," a woman wearing a red suit said. She had just come up behind me as my brain freeze was beginning to die down. "We're leaving." She continued to stare down at an iPad she held in her hand because it was more important than me.

"But, Mother," I tried to reason.

"No buts, I have a meeting and I can't leave you here alone." She still doesn't look up from her work. I drop my head and begin to stand.

Then, before I can say bye, Alex says, "Ma'am, please, we haven't seen each other in three months. Surely, you're okay with her staying here with me. My parents will be back any moment, so we won't be left alone." I look up at him with wide eyes and a smile.

Mother glances up and looks Alex straight in the eyes. He stands firm for me.

"I suppose that will be alright.," She says, leaning down to kiss me on the forehead. Then she looks back at Alex, "I expect her home by eight." And then she was gone.

Another memory, a not-so-happy one, made its way to my mind and I soon realized what had made my eyes go blurry not so long ago. It was a much clearer memory, perhaps it was a lot more recent?

He stood on the curbside, but I didn't look at him. I couldn't. But it might be my last chance.

His voice cracked when he said, "I promise I'll send you emails." I could hear the pain in his voice. It echoed the pain in my heart. But, still, I refused to look at him.

"Please," he pleaded with me, "one more hug before I go?" I give in and turn around faster than a flash of light.

I wrapped my arms around him tight and didn't let go. He hugged me back even tighter, and I knew he didn't want to leave me. Before we pull away, he whispers to me, "I promise I'll come back. Even if it kills me."

And then he was gone. The love of my life and the only friend who had truly known the real me.

"Hey, are you okay?"

I look up and see a boy looking down at me with a painful expression. I notice the tears that had leaked out of my eyes and I wipe them away as I remember more and more of what had happened.

"Uh, yeah," I say. The boy helps me up and I notice where we were. We stood in the alleyway behind my school. I look back at the boy and notice the kind look in his eyes. "Alex?" I ask him.

"Uh, actually, it's Axel," he corrects and I feel my hopes sink. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to make you upset. You can call me Alex if you want. It's the least I can do for leaving you trapped in there for so long," he says quickly.

"No, it's okay. I actually enjoyed it in there," I tell him. "It really changed my perspective." I pause and then say, "On everything."

"Oh, well, that's good, I guess," he stutters.

"Hey, how long was I, you know, in there?" I ask him as we exit the alley.

"Oh, not even a week, which is pretty good." I get the feeling he had been trapped in that void for much longer than a week. I don't tell him this, though, and we continue up the stairs into the school for our free period.

Author Notes: Okay, okay, this is from Abigail's point of view. I know, I'm super nice. You're welcome!
I hope you enjoyed it and I hope you'll give me advice on how I can improve. I'm not very good at conveying emotions like this, so I would love some feedback.
Thanks for reading!

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