The Tower (3)

she heard footsteps coming her way. she also heard that familiar breathing rhythm of the person that was approaching her. maybe it's the wind? no, not really. this was the sound of air coming out from another person-a person she's been close and familiar with. finally, the man stood next to her and she smirked at the realisation that she knew that she had guessed correctly, that Nick would be here. she didn't look at him though, but she knew it was him, standing right next to her. that familiar cologne and the smell of his hair, and that breathing. God, it's annoying Nick, the way you breathe, she thought to herself. "why are you always here Mandy?"

the view from on top of this tower always managed to calm her down. it is peaceful up here, she thought. she loved to gaze down at cars and people who looked so tiny, like ants, moving here and there, being busy with  life. she also loved to look up at the sky, especially when it was sunny, like during summer, when on some days no clouds would be seen floating above and all she could see was the vastness of the sky, bright and spacey, and blue. she loved the tower. it's the only thing that made sense to her, this place. 

"i love it here Nick. i told you right?" she answered him without even looking at him. she answered him with a smile though, with a smile."anyways, i know why you're up here. i know so well." she said, a little to happy of a tone to be used but she didn't care. she was happy. 

"you're supposed to be at the institute Mandy. how did you..."

"escape? Nick, i maybe crazy, MAYBE, but i'm not stupid or ugly o.k? anyways, i slept with one of the doctors last night and i stole his car this morning. told him i wanted to go out and buy some tampons. heh. stupid doctor." Mandy answered nonchalantly.

Nick made a worried face. he knew her for a very, very long time and he knew her capabilities but this was taking it to the extremes. "why did you do it Mandy?" Nick asked and this time he turned to look at her but Mandy was still fixed at gazing the horizon with a smile on her face. 

"i don't know Nick. things just happen you know. i was there. she was there. i'm in the car. she was crossing the street. next thing you know, BAMMM!" Mandy answered and giggled a little.

"you know that's not the right thing to do Mandy. God! shouldn't have told you bout them getting married. FUCK. you're gonna get arrested with the police Mandy! the police! if you get caught and she dies, it's gonna be a homicide case!" Nick said with genuine concern in his voice and he was shaking when he said those words. "she was going to get married to the man of her dreams and Kyle.." 

"shut up Nick! shut up! he was supposed to be married to me, not that SLUT!" Mandy cut off Nick before he could finish his sentence. "she stole him away from me Nick! she stole Kyle away from me! so, in return i..." 

"shit Mandy. they've been together for 2 years and you broke up with Kyle..." Nick said. 

"HE broke up with ME!" Mandy turned to face Nick and screamed those words into his face. her anger was bubbling inside of her and she couldn't help but raised her voice at Nick.

"and it happened years ago, Mandy. years ago. Kyle loves Liana now so get over it!" Nick said, also angry, but most of all disappointed with her.

"fuck you Nick. i love him. i love him." Mandy answered and she embraced Nick and cried on his shoulders. she always felt safe in his embrace, always. Nick had a way of calming her down, pulling her back to the ground every time she got too high off of the ground. even though it was cold, the warmth Nick's body provided her gave her comfort.

"and i love Liana too, but we have to move on Mandy. life's not all fairy tales. you know that. we have each other alright? God, it's freezing up here. Mandy, i don't know why you love it up here." Nick said. 

"you wanna go?" Mandy said while slowly lifting her head from Nick's shoulder and freeing herself from his embrace.

"sure. let me take you back to my place." Nick said, smiling. "everything's gonna be alright, Mandy. you'll find someone better than Kyle, trust me. and we'll explain to the police that it was all an accident-that you lost control of the car and shit ok?" Nick said and he kissed her on the forehead. they looked and smiled at each other. "C'mon, let's get out of here. it's freezing the hell out of my balls," he said and as Nick turned his back, Mandy took out a knife she had been hiding inside her coat's pocket and stabbed Nick from the back. Nick screamed but of course who could hear him from such a height and as he turned his back to face Mandy, she wedged the knife further into his back. Nick managed to face Mandy and said, "what are you doing, sis?"

"i love you Nick. i won't let anyone take you away from me like what Liana did with Kyle. i'll join you in a few, brother." Nick collapsed on the floor, his blood beginning to ooze on the concrete floor.

Mandy started climbing on the ledge and she looked down at everything below her. she looked up at the sky. it was gloomy. the wind was blowing hard and she thought to herself, what a great day to fly. so, she took one step, and then another, and that was it.

p.s: to be continued? 

The Tower (2)

it was his big day. no, it was THEIR big day. he had waited for this moment ever since he proposed to her. the church was decorated with lilies of all colors. it was her favorite. he had been anxious all morning, checking his suit, shining his shoes, making sure that his hair was perfect. it annoyed his best friend and best man of the day Nick. 

"look, bro. just chill o.k.? everything's gonna be fine." Nick said trying to calm his best friend down.

"i'm fuckin' nervous man!shit. i've never been this nervous since that day when we..."

"yeah, yeah. i remember that day! good times, good times. can't believe you're gonna get married. of all the people, you!"

"i know man. i couldn't believe it myself. but everything just feels so..."

"right?" Nick continued his friend's sentence.

"yeah, and complete. she makes me feel complete. she completes me. fuck. those mean the same." he laughed and got up from the chair after he had done putting on his black shoes. he went and stood in front of the full-length mirror and took a good look at himself. "what do you think?" he asked Nick.

"man, if i were gay, i'd fuck you here and then." Nick said jokingly.

"shut up man." he laughed out loud and gave Nick a friendly punch at the shoulder.

"you ready?" Nick asked after handing his friend's black blazer to complete the groom-look.

"yeah." he answered nervously whilst putting the blazer on. "i've never been this ready for anything all my life." before they walked out out of the room, he and Nick exchanged hugs.

"all the best man. she's gonna make you happy. make sure you'll make her happy too. hey wait, do you have your..." Nick asked before they left the room.

"my vow? i've memorized it last night." he said and Nick smiled at him and said, "good luck bro. i love you man." and they walked out of the room.

this is it, he thought. this is the day. never once in his life he'd imagine that he'd be in this position, in front of the aisle, on the altar, waiting for his bride to walk up to him and then they'd be wedded, officially, by the priest. his heart was beating so fast and he had butterflies in his stomach but he felt good. he felt really, really good. while waiting for his bride to appear, he scanned the church and the seats were filled with family members from both sides of their family. even his Uncle Merlin and Aunt Ruth flew all the way from Australia to attend his wedding. "we wouldn't miss it for the world," his Aunt Ruth said to him before the ceremony started when he graciously thanked her and Uncle Merlin for coming. 

in his mind, his vow that  he had written weeks before the marriage was playing in his head:

"i love you. i don't know how to appropriately start this vow, but i love you. i love you. i couldn't think of any better person that i would like, i would love, i would be obliged to be spending the rest of my life with. you've made me whole and all these years, the friendship that we had built together, just made more sense the day you confessed to me. i thought i was the only one to have feelings but how could i be so pathetically blind and cold-hearted to not feel that you feel the same way towards me as i do feel towards you? i guess i was too afraid, too caught up in my own thoughts that, that i... i don't know. you were right. it was fear. it was fear that kept me from loving anyone. but you, you made the fear disappear. that rhymed. you taught me that, to rhyme. you taught me friendship. you taught me love. but most importantly, you taught me to believe; in love. i love you, with all my heart. thank you, for agreeing to be my wife, and thank you, for allowing me to be your husband. i love you, so much. i will never, ever want to spend the rest of my life with anyone other than you, sweetheart."

as he went over those lines over and over again, he saw, in her brides-maid outfit, Clara, his soon-to-be-wife's best friend running down the aisle and in her face registered fear, and overwhelming sadness. she went up to the alter and the church and its congregation grew anxious.

"what's up, Clara? is everything alright? where's..." 

Clara pulled his head down to her level so she could whisper to him. Kyle slowly lifted his head and tears flowed down his cheeks and they were not tears of joy. he stepped down from the altar and ran down the aisle and out of the church and hailed for a cab. a mustard-yellow colored cab stopped for him and after informing the driver his destination, Kyle got into the cab and he was off, the cab speeding leaving the church grounds.

everyone was in shock with what happened and were confused. Nick without any hesitation went to ask Clara what had happened to Liana. 

"she got into an accident. she...." Clara couldn't finish her sentence and she placed her head on Nick's chest and cried as the church grew into murmuring chaos. Nick's hand brushed Clara's hair while the other pulled her close to him. she broke away from Nick after she had done crying and told him something that he would not forget.

"some people said she hit her, Nick. she hit, and then run over her."

"she, you mean? her? no. it can't be. she's in..."

"she's back Nick, she's back." Clara said in between sobs and Nick's face turned pale-white, as white as snow.

[to be continued]

p.s: i don't know where i'm going with this. 

The Tower (1)

Nick dialed his friend's number as soon as he heard the rumors about her. 

"c'mon, pick up the phone. pick up the ph.. damn it!" his first and second tries were unsuccessful. the third one was a charm. "hello Mel? hey it's Nick. I wonder have you heard from... yes? well, do you know where she... really? thanks Mel. yeah, i'm gonna see her. yeah. thanks. talk to you later. yeah alright, i'll be in touch with you." Nick hung up and kept the phone inside his jean's pocket. he grabbed his coat that was lying on the couch and walked out of his apartment.

the weather was cold and Nick pulled his coat closer to him to keep him warm. he hailed for a cab and one stopped for him. he entered the cab and told the driver his destination. the driver nodded and off they went, the driver confidently and professionally zig-zagging through the congested traffic. Nick's mind was somewhere else and he didn't concentrate on the traffic or the driver's crazy way of handling his cab. his mind was thinking about her and he had a bad, sinking feeling in his stomach. 

because of the traffic, it took them a while to reach the destination but Nick was glad that they got there in one piece. his mind came back to reality when the driver almost hit another car but the driver was lucky enough to have pressed on the brakes before anything bad were to happen to him and the driver. Nick paid for the fare and thanked the cab driver and got out of the vehicle and walked into the building. 

the building was less congested with tourists today because of the cold weather. Nick waited for the elevator with the rest of the other people. "DING", an elevator door opened and he and the rest of them rushed into it. the door closed and Nick's fear of small and tight spaces kicked in. he closed his eyes and breathed in and out slowly to calm himself down. the things i do for you , Mandy, he whispered to himself. when they got to the observation deck, everyone rushed out but Nick stayed. the elevator door closed and he pressed the "NOT FUNCTIONING" button and the elevator moved one more floor up. the door opened, and cold air greeted Nick and he walked out of the elevator. he scanned the place for her, and sure enough he spotted her, standing behind the railings just looking into the horizon.

his heart was beating so fast, he didn't even know why. he walked slowly towards her and wished himself and her, all the best.

[to be continued]

p.s: experimenting. haha