Bringing Back Memories

Dezmond sat motionless on his bed, staring at his floor, flashing images rapidly entering his head of Charlotte laying on the carpet in a pool of her own blood. When these images would flash, Dez would close his eyes tightly as if someone were holding a syringe filled with rubbing alcohol to them. Dez opened his eyes and looked up. His blank eyes stared violently through the glass window. A single tear drop fell from his now burning eyes and soaked into his shattered memories leaving them drenched in his sadness. D was angry, and upset, and felt guilty. He felt like he should have known.

    D caught a glimpse of a small shimmer of light across the street in Charlottes room, he got off his bed and squinted his eyes at the shimmering light. Charlottes snowglobe. He turned and looked at his bed side table and stared tearfully at his. Their sandcastle snowglobes...

    Dez stumbled backwards, images flashing in front of his eyes, he grabbed his head, wincing in pain.

"Ah, it burns, no!" The lights went out.

    When Dezmond opened his eyes he saw himself standing in front of him, but he was younger... He was laughing, and happy, and smiling...Something Dez hadn't felt or done in 9 days. It had been 9 whole days without Charlotte... His younger self ran into a big building. Dezmond began looking around, he hadn't realized he was in a new location. But he stopped and stared a while... He recognized this place, the grass, the trees, the parking lot... This place was so familiar, he turned around and looked at the school. Then he saw her...

    A short red headed girl came walking down the sidewalk, pulling her mother behind her.

    "Come on, mama! I'M GONNA BE LATE!"

    "Alright, alright," the mother laughed, "slow down Charlotte."

    Charlotte...Dezmond called out her name and ran up to her preparing himself to embrace her in his arms but when his body hit hers she turned into smoke and Dezmond fell to the floor. He looked up and heard children screaming and running around. He was inside his kindergarden classroom now. He stood up and saw his younger self in the corner sitting with a drawing book, the little red head walked up to him and sat down.

    "What are you drawing?" she asked politely. Dezmond mouthed what she was saying as she said it, he had replayed this day over and over in his head. His first moment meeting Charlotte...

Dezmonds younger self looked up at the tiny green eyed girl and stuttered,"An o-ow-owl," he looked back down at his drawing.

"I love owls!" She screamed at him." Me and you, we're friends now." She hugged little Dezmond and stared at him smiling, revealing her front two missing teeth.

"You and I are friends now. You and I. You and I. You and I." Repeated over and over in Dezmonds head. And he hit the ground.

Dezmond lay motionless on the floor, the ground below him growing warmer, Dezmond slowly began opening his eyes but the light was too bright, so he squinted, but still the rays hurt his eyes so he close them. He slowly moved his hand out from under him, a grainy  feeling swarmed around his hand, and he it placed on the ground. Dez twitched his fingers, a strange texture was beneath him. Dirt? Or maybe...sand? Dezmond quickly opened his eyes, the brightness from the sun nearly blinding him. Where was he?

When D's eyes finally adjusted he took a look at his surroundings, he was laying in the middle of a beach. Alone on the sand, he sat up. Running his hands through the sand beneath him, this brought a familiar feeling, one he hadn't felt in years. He remembered this place, it was a place from the far end of his memories, a place he hadn't been in oh so many years.

Dezmond could hear the waves crashing to shore. Hear the seagulls screaming in the distance, flying overhead. This memory was so familiar...he heard people laughing and splashing in the waves. He began to hear children laughing and screaming, they were getting closer. He saw the tops of their heads, two kids,  one bright blonde and one bright red, they ran out from behind the rocks. Dezmond could feel his heart begin to beat again, it had stopped the moment he found Charlotte, but he began to feel the warmth again. He smiled...Dez began to smile...It was him, and it was Charlotte.

"Why do you always have to destroy my sandcastles, D?

"Because," he laughed, "you chase me."

They both fell into the sand in a heap of giggles.

"Because you chase me." Dezmonds head began burning again, growing more painful by the second. He squeezed his eyes shut and fell to the ground in agony.

"Because you chase me, because you chase me, because you chase me." The sentence grew louder in his head then silence.

"Of course...I'll always chase you, D"

He opened his eyes and was in the middle school. Charlotte was against the wall, Dally and Tommy were standing in front of her, calling her horrible names.

"Slut.... Filthy whore...You're such a daddy's girl you little bitch. Where's your little boyfriend, skank?"

"Stop." She yelled at them, tears streaming down her cheeks. Dez clenched his fists tightly, he remembered this moment. He looked down the hallway, whispering "Come on D help her, come on" he saw himself walking quickly towards the small crowd. He walked up to Dally, grabbed his shoulder and twisted him around.

"Hey what th-" Dezmond punched him, his fist coming into contact with his jaw.

D blinked and was in the gym. Music filled the air and calm lights flashed around the room...he remembered this song...he had replayed this song over and over in his room since Charlotte died. It was the song. The first song they ever danced to. Their song.

D looked in the corner and saw himself and Cece dancing, her head against his chest.

"D?" She said, looking up at him. He had always been taller than her.

"Yes?" He replied.

"You know that I uhm, I-I love you right?" Dezmond stopped swaying.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," she looked down, "I mean I lo-" two girls came up from behind Charlotte and shoved her to the ground.

"Slut." They whispered.

Dezmond fell to his knees and helped her up. He looked into her now tear filled eyes and she looked back into his, she got up and ran out of the door.

"She loved me..." Dezmond said to himself...why didn't he say it back?..

Dezmond fell backwards, hitting his head on his bedroom table and began convulsing...