"Charlotte! Please, please I'm begging you. Don't leave me! I've already lost my family… I can't lose you too!". Liam reached out to grab her wrist tightly.
Charlotte stopped in her tracks and turned around with tears dripping from her eyes.
"I'm sorry Liam, I don't have a choice either."
He froze and stuttered desperately, "W-we can run away... you and me- together."
Liam pulled Charlotte into a tight embrace, unwilling to let her go. He knew that if he did, she might never return. In reply, she pulled away and placed her hand on his cheek, caressing it with her thumb. "I love you", she whispered. Charlotte walked away while Liam could only watch her figure merge into the crowd. He was alone again, like he was used to.
Liam lived in an abandoned apartment in the outskirts of Paris. The building had walls which were a dark grey with its paint peeling off. The staircase to the upper floors made creaking sounds with each step he took, echoing throughout the building. Only one flickering light illuminated the pathway, leading to a busted door. It barely hung onto the door frame with its rusty hinges. Liam swung the door wide open, only to reveal a room with layers of dust piling up. Spider webs could be seen on every corner of the room and insects were crawling about.
Wooden planks were nailed onto the window, blocking off any light that could seep through. Liam slammed the chairs on the floor, snapping its legs to bits. His hands were clenched in fists and you could see the veins popping out of his forehead everytime he breathed. He punched the mirror making it shatter to the floor with a CRASH. He stood in front of the cracked mirror and saw himself. A boy who had felt like he had just lost the whole purpose of life and felt out of place in this world.
He pressed his forehead against the stained walls, and started punching until his knuckles were dripping in blood and there were several holes in front of him.
"Why?", he desperately cried out.
He took a deep breath and dropped to the floor, his hands gripping his head tightly. Tears dripped from his eyes and his whole body shook violently as if in fear. Flickers of memories rushed into his head all at once making him groan in pain. His heart began to ache, pounding fast as he clutched his shirt tight, trying to breathe. The tears were streaming down his face, unable to stop flowing no matter how many times he wiped them away. They continued to fall, seeping through the cracks of the floor. It disappeared just like how Charlotte did, without him being able to do anything. Once again, Liam was powerless, always allowing the inevitable to happen. His eyes, now red and swollen were showing the emptiness he felt inside. Their future together ended before it even started. Swiftly, he grabbed a black hoodie and took off to the nearest pharmacy.
On the streets of Paris, Liam could see several couples walking down the street, hand in hand. His heart ached but he couldn't look away. Liam could only remember the times he spent with Charlotte. The town where they grew up, the town where all their memories were made. It was their home, but she left him all alone, with people who would avoid him. He not only felt lonely but… isolated.
"Give me something for when you feel dumb, heartbroken and lon-."
"Here, take this", the clerk interrupted.
Liam grabbed his wallet and handed him a few notes, taking the plastic bag. He bought several more bags of alcohol and beer, dragging himself back to his apartment. Almost everyone stared at him and whispered to their friends. Liam ignored them and grabbed a bottle of alcohol, chugging it while walking through the evening streets.
He threw the door open, before drinking the night away. Liam took a round, white pill from the bag and gulped it down with some more alcohol.
In a way, the darkness was a sanctuary, no one could hurt him, no one could lie to him, because he had no one. He laid on the cement floor that scraped his skin, leaving cuts whenever he slept. The pain didn't bother him, especially when it was his heart that was aching. The longing for another became a lump in his throat… only to vanish away.
"Why… why did you have to leave me too?"
Liam, with his half-lit eyes, saw a faint figure of Charlotte still beside him.
"Charlotte?", he mumbled under his breath.
The figure smiled at Liam.
"So you did come back!"
The figure just stood in one spot, smiling at him. The smile that opened his heart to the world. He reached towards her but all he felt was cool air. The air started to become stuffy, to the point where even breathing became difficult.
"Charlotte? Why… why can't I hold you?"
Eli woke up abruptly to the sound of thunder and rain. The gloomy weather completely matched how he felt right then. He was hungover from yesterday and anger was still pent up inside of him. He still felt miserable despite taking the pills.
"So it was only a hallucination."
Liam began laughing to himself while covering his face with the palm of his hand.
"Of course she wouldn't have come back…"
A single tear rolled down his cheeks, soon followed by many more dripping down.
For several weeks, Liam locked himself up in his room, avoiding humans and the world outside his apartment. He took pills and imagined his own world, one where Charlotte and him lived together happily, if she hadn't left. He didn't eat, sleep or get up. He would only slump on the wall, lying in the corner, covered with bottles of alcohol and broken glass.
After the 4th week, Liam finally decided to go out into the battlefield once again. Just like last time, he felt out of place. The people staring at him, giving him weird looks and judging his appearance made Earth feel like a cage. Like he would never belong in this world.
Dragging himself along the road crossing, he saw a familiar figure sitting with another man in the park.
"Charlotte?"
His heart started to thump faster and faster and his stomach began to churn. His legs started to move one by one towards the figure before… BAM!
The sounds of screeching tires could be heard from the crossing and there lay an unmoving body. Liam felt his organs being torn apart and immense pain coursing through his body. The blood was grazing his teeth, soaking his tongue and dripping from the corners of his mouth. His vision was fading and before he knew it, he succumbed to his destiny. Without realising it, Liam was slowly dying in the rotten stench of his own withering self.
Before his eyelids fell, he saw Charlotte's figure turn around and stare piercingly
Everything about Charlotte was there for Liam but it wasn't the same for him. He wasn't born for her, she didn't become his, that's why he could only watch as the one who meant the world to him disappeared.