"Kristian let's go! This was your idea!... Were gonna be late!" I called down the short hallway, when I went without any response I started to make my way down the hallway.
I stuck my head into the first room on my right, my room... Kristin loved just sitting in my room and laying on my bed I often find her napping in there so it surprised when I scanned the room and didn't find her. The wavy haired brunette stuck her head out of her bedroom doorway facing the wrong way, her room was further down the hall on the same side as mine, her emerald eyes settled on me after she turned around to face my direction. She was blushing slightly knowing that I caught her mistake, I said nothing and smirked at her. Her gaze made me melt I love her eyes. She always brushes me off when I tell her that but it doesn't seem to stop me from reminding her.
We may be married but she still fails to understand when I tell her that seeing her eases my mind and how her smiles and laughs melt my heart or how her tears and anger break my heart. I couldn't imagine life without my nerd and now that we're married I don't have to. I chuckled to myself when I mentally called her a nerd. It reminded me of her favorite pair of fake glasses. She wears them every where. Today she had them on head her hair that normally laid on her forehead was pinned back by the frame.
She stepped out into the hallway and leaned against the opposite wall.
" I don't wanna go... Let's just... Ya know catch a movie on Tv or somethin'...b 'sides I don't have any nice clothes to wear." she made multiple pauses as if she was trying to to think of a better excuse not to go.
"Come on kris you've been talking about this Firework show all week... We can watch a movie when we get back and for clothes its pretty cool out."
" It's hot. "
"Fine then wear your red dress." she squinted at me before returning to her room. The last time I told her to wear that dress she came back with a stronger relationship with me and woke up next to me the next morning. I smiled to myself again, that's also the same day she became my wife.
Moments later she strutted out, wearing her deep red dress, it was a spaghetti strap dress and the length of the dress was about knee height with a low back. I was zoned out, lost in thought, so when I came back from my memories my jaw almost dropped I just stood there and stared. My mind went buzzing on all the wrong topics, I looked away and attempted to regain my composure. I can't make this relationship any closer but I have a feeling that that she will be waking up next to me tomorrow morning.
"You mean this one?" she nervously twisted the black tungsten ring on her finger. Her new nervous tick ever since I placed it there. Her gaze glued to the ground, her face red.
"Yep that one." I stepped closer grabbing her by her hips as I said it. The words came out sounding more like a seductive growl then I intended.
" O-okay." her blush got deeper
"Turn around? " it sounded like a question but I meant it like a request.
"Huh? No way pervert." She shimmied away blushing deeper.
"Pervert? If I wanted to be a pervert I would have done this... " I chuckled evilly as I reached for the hem of her dress. She giggled and shimmied away.
'Hmm smart girl'
" I'm sorry, I'm sorry you're not a perv. You win." She continued to giggle.
" That's what I thought. " My smile flashed and I watched her melt slightly. I stuck my hand out to her and waited for her take it.
"Come on kris or we really will miss the fireworks."
"Okay! Let's go." She quickly took my hand and we both headed towards the door. She let my hand go to grab the keys from off of the couch.
"Oh wait... We might need these." and with that we were out and on our way to the beach after she quickly locked the door and linked hands with me. I looked at her while we walked and I couldn't help my thoughts.
'What would I do Without you?'
The beach was just down the street past a long patch of poppies flower patch. I chuckled to myself. She noticed and asked me about it.
"What?" I shook my head and proceeded to explain it anyway.
" your matching today." she looked down at her black flats confused.
"What no I - "
"Look forward. " I interrupted rolling my eyes.
"What are you - ohh. Yeah exact same color too. " she laughed. I smiled staying quiet as we strolled closer to the poppy patch.
"It must be a sign, we were meant to be here... " I wiggled my eyebrows at her.
"Red is the color of fate. " I stated matter of factly.
She looked me straight in my eyes and said
"It's also the color of danger. Isn't it? "
"I didn't realize my future came with a warning label. " I smirked tugging at the hem of her dress, slightly lifting it.
"Ahh! Let go silly! " her cheeks turned Ruby.
"See! The color of love. "
"More like the color of lust." she muttered.
"What was that?"
"Nothing. " she skipped along speeding up a bit to run away from further questioning. She stopped in the center of the poppy field. Then suddenly...
BOOM BOOM BANG!
It was beautiful, the blue and green claimed the sky.
The third firework never appeared. I scanned the sky but knowing how fleeting fireworks are I brushed it off and jogged over to Kristian.
"Kaleb come on! "
"I'm coming, I'm coming. " My voice was drowned out by distant and nearby fireworks.
The detentions got a lot more frequent with a lot less colorful ooo's and ahh's. The bangs were all extremely loud but yet there was no fire works being shot out. I dragged my gaze from the sky and straight down to the man facing us ready to open Fire.
"Kristian! " I ran to shield her.
BANG
The man got tackled by a security guard for the event his gun going off one last time. I crashed into Kristian at the same time. Our body crashed into each of other hard I knocked all of the wind out of myself. Everything was moving too fast.
"Are you okay?"
She struggled to catch her breath and was holding her head I felt bad I didn't mean to collide with her so hard I rolled off and let her catch her breath. My side hurt bad too I probably landed on a rock so I was adding pressure hoping that would make a difference occasionally checking my hand to make sure I wasn't bleeding.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Yeah I'm fine." I laid there with kris until I could breath fully and my side no longer hurt. I felt Extremely dizzy from head butting the ground but I still sat up I landed on Kris so I could only imagine how she felt.
"Hey are you sure you okay? Is your head alright? " When I got no response I started to panic.
I knelt down beside her and tried to scoop her up her body falling limp. I could hear the police or ambulance coming. I decided it might be best to leave her laying down and pulled my hand away that's when I seen it. The deep red smudge on my knuckles and coating my fingers and palm.
'Red'
Panic overwhelmed my thoughts and stopped me from functioning I sat their kneeling beside her traumatized and frozen. One last firework was heard screaming as it rose the the whole way up to meet the patiently waiting starry night sky. The red firework brightly lingered as it overpowered the darkness.
'Too much red'
I didn't think enough to add pressure to her leaking wounds all I could manage was to scream.
"Help! Somebody help! Please!"
Red Fireworks, red dress, red poppies, red growing puddle, red and white lights. I see the signs Kris was right they were warning signs and I ignored them all.
'Too. Much. Red.'
It was all becoming too much to handle. My mind just... Shut down. That's when my mind started buzzing.
'Please tell me this is a joke... This is a joke right? I'm going to wake up any second right? Right?!?'
I was pushed out of the way by a paramedic to get to kris I toppled over the ground meeting me way faster then I expected. The other sat me up and looked me over, patching my head up and telling me to stay put, I obviously didn't listen and stood up anyway. I don't remember the process of standing up but once I noticed I was standing, a random woman stood in front of me and started wiping my tears away while shiny streaks staining her face.
'When did I start crying?'
She leaned in and hugged me, crying harder then she already was. I don't know what she wanted but I know that today was not the day she would receive my sympathy. I'm sorry. I felt dead inside... Hollow almost.
The beach was no longer celebrating for the night but in the distance I could hear it, the explosions of color lit the sky I could feel all of the large explosions slightly.
BOOM BOOM WEEEEEE BOOM
This may just be from the jarring headache that has been plaguing my skull ever since the shooting ended... But all the colors other then red look so dull, were they always so... Blah? I looked down at the uprooted poppy field there was a long impression in the flower patch and multiple scattered footprints. Wasn't there something there just now? I racked my Brain but only made it ache more. I plucked the uprooted poppy out of my shoelace holding it in my hand for a second longer.
'... A color of danger...'
A wave of pain shot through my skull from behind my eyes. I held my head as I slowly staggered home. I should have listened, we should have stayed home and watched a movie. There was one final explosion that felt like it was launched from the beach I felt it in my chest before I seen it, the white illuminated the whole road home before quickly fading away.
FWEEEE BOOOM
Dream. This was a dream, a bad one but this was a dream... It had to be kris is probably waiting for me at home. Yeah that sounds right I need to go home, my nerd is waiting for me at home I better not keep her waiting for too long.
After finally making it home I staggered to the bathroom downed a couple Tylenol and dragged myself to my room and hid under my sheets. She's probably sleeping in her room and in the morning she will call me childish for sleeping in... Like she always does. I don't know when I started crying but I know that they slowly soaked my pillow... I guess I will be sleeping in puddles tonight.
BOOM BOOM
This has to be some sick twisted joke. But I was too exhausted to fight reality. A half hour event turned into thirty seconds of happiness and a 5 minute walk turned into a a thirty minute drag... If that doesn't sound like a bad Dream I don't know what does.
"Good night." I know she wasn't here but I said it anyway.
BOOM
I want my baby back where did she go? When I tried to remember my head started to pound. This wasn't how tonight was supposed to turn out, where is my baby, my nerd, my Kristian?"
BOOM
She'll be back by morning my love, my other half... My wife. She's okay, she'll be back tomorrow my conscious slipped for a moment before being yanked back.
BOOM...BANG
I mentally cursed the fireworks. Shut. The. Fuck. Up.
BANG