^^Play the Song Above

CHAPTER 48:
Bittersweet Endings and Hopeful Beginnings

~~**~~

I took in the scene in front of me, everyone was wearing their maroon graduation gowns and caps. The atmosphere was a blend of joy and sorrow.

Graduation had been postponed two months in respect of Fallon's untimely passing. On the stage where the senior year graduates were supposed to receive their graduation scroll, a large portrait of Fallon had been placed to honor her memory.

I spotted Jamie standing next to Colton and Caroline. The kid had come back for his sister's graduation, they'd asked him to go up on stage and receive the diploma in Fallon's place.

The event started and all of us settled in our places.

Peyton gave her valedictorian speech. In her speech, she talked about Fallon. Everyone laughed when she told us about all the crazy things she and Fallon had done in the past and everyone cried with her when she told us about how much she missed her best friend and how much she wished she was here.

Amidst the roll call of students going up on stage, something beautiful unfolded. Each graduate, myself included, took a moment to place a sunflower beneath Fallon's portrait before collecting their diploma.

And when it was Jamie's turn to go in place of his sister the entire audience stood up and clapped.

I looked around me, almost the entire stage had been covered in bright yellow sunflowers. Around me, people clapped and cheered.

I closed my eyes and smiled.

This is exactly how Fallon would have wanted to be remembered.

~~**~~

I was almost finished packing when my cell phone pinged. My eyebrows scrunched in confusion when I saw a text message from an unfamiliar number.

"Can you come down? I'm waiting outside the apartment."

When I stepped outside my eyes widened in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

Jamie greeted me with a warm smile. He was not phased even a little by my cold response.

His smile was exactly like Fallon's bright and vibrant. He looked so much like her that it was physically painful to look at him.

"Hey." He said lightly.

"Hi," I responded, my voice sounded pained.

He shoved his hands in the pockets of the denim jacket he was wearing. "I'm leaving for home tonight. Just thought I'd come here and say goodbye."

"Oh." I swallowed. "Have a safe trip back."

For a moment we didn't say anything else. We just stood there but then something of an understanding seemed to pass between us.

I grinned. "Thanks for coming to our graduation." I looked at him, hoping my face conveyed my sincerity. "I know it would have meant the world to Fallon."

He sniffed. "It was an honor."

His eyes suddenly focused on me. "The truth is, I didn't really come all the way here just to say goodbye to you." Suddenly, he gestured towards something behind him.

It took me a moment to realize he was pointing at the Convertible parked about twenty feet away.

Fallon's convertible.

My heart suddenly lurched. "What's the matter? Is something wrong with her? Do you need me to check the engine-" I started to rumble but he stopped me.

"Nothing's wrong with it." He said gently.

I was baffled. "Then what-"

"It's yours." He stated.

The breath froze inside my lungs.

"What?" I could feel the blood rushing in my ears. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "Surely you can't mean that?"

He smiled softly. "I planned on giving it to you after the graduation ceremony but you left before I had the chance to talk to you.

I shook my head. "Jamie I can't accept this," I told him quietly. "It's your father's, he left it to Fallon, and now that she isn't here anymore," I tried to swallow the growing lump in my throat, "It belongs to you."

He shook his head, "Colton told me." His words were quiet, "He told me how you'd brought this car back to life for my sister, and how you'd worked tirelessly to fix it for her. He told me what it meant to the two of you." He took a step towards me.

"She would have wanted you to have it." His eyes shone with emotion. "Please don't say no." He said as he held the keys to the convertible before me.

I hesitated for a moment before my hand came up and slowly closed around them.

He gave me a grateful smile before turning to walk away.

"Hey, Jamie," I called out, stopping him.

When he turned back I gave him a full smile. "I'm joining the University of Florida in the fall."

He laughed.

"Then I guess I'll see you around, brother."

~~**~~

|3 Months Later|

I turned the key in the ignition and smiled as the engine roared to life.

"Here we go," I murmured to myself.

The trip from Long Beach, California to Gainesville, Florida by road was approximately a forty-hour drive. But leaving the convertible behind was an inconceivable notion.

It was a beautiful sunny day so I'd pulled the hood of the convertible back. A random pop song started playing when I turned on the radio

As I passed the "Goodbye California" sign down the highway my eyes automatically turned to the picture of me and Fallon I'd hung from the rearview mirror. It was the one we'd taken at prom.

"You know, every possible future I had even imagined had been with you Fallon. Whether it was moving to Florida, or staying in California. Going to college, getting my own house, getting married, and starting a family, everything I'd planned, everything I'd been working towards had been so I could have a future with you."

I took one hand off the steering wheel and ran it through my hair.

"But now that you're not here, it feels like I'm racing forward completely blind. It's like jumping over the edge of a cliff. I don't know what I'm supposed to do anymore or who I'm supposed to be. I'm just hoping I find myself somewhere along the way."

I swallowed. "And honestly, it scares the hell out of me Fallon. I'm fucking terrified of living in a world where you aren't with me."

"But if there's one thing you've taught me, it's how to be brave.

So here I am, I'm choosing to be brave for you Fallon. I'm choosing to have faith."

I ran a finger over her picture affectionately.

"We're connected you and I, connected in a way that you'll always be a part of me.
My love for you- it's something I feel every day, it's eternal. You coming into my dim life and filling it with sunshine, it was fate Fallon Chambers. I was always destined to be yours, just like you were destined to be mine."

I wiped away a stray tear that had escaped.

"What are the odds of you running into my brother of all people all those years ago, of you finding that picture of me and keeping it?"

I took a shuddering breath.

"Don't get me wrong, you not being here, it hurts. It hurts so fucking much that it's hard to breathe. Sometimes I feel like I'm drowning in all my anger and grief.

But then I remember what you told me once and I feel like I can come up for air again"

I found the tips of my lips curving into a gentle smile.

"We're meant to float not sink."

~~

The End

19/2/24

Thank you so much for all your love, patience, and support.

I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you guys.