There was just something about the tantalizing twinkle that shone through the gray. Something about its hard core, that one rough edge on the side. I gazed at it, and hated it.
He had slipped it into my hand, and walked off before I realized he was there. But the rock I now held gave me a constant reminder, a reminder of his personality, and what I’d lost. That was just like Aiden: always reminding me of jokes long gone. But this wasn’t a joke. It was a cruel, malicious attempt at breaking the small part of my soul that still lived.
The Aiden I once knew would never have done that to me. He would have teased me, ruffled my hair, maybe. Never would he have done something so twisted.
But he had changed, and I was helpless to stop him. I should have told him before he became Natalie’s boyfriend, before he threw away everything and became her lap dog. I should’ve had the guts to tell him.
I should have told him I loved him.
I closed my eyes, listening to the waves, and I was suddenly in another place, in another time. A time when we were innocent and naïve, without a care in the world…
Aiden and I stand at the water’s edge, skipping stones. The cool breeze washes over us, bringing with it the scent of spring. Aiden is bragging about how his rock has skipped 5 times. Next to him, I try vainly to get my rock to jump, but it insists on sinking as soon as it reaches the water. I curse it. Then, I hear something unusual: silence. Aiden is not bragging. My surprise grows as he demonstrates the technique, helping me look for the right rocks. At times like these, he is gentle and caring. Other times, he is teasing and mischievous. But he is wholly, completely, Aiden.
There were no more spring days together anymore. No more teasing, no laughing. No Aiden. I was alone.
I hurtled the rock into the churning waves, madly, blindly. I heard it land with a splash.
It was just a rock. But as it left my hands, I felt I had thrown the last piece of him away, letting it be swept away by the waves of time.