Her Past Her Present

I won't ever stop loving you is what she told me, but as I watched her laugh and joke with him I knew that she had. In the six months she'd been seeing him she hadn't spoken of me once. Her nightly routine of talking to me while she fell asleep soon turned into her calling him every night. Her weekly visits to see me became monthly. I longed to talk to her to tell her I was still here. To hold her in my arms and tell her everything was going to be ok. I wanted to come back and be the most important person in her life, but I couldn't. I was stuck watching from the outside. Sadness soon turned to rage. I couldn't stand the thought of them together. She was mine and I was hers. She was never meant to be with someone else and I had to keep it that way.

I started with small things like making him spill drinks on her or ruining the food he'd made. It only ended up in them laughing or making fun of each other. I followed them to restaurants, parks, stores, starting little arguments between them. Nothing was working, they just kept getting closer and I was getting frustrated. I decided to go out on my own to clear my mind,I visited the cemetery and sat next to my plot. I'm not sure how long I sat there but when I returned the house was empty. I sat alone in the house worried about where she had gone, if she was ok, and if she was even alive. A whole week had passed when her car finally pulled into the driveway. I hurried downstairs and was relieved to see her get out of the car laughing, I examined her whole body checking for any type of injury, and that's when I saw it. A ring. He had proposed. I was livid and had to step up my game. Heading inside I began to come up with more plans to ruin their relationship when it suddenly hit me. He had no idea I existed. She was hiding my existence from him and that had to change. I was the key to ruining everything.

I went through her closet pulling out the photos of us that she had stored away and quickly placed them around the house. She was too oblivious to notice and he was too observant not to. They dragged their bags inside and I immediately noticed his eyes drift to the photo of me laying on the coffee table. He didn't bring it up though and continued his conversation with her. They walked into the kitchen and I made a photo of the two of us on our wedding day floating to the ground. He bent down and grabbed the photo. "What's this photo I've never seen it before?" She quickly ripped the photo out of his hand.

"I-It's nothing don't worry about it I don't even know how it got here." she looked down at the photo sadly and then placed it into her back pocket.

"Ally..." the doorbell rang, cutting him off.

"Oh, the food is here!" She quickly walked to the door, returning with a box of pizza. I could practically see the concern in his eyes but he never said anything. They both sat down to eat, the house deathly silent.

"What was that photo?" He finally asked. She stopped eating and her eyes dropped to her plate. "Why are you being so secretive about this? Just tell me what the damn photo is."

"It's nothing I told you not to worry about, it doesn't matter."

"Goddammit Ally just tell me who he is, do you have a secret life you don't want me knowing about!"

"No! I would never, how could you even assume that of me."

"Well, then who is he!" She didn't respond and went back to staring at her plate. "Tell me who he is or I'm leaving." No response. He stood up from the table and made his way to the door. "Call me when you're ready to tell me the truth." He slammed the door behind him. She didn't move for a few seconds just staring blank-faced at the door almost as if expecting him to walk back in. After what felt like hours she slowly rose from her seat and took their plates to the sink and then made her way to her room. I stood alone in the kitchen celebrating my victory. I had broken them up. She was mine again; she didn't need him. It wasn't until I heard her soft sobs from upstairs that I began to feel bad. I went up there to find her a crying mess sitting in front of the box that held our pictures. I tried to convince myself that this was a good thing that she was remembering that she loves me and not him. But I couldn't help but think that maybe what I did was wrong. Seeing her sad hurt me more than anything. And the fact it was my fault destroyed me. I sat down in front of her.

"I'm so sorry, love. I shouldn't have let my anger take control of me." I knew she couldn't hear me but that didn't matter. She stopped crying after a while and began going through the box. She pulled out every photo and trinket admiring every detail. I smiled as she ran her fingers over my face.

"I miss you so much, why did you have to leave me here?" I looked over at her and saw more tears streaming down her face. "I hate you so much for leaving but why can't I stop loving you." Finally, she pulled the ring out of the box. My ring. The ring that had bonded us together all those years ago. For the first time in a long time, I felt tears on my face. I reached my hand over to hers and held it. I thought I was imagining it but I could feel the warmth of her skin against mine. I looked up at her as our eyes locked. "H-How are you here?"

"I don't know." She threw her arms around me sobbing. I wanted to stay like this forever but I knew I didn't have much time.

"I'm so sorry I shouldn't have interfered with your life. It's all my fault Ally. I let my emotions get the best of me and I ruined everything." I was the one crying now, all the anger I'd felt before was now guilt.

"What do you mean?"

"It was me, it was all me, the spilled drinks, the ruined dinners, the pictures I did it all."

"You did all that?"

"Yes, I thought that you were forgetting me and didn't love me anymore. You promised me you would never stop and you were."

"Oh Noah I could never forget you." she put her hand to my cheek and stared into my eyes. "You're the most amazing and important thing to ever happen to me. I could never stop loving you."

"I thought you were choosing him over me."

"I love both of you so much. I think of you every day and how I might be betraying you by falling in love again and now he's gone and I'm alone again." She laid her head on my shoulder and began to cry. I wrapped my arms around her.

"I'm sorry love. You could never betray me. I'm glad you're happy again. You'll win him back I know you will. Just tell him the truth, ok." I could feel her warmth slowly fade. Whatever was allowing us to be together was beginning to weaken. "I love you Ally I always will."

"No! Noah you can't leave I just got you back. You have to stay here with me, please don't not again." Tears filled her eyes.

"Our times up love. Go fix things with him and don't worry I'll never leave you. I'll always be here to listen when you need me."

"No you have to stay, I need you to stay!" I smiled sadly as I felt the rest of her warmth diminish. "I love you, Noah!"

"I love you Ally more than you'll ever know." She couldn't hear me anymore but that was ok. I finally realized that she wasn't choosing him over me. She could love us both, for I was her past and he was her present.