Remember Forever Part 4

Eliana introduced herself to the others, who were confused to see a supposed stranger coming to a party meant for those closest to Selene. “Oh, I knew Selene pretty well.” She explained. Damien asked her a bit defensively, “How well?” Eliana looked at him with her bright blue eyes and said, “A little more than you know.” Then she turned her gaze over to Chance, who was sitting in a chair on the far side of the room, his head down, looking at his feet. She softened her gaze to a sympathetic one and walked over to the heartbroken man. He looked up at her, his eyes red and close to pouring tears. This was too much for him. Eliana knelt down to his level and before he could say a word, she hugged him. “I’m so sorry for your loss. She really loved you. She still does.” Chance pulled back for a second, but, just as Susan had felt, her gentle embrace felt so familiar, he hugged the girl back and let out his tears. Her hug was like that of an angel; so warm and comforting, despite her having a rather thin body. Chance didn’t want her to let go. After a few minutes, Eliana let go of Chance, who was surprisingly smiling. He said through short sobs, “I have never felt this relieved in so long. I haven’t been able to cry like that until now… I haven’t felt love like that since Selene died. Thank you.” Eliana smiled back, a tear falling from her eye. She stood up and saw the surprised look on the groups’ faces. Eliana chuckled and said, “You guys should cheer up a bit. This is a party, right?” Morgan stood up and towered over her, while Catrine tried to hold him back, and said, “We don’t know who you are, so who are you to tell us what we should feel? Our friend is dead. And you expect us to cheer up?” Eliana simply looked at him and said, “I remember you. You’re Selene’s unrelated brother, Morgan.” Morgan suddenly recognized her. Was she the stranger blonde from the funeral? Eliana then said with a smile, “Call me Forever. That’s my nickname because I tend to take my time doing things; a reason why I was late.”  Morgan was taken aback; she really was the girl from the funeral. She had told him, “Never forget. Remember Forever.” He backed down.

Eliana reached into her bag and pulled out a large book of Madlibs and a few multi-colored pens. The looks on their faces indicated this was something that likely associated with Selene. She smiled and said, “I know Selene used to bring these a lot, but I think in honor of her, we ought to have some fun and play.” She handed out the pens and they reluctantly took them. Then she opened to the first Madlib, “Alright, someone give me a noun.” No one answered. “Please?” she said. Then Damien answered, “We can’t do this.” Eliana chuckled a bit, “That’s not a noun.” Her reply infuriated Damien and he stood up on his crutches and towered over the small blonde girl, “Is this how you entertain yourself? By tormenting people with things that associate with someone they loved? That’s sick. And I don’t believe for one second you really knew Selene. She would never do something like this. She would never want this.” Eliana looked terrified for a second, but then relaxed and smiled at him gently. She put the book down and said, “Selene was blessed to have someone who cared to recognize her personality. But how do you know Selene wouldn’t want this for you guys? What was the reason she even called you her family?” Damien couldn’t help but remember how happy Selene was when she was around them. It was like the brightest parts of her heart and soul shined around them, even when she was sad, they helped her shine. Then he realized exactly what Eliana was really trying to do. “Sorry…” he said quietly. Eliana gave him a hug and said, “Its okay. I understand.” Before Damien sat back down, he said, “By the way, ‘dinosaur’ for that noun.”

The party became a really fun time. The group laughed more than they had in quite some time. Even Chance was smiling and fully engaged in the fun they were all having. When the party came to an end, the group of friends felt so happy they didn’t want to leave. Soon a group of parents of the non-driving kids were filling the living room. During the commotion, Eliana slipped away and left. The friends tried to find her, but were disappointed to find her already gone. Especially Chance. There was something about her that was really attractive and… familiar. He wanted to be close to Eliana. He wanted to just sit and talk to her. He was able to drive and thought maybe she didn’t want to be in the crowd, so he walked out of Susan’s house, only to find she wasn’t there.

Disappointed, he got in his car and started home. But as he drove down the street from Susan’s house, he saw a dark haired girl walking down the street. He suddenly realized the girl looked exactly like Selene! He screeched to a halt to get a better look, but then a large truck came around from behind him and the driver angrily yelled at him for stopping without warning. But Chance simply apologized and the irritated driver flipped him off and drove away. Chance anticipated seeing the girl there, but by the time the truck had gone, so was she. Disappointment once again came over him. Had he really seen Selene? Was she coming back to tell him to not fall for Eliana? No, they had promised each other that if anything happened to either of them, they would try to move on and be happy. Chance broke down in tears. He never thought he would ever lose Selene, especially the way he did. He regretted not being there to protect her. He hated that it wasn’t him that had been driving that night, then he probably would have survived, and this tragedy would never have happened. He remembered her fragile small body battered and bruised as she lay on her deathbed. He couldn’t even recognize her face because it had been so cut up by smashed window glass, but he knew it was her. Chance’s devastating memories were suddenly interrupted by a honk behind him. He snapped back into reality and realized he was blocking traffic. He drove off and tried to control his emotions. When he came home, he received a text from an unknown number, “I saw you crying. Please don’t cry anymore. You don’t need to. She is okay, and so are you.” There was a signature ~Forever~ under the text. How did Eliana get his number? He decided that wasn’t important. He knew she was right…