Bleeding Hearts

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It was a cool autumn day, the sky blue and clear of clouds.

And out of all the days in a year, it had to be this day that Elisa passed away. It was without any warning that her school bus ran her over.
Why? Because her boyfriend was busy being a jerk and teased the bus driver on his first day at the job.

It had happened in a flash.

"Come on, speed up! Can't you go any faster, slowpoke?" Sebastien had said. "Stop being a baby; be a man. You look like you're looking out for ants!"

Laughter filled the bus. The bus driver did not say a thing. But the most observant of people would notice that the scenery went by a little faster.

Sebastien got off his seat and went up to the front of the bus. He smirked. "Ohh, is little escargot scared? Scared enough to wet your pants?" Everyone came up to get a close look, and it was true. His pants were wet.

Again, the bus driver remained silent, though a little red. The bus wavered a bit. The laughter continued.

Now, usually, Sebastien was not a bully. Of course he wouldn't be, with Elisa as his girlfriend. She was a model student with a heart of gold. But today, his friends managed to get him a little drunk.

"Who wants to see me streak!"

Okay. Drop-dead drunk.

As he began to take off his belt, the bus wobbled and he toppled forward.

"Woahh! Do that again, man. And this time, get a chick in front of me." He winked at a random girl.

"Dude, what about your girlfriend? Elisa's not going to be happy you said that," his friend joked.

"Well Elisa ain't here right now, is she?" He grabbed Becky, the one he winked at, and crushed his lips onto hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. And then it happened.

Just before the crash, Sebastien spotted Elisa looking at them from the corner of his eye. He was caught.

To say her heart was broken would be an understatement. It was obliterated and crushed flat, blood splattered everywhere.

Screams. Shouts. Cries. Sebastien heard little of this. Elisa heard none.

The next day at school, everybody knew what happened. And everybody knew it was Sebastien's fault. All his friends stayed away from him, and his parents were ashamed. Every time he crossed by Becky in the hallway, she would cry fearfully. Nobody came close to him. His teachers avoided him.

But, surprisingly, none of this mattered to him. What mattered was that Elisa was dead. And it was his fault. But he didn't cry. How could he? He was a murderer.

Then he thought for a moment. What do murderers do when they feel guilty for their crime? He knew exactly what.

Sebastien got into his car, and drove off way pass the speed limit. He stopped when he saw the beach, and took off his shoes.

The beach was deserted. "Perfect," he said.

The waves came in and out, washing onto the shore. He looked out into the ocean. And in the distance, there stood Elisa.

"Don't worry, I'll come for you."

And he stepped into the vast waters.

- - - - - - -

Bleeding Heart is a flower. This flower was left on the gravestone of Elisa Bronte.