Don't Cry - Short Story

Re. my previous piece I uploaded, 'A Tale Of Two Hearts' - I actually wrote that back in August 2015, and I'd never read it back until when I posted it. It brought back a lot of memories, both good and bad, so I thought I'd add a bookend to the piece, something a bit more definitive. I present 'Don't Cry', a sequel piece that shows where Dean and Renee ended up. Enjoy!

DON'T CRY - A SHORT BY WILL POWELL

And so it went – there was that one, fleeting moment on the dancefloor where something could have happened. Boundaries being pushed, lines being blurred, and Dean conflicted over his emotions and where he stood. Renee was a free spirit, though never the flirty type, which made her actions that evening all the more puzzling.

Weeks passed, and the ante increased on each occasion. The occasional hug, hand-holding, heart-to-heart conversation… but was it just mixed signals? Did Renee really just view Dean as a friend and nothing more? Their circle of friends certainly didn’t seem to think so, and Dean… well, Dean didn’t have a clue what to think. He was too scared to find out – shy, timid, but a deep desire to be loved as much as he loved other people.

“You’d make a great couple!” people would crow. “You should ask her out!” his friends would urge.

One day he did – it wasn’t as official as a date, merely a cinema trip followed by a few drinks, and for all intents and purposes, it was just as two friends. Only as the night rolled out, that spark was reignited. They laughed, they held hands, they embraced, they sought comfort in the other, and the night ended with a fairly drunken but meaningful kiss. Dean text Renee saying he hoped she’d get home safe, and Renee replied thanking him for being a gentleman and there for her where nobody else was.

They were officially in limbo, neither willing to take the next step, and neither knowing where they really stood. It wasn’t awkward, miraculously, they’d been friends for far too long to let that happen, but… it was different.

Dean decided to choose my evening to pour his heart out – accepting an invite to Renee’s, he set himself a goal for that night. He would tell her how he felt, and would accept what came next. He cared for her, more than he ever really realised – and he knew he could make her happy.

Couldn’t he?

----

"Don't go," she said miserably, sitting hunched in the window seat overlooking the little garden. Her arms were wrapped around her knees.

"I think I have to," he said, not pausing as he placed his things into the small bag. He’d come round with a movie and bottle of wine, not that either were any use to him right now.

"I made a mistake, Dean..."

"You made a decision," he answered softly, still packing. He didn't shout...he hadn't shouted or even raised his voice since she'd finally told him what had happened.

"It didn't..."

It didn't mean anything, she'd started to say, but she couldn't say it. She didn't know how to explain, that she’d known Mike for years and this was all he wanted, and Renee couldn't tell him no. Even now, even now that someone had told Dean and he asked her and knew when she tried to lie, she knew she would have regretted it forever if she had refused Mike. There was always that attraction between the two, and after all, she was, no, is still single. Why couldn't he understand...

"I care you about you," she said instead.

He stopped for a moment, and then shook his head and closed the bag.

"I hope that isn't true," he said.

"Why?" she whispered, "Why would you say that?"

"Because I don't like to believe that you would do something like this to someone you care about," he answered simply.

The girl swallowed, and said, "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"I believe that," he said, standing and turning. "But you didn't care enough not to."

She clutched at herself, rocking a little as he started to walk away.

"Dean...please don't leave me alone!"

He turned back to her, and after a moment he put his bag on the ground beside him.

"Renee, I'm sorry that Mike no longer wants anything to do with you – I just want you to be happy. That’s all I care about, even before my own happiness. A lot of people I know would call me a huge idiot, but that’s just how I feel. But I can't stay just because you—"

"I care about you, Dean!"

"I don't believe you."

She felt like she'd been punched in the gut.

“Renee," he said with a small, sad, quiet smile, "You won't be alone. You’re smart, funny, intelligent, and so much more. I have no doubt you will find someone to love, someone who loves you, and you will be together. And you will be happy."

The words hit her like daggers. He didn't believe her. He didn't trust her. He stood there with his face full of concern and his wretched bag beside him full of his things. He loved her—she knew it, he didn't deny it—but he was leaving her, wouldn't stay with her, and wouldn’t even give her a chance to prove that she at least might feel the same way about him. He was throwing away their years of friendship, potentially more in the future, because of one...decision.

Tell him, she screamed silently to herself. Tell him how much you truly care! How you have your doubts like any girl does, how you’re young and you don’t know what you want – but you know that you care for him deeply, even if now isn’t the time – but maybe one day? She opened her mouth...

"Get out," Renee said flatly.

Dean nodded gravely and picked up his bag.

He waited until he was outside, and was thankful that it was raining.

Anything to hide the tears.

“Don’t cry…” he mumbled to himself sadly, and away he went.