ROSE IN THE DARK

"Please, don't leave me."

Alan laid on the floor, the palish blue hospital robe clinging to his slender frame. He lifted his head, revealing his delicate features and reddened eyes stained with tears, "Don't leave me, i beg of you, please."

He sobbed deeply, his hands desperately clinging to a pair of fair, slender legs. Feeling unwilling to actually let go of the person, he held on, his grip tightening around the tender, smooth flesh - like as though it were his last saving grace.

"Alan- Let go of me!!" - A feminine voice grunted in displeasure.

The young lady scrunched her nose, feeling repulsed by Alan's constant refusal to come to terms with his truth - his new reality. The fact that he was no longer amongst the best, the fact that he had now fallen from his high place of fame and fortune - now desolate, impoverished and also not fit for the eyes.

"Please, Abigail.... You can't leave me like this. You're everything I've got left." - Alan's voice cracked up, his tone filled with shameless pleading - he was scared......scared of the possibility that she would leave him if he let go right now. Afraid that she would disappear the moment she turned her back on him.....

" Let go, goddammit!!"- The lady swung her leg, giving Alan a swift kick to the gut. The tip of her expensive heels coming in contact with Alan's abdomen as he rolled over, curling up in pain....a sharp groan escaped Alan's lips,cold sweat pouring down his face as he tried to contain his agony.

"Do you even know what you look like right now?. Huh!!" - Anger simmered in her grey eyes, her shrill, highly pitched voice ringing in the quiet ward. She lowered her eyes, casting a disdainful look at Alan's curled up body as he laid on the cold white tiled floors - There was nothing she hated more, than a man who had been plunged down into failure.

Doomed to be a nobody in society, having to scrape by each day by scavenging for thrash - She has never wanted to be associated with the likes of them.

Alan, ignoring the pain tearing through his abdomen, crawled on all fours. Tears brewing hot in his eyes as he tried moving his partially limped body towards the blonde haired lady. "Abigail.... You promised to love me. You said we were meant to be together and forever at that."

Abigail lips twitched in annoyance, unable to understand why this man seemed to fail in understanding her simple sentiments. It seemed that this man fancied provoking her on whim, at this point there were no other beneficial explanations for this.

Abigail smirked coldly, a condescending glint flashing through her eyes as she arced her perfectly shaved brows with a calculative look. Quietly dipping her hands into her limited edition spring summer Hermes bag, slipping out a small foldable mirror she often used in touching up her makeup.

She walked up close, elegantly crossing her long legs as she squatted, holding the mirror before Simone's bandaged face. "Have you seen what you look like now?."

She waved it around, wanting to be certain that Alan had truly seen his pathetic situation clearly. "Have you?" - She spoke in a mockingly calm tone, a chilling smile tugging at the ends of her rouge stained lips, the gloss sparkling under the light.

Alan shook his head in disbelief.....not wanting to believe that the reflection that he was staring at was his. Where had his charming self gone......How, just how could this person possibly be him. He raised his head, long strands of coffee brown hair falling down his tear stricken eyes - He dared not look directly at Abigail's face......he knew he couldn't possibly look at her, not in this state he was in.

"What's it popstar...... Why don't you want to look at your reflection?. Or is it that you can't stand the ugly sight before you?"

Abigail sarcastic words were like a cold bucket of water on a snowy morning, pouring over Alan's frame, washing away his delusions and leaving him shivering with sudden realization.

He gripped his hospital clothes, his nails digging into his thighs. "N..no!!. No, this isn't real." - He knelt, his hands feeling his face, tracing the tightly wrapped gauze. "This can't be happening, this has got to be a nightmare....yes, it's a nightmare - an absolute nightmare!!"

Abigail smacked her lips, her eyes glinting coldly as she watched the confused and panicking Alan. "Is it now?."

"B-B-B-But. I....i could still -" Alan's eyes darted around frantically, his lips trembling as he tried making coherent speeches.

Abigail laughed,her fingers now twirling with the tip of her permed blonde hair. "You could still..what?!. Do you think that you can still make use of your voice....or do you think that you'll ever be able to make it on stage with that disfigured face of yours?"

Alan knelt,his back hunched over, his spirit heavily crumbled. He fought back the thousand voices in his head, each one two times as venemous as the last. Each one mocked him, called him useless... discarded - he held his head, the ache becoming unbearable.

She sighed, resignation evident on her polished face. " I'm afraid, that's all your wishful thinking. But it doesn't hurt to dream,does it?"- She smirked disdainfully, standing up to leave. " Alan, it's over between us. And i hope that we never cross paths again..... also, it was fun while it lasted."

She pulled the door knob, glancing at Alan's defeated frame with a weary look. " A friendly reminder - I suggest that you snap out of those empty delusions of yours and boldly accept your new fate.....as a dirt bag, rejected by society. It's in your best interests that you do so."

Alan felt his world spinning until everything became dark and mute. Here was his eternal abyss, with no escape doors, no windows and no one to guide him towards the light. He remained still for god knows how long, his knees still pressed against the cold tiles and the scent of antiseptic hanging in the air.