Categories > Celebrities > Beatles
Cry for a Shadow
0 reviewsYoko gets a bad feeling when she receives a call from Olivia at 3 A.M..
0Unrated
Ring, ring.
I opened my eyes to the darkness of the night as the annoying rings of the telephone filled my bedroom.
Ring, ring.
I looked at my clock and realized it was just after 3:00 A.M. A small feeling of worry entered the pit of my stomach. Who the devil was calling me so early in the morning? For some reason, I had a bad feeling it was something about Sean, but I wasn’t quite sure what it could have been.
Ring, ring.
I remembered I hadn’t actually picked up the phone yet and quickly did so. “Hello?” I said to the receiver.
“Y-Yoko?”
It was Olivia, and her voice was shaking.
That was the moment when everything crashed down in my head. The feeling in my stomach was growing worse, and my heart beat faster by the second despite how heavy it was becoming. I tried to deny the thoughts in my head and the assumptions I made, but they kept blocking everything else out. It can’t be, I tried to say, but the rest of me said, It has to be, why else would she call at this hour?
I cleared my throat. “I’m here, Liv... Are you alright?”
I imagined her shaking her head during the short pause that came before she replied. “I... It’s... N-no...”
“What’s wrong?” I asked, even though the answer seemed to be obvious. Please, let it be something else, I begged. Please, let me be wrong. Let me be wrong!
There was another pause, and I imagined her wiping her eyes and trying not to cry. “It’s George... He... He passed away... Earlier this afternoon...”
Damnit, why must have I been right? “Oh my god... Liv... I’m so sorry...” I said to her.
She sniffled. “I can’t sleep... I keep tossing and turning... I knew this was going to be hard... Well, everyone did... But even trying to sleep... I keep waiting for him to wrap his arms around me again... Or for him to come into the room and tell me he’s still here...” Her voice was becoming softer. “H-here to stay...”
A tear rolled down my cheek as I remembered my first night without John. Memory after memory flashed of me lying in bed, waiting to wake up, waiting for that cold, bloody night to have just been a nightmare; a nightmare that I didn’t actually live through.
“I... I knew I needed to talk to someone...” she said, her voice shaking again. “I just didn’t know who... Dhani’s been taking it hard enough to come in here with me for the night... I didn’t want to wake him... I... I thought... Maybe you could help me since you... I mean...” She sighed. “I’m sorry to wake you up...”
“Liv, you don’t need to be sorry...” As my words left my mouth, I could hear her letting everything out. Her small cries on the other line were tearing me apart; ever since we found out George’s illness couldn’t be helped and that he only had a few more months to live, Olivia was always so strong despite the news. She said she was preparing herself for this day, but now that it was here, she wasn’t herself anymore; she was helpless. I wanted ever so badly to be there and hold her, to rock her back and forth and tell her everything would be alright in the long run.
We talked for at least an hour more before she decided to attempt sleeping again. I said goodbye and told her to call again if she needed to. As soon as I hung up, I sat there in bed, thinking over the call. I started crying myself, letting the rest of the tears that I had been holding inside while talking to Olivia so I could stay calm for her sake flow. George had been a friend of mine for years; even after everything we bickered about, we were always able to make up and start over fresh. He was loyal, kind, humourous, talented, and so much more. The thought of him out of this world was unbearable, just as it had been when John’s time had come all those years ago.
I opened my eyes to the darkness of the night as the annoying rings of the telephone filled my bedroom.
Ring, ring.
I looked at my clock and realized it was just after 3:00 A.M. A small feeling of worry entered the pit of my stomach. Who the devil was calling me so early in the morning? For some reason, I had a bad feeling it was something about Sean, but I wasn’t quite sure what it could have been.
Ring, ring.
I remembered I hadn’t actually picked up the phone yet and quickly did so. “Hello?” I said to the receiver.
“Y-Yoko?”
It was Olivia, and her voice was shaking.
That was the moment when everything crashed down in my head. The feeling in my stomach was growing worse, and my heart beat faster by the second despite how heavy it was becoming. I tried to deny the thoughts in my head and the assumptions I made, but they kept blocking everything else out. It can’t be, I tried to say, but the rest of me said, It has to be, why else would she call at this hour?
I cleared my throat. “I’m here, Liv... Are you alright?”
I imagined her shaking her head during the short pause that came before she replied. “I... It’s... N-no...”
“What’s wrong?” I asked, even though the answer seemed to be obvious. Please, let it be something else, I begged. Please, let me be wrong. Let me be wrong!
There was another pause, and I imagined her wiping her eyes and trying not to cry. “It’s George... He... He passed away... Earlier this afternoon...”
Damnit, why must have I been right? “Oh my god... Liv... I’m so sorry...” I said to her.
She sniffled. “I can’t sleep... I keep tossing and turning... I knew this was going to be hard... Well, everyone did... But even trying to sleep... I keep waiting for him to wrap his arms around me again... Or for him to come into the room and tell me he’s still here...” Her voice was becoming softer. “H-here to stay...”
A tear rolled down my cheek as I remembered my first night without John. Memory after memory flashed of me lying in bed, waiting to wake up, waiting for that cold, bloody night to have just been a nightmare; a nightmare that I didn’t actually live through.
“I... I knew I needed to talk to someone...” she said, her voice shaking again. “I just didn’t know who... Dhani’s been taking it hard enough to come in here with me for the night... I didn’t want to wake him... I... I thought... Maybe you could help me since you... I mean...” She sighed. “I’m sorry to wake you up...”
“Liv, you don’t need to be sorry...” As my words left my mouth, I could hear her letting everything out. Her small cries on the other line were tearing me apart; ever since we found out George’s illness couldn’t be helped and that he only had a few more months to live, Olivia was always so strong despite the news. She said she was preparing herself for this day, but now that it was here, she wasn’t herself anymore; she was helpless. I wanted ever so badly to be there and hold her, to rock her back and forth and tell her everything would be alright in the long run.
We talked for at least an hour more before she decided to attempt sleeping again. I said goodbye and told her to call again if she needed to. As soon as I hung up, I sat there in bed, thinking over the call. I started crying myself, letting the rest of the tears that I had been holding inside while talking to Olivia so I could stay calm for her sake flow. George had been a friend of mine for years; even after everything we bickered about, we were always able to make up and start over fresh. He was loyal, kind, humourous, talented, and so much more. The thought of him out of this world was unbearable, just as it had been when John’s time had come all those years ago.
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