FicWad

As quickly as possible, I swatted the gun away from either of us. It scooted across the hard concrete, out of our reach.

"Are you crazy?! What the hell are you doing?!" I shouted at her as I got to my feet.

She slowly rose to her feet, brushing the hair out of her eyes, "I should ask the same thing! What, you gonna kill me before I can jump? Are you here to settle a score for those unsavory assholes of yours?!"

Her words stung, I could only shake my head.

"Tell me something Tyler, why did you come here? This is a complete out of the way task you undertook! What do you have to benefit from all of this?"

I stood silent, unsure of how to answer her. She stood only a few feet away from me, beautiful as she was fragile. I knew what I wanted to say, so I said it now.

"I'm here because I wanted to see you. I wanted to put the face behind the voice. A voice that can make a grown man cry, that can make complete strangers hearts twist and bleed like an unhealing wound. You inspire me Lola..I mean Piper.."

"Lola is fine..." she said, almost a mumble.

"I've been wanting to meet you, to see you, since I read 'The ever clever dinner guest'. I guess you could say, I've fallen in love...with..you..you're work."

She smiled warmly, looking down at the ground. She walked past me, making her way back up to her perch above the stairwell. She moved slowly, as if challenging me to stop her.

"Love hmm? Is there someone out there you love, or who loves you? You shouldn't waste your affections on a dead woman".

Her was back was to me, she had taken her shoes off and was now holding them in her hand. Gwen flickered into my mind, her smile, kiss, touch, love.

"I've never been in love in my life, so why start now? I've always loved writing you know? Ever since I was a little girl in Catholic school, where I wasn't allowed to write liberally. I wanted to say and see so many things outside of those walls and stained glass chapel. I wanted to write what I knew, and I honestly didn't know much. It was either have structure in my life, or go down the beaten path," she said this as she slowly turned to face me, a faint smile still on her face.

I looked up at her, an angel on her cloud. I slowly made my way up next to her, anticipating her pushing me off so she could die alone.

"Why do you want to die?" I asked, taking my place next to her.

"The question is, why should I want to live?" she retorted blankly.

Her words bit me, hard. It seemed like she was happy to end it this way, to become a bloody smear on the pavement below, where spectators of an early morning could find her in her morbid beauty.

She continued with her point, "Writing was my life, I've never had a reason to not to write. Until I actually tried to do something with it. When you try, you fail."

I didn't believe that, and I told her so. She only continued to smile, as she gently placed her shoes down next to her feet.

"How old are you?" I asked finally.

"Don't you know, a true gentleman never asks a lady her age?" she said jokingly.

"Okay, when were you born?"

"1982," she said calmly, her gaze still turned to the oncoming sunrise.

So she was 25, only a few years older than me, and yet she seemed so wise and ancient compared to me.

"If I jumped, would you save me?" she asked, looking over at me.

I shrugged, "Only if you wanted me to, I'm not about to stand in someones way if that is what they truly want."

"So you'd let me die?" she asked casually as she looked me up and down.

"I'd let you do what you felt you had to do. I'd let you live your life, or let you end your life. It's your life."

She nodded, "It is my life."

She took a few steps forward, edging towards the edge. She moved slowly, as if to build the courage.

"If you don't want to-,"

"I do, I've been wanting to for quite some time now," she interrupted.

I reached out a hand to her, wanting to touch her just once. My hand faltered, and fell to my side. I hated myself for being so weak.

"Anything you want to say before I leave you?" she asked over her shoulder.

"Yeah,I have something.." I said sadly.

She turned to face me, a curious look on her face.

I handed her a slip of paper, "Here, it's a poem I wrote for you. I was hoping you'd read and give me some input on it, if the circumstances were different...but if you don't want-".

"It's fine, I'll read it," she said, taking it from my hand and slowly unfolding it to read.

She read it hungrily, her eyes darting across the paper. She smiled and shook her head, soaking in the words. She finally finished it, looking up at me.

"It's a nice poem, I like it. Not just because it's for me, but because it really is a great work of yours. In another place, another time, I'd have loved to share literary minds with you."

She went to hand it back to me, but I shook my head, touching her hand with mine, "No, it's for you. Why can't we do that now? Why don't you come down off of there and we can go to a place and-".

She cut me off with a gentle hand to my lips, she clutched the poem in her hands tightly.

"That's not possible, besides, you said you wouldn't try to talk me out of this," she said looking down sadly, but still maintaining a genuine smile.

It was silent, save a distant siren in the distance of the vast city. I saw her wipe a tear from her eyes gingerly, but kept her composure.

"Can I ask a favor from you Tyler?"

I nodded, "Anything."

She took a few small steps towards me, she lifted my chin with those delicate fingers that had once crafted such enchanting poems. She looked me in the eyes, those azure eyes looking like melted ice caps in the sun.

"I told you, I've never been in love before. And I know this might seem far fetched, even naive to some. But I do believe, I've fallen in love with you."

I was mute, I didn't know what to say or do, as she inched in closer, her hands behind her back in a bashful fashion. Her eyes were downcast, as she gently touched my cheek with her hand, tracing my stubbly chin, jaw, and lips with her finger tips.
Before I could speak, or move, she stood on the balls of her feet, and kissed me.

She wrapped her arms around me, gently massaging my neck. My arms did the same, holding her close, the world spinning around us as if to say that this really was love!

Just as quickly, she released the embrace and kiss, backing away from me.

"Now I can die, knowing that I was in love at one point in my life".

The release was so sudden, too quick for me. I wanted more.

She saw the look on my face and smiled, "Sorry, only one per customer."

I had to laugh, as did she. She then turned and walked back towards the edge.

"I...I.."

She turned one last time to look at me, a look of serenity and peace cleansed her face. The sun was glowing, adding life to this woman desperate for death.

"Go on.." she said patiently.

I wanted to say it, I had to say it.

"I love you, Lola Chloe! As a person, a writer, a poet, as a truly gifted person.."

She smiled warmly, "I know..and..it's okay.."

And with that, she stepped off of the ledge, to the streets below.

I heard the impact, the sound of the car alarm blaring. I ran to the edge, to look down upon the scene.
She lay silent, her eyes open in silent peace. Her arms were outstretched, as if trying to hug the skyline. A slight smile betrayed her final moments, and her white dress was spattered with red.

I ran down those flights of stairs, nearly falling, tripping. I had retrieved my pistol and stuffed it back into my waistband. I jumped the last few steps, the nympho and old geezer were already outside their front doors, wondering what all the commotion was about. I ran past them, ignoring their idiotic remarks.

I found her there still, silent forever. In her one hand though, she clutched my poem in stil dead fingers. The roof of the car she had landed on, had caved in from impact. The car alarm was the death nell of a goddess descending to earth in flames and tears.

I wanted to crumble to my knees, to my feet, and weep. To wail unendingly at her passing.
I summoned the strength to get to moving. I absent mindedly ran back into the building, making my way upstairs to her condo. I burst through the doors and headed straight to the bed room. Something had ignited inside of me, this dead woman would not go unheard. I snatched her laptop computer, notes, binders, all that I could get my hands on. I stumbled out of the place, doing my best not to drop any of the notes and writings. Lola's neighbors saw me, and tried to ask me what I was doing, but I ignored them and pushed by. I ran to my car, threw the objects in the back seat, and peeled out of there.

There was no time to cry, no time to think. I was going off of pure instinct and grief. It was like seeing someone die, and attacking the attacker. When I finally calmed down a little, my breathing slowed to it's normal pace, and when I finally looked up in my rear view mirror, I was crying.

I had this gun for a reason...what to do with it now?