A Little's Enough

The final chapter in We Don't Need to Whisper. =)
Yes, this will conclude the story between Yumi and Rhymes...

If you're new to We Don't Need to Whisper, read the first two parts first.

Part One: Good Day
http://xh0n3yd3w.blogspot.com/2007/07/good-day.html

Part Two: Do It For Me Now
http://xh0n3yd3w.blogspot.com/2007/08/do-it-for-me-now.html

I'd like to say thanks to everyone who read. =)
Romance isn't exactly my forte so I'm surprised alot of people like it!

Oh, and Cherryboy Films will be turning We Don't Need to Whisper into a short film this summer! If you'd like to get involved, don't hesitate to say.

This one's for Kim.
Enjoy!




Rachel smiled. She stared down at her boyfriend, whose eyes were closed. He was still awake- silent, but awake. Rachel knew because he was a light snorer. His head lay down on her lap; she ran her hands lightly through his red hair. They were sitting in the grass on a hill near a park. They always went there after school. For some reason, Rachel’s boyfriend was attached to it. Something happened here, I think, he would always try to explain. Even he wasn’t sure why. It didn’t really matter because eventually she became attached to the hill too.

“Hey, tell me a poem.” His grey eyes opened at Rachel’s request.

“All the ones I know by heart you’ve heard already.”

“Then make one up,” Rachel smirked, “Or else.”

“Or else what?” His eyes narrowed.

Rachel glared at him darkly, but playfully with her brown eyes.
“Fine, fine…”

He closed his eyes for a moment and thought. It was a full five minutes before he opened them up again. It was getting dark. Rachel’s boyfriend mustered all the creativity he had and began to speak slowly.

“I see the stars, they’re in your eyes, a playful kiss,” he kissed her softly, “Can you tell I’m excited?”
Rachel loved the poem already.

“A….uh…fast escape in the nick of time…” Rachel giggled at how he struggled.

“If you-…if you…lost your wish, can I help you find it?” Rachel played along, nodding. “I’m on my knees, just-…just…one to start…A fresh new start, don’t be- uh…don’t be undecided. If love-…”

“If love…uh…” he thought really hard, “I’m stuck.” She could tell that he was stumped now, but that was okay, she was more than satisfied. He was slightly frustrated, though. Rachel could tell that he wanted to finish the poem now. She began to think about how to complete that last line.

“If love is a word that you say, say it and I will listen?” She blurted out. Her boyfriend’s jaw dropped in awe. He recited the entire poem, adding in Rachel’s line and completing it. He seemed proud of himself, and Rachel was too.

“You’re a genius.”

“I know, Rhymes. I know.”

Rhymes’ phone rang, alerting him of a new text message. It took him a second to react to it; he pulled out his cell phone and slid it open in front of his face. Rachel watched him read the message with an excited smile. He replied to it quickly and put the cell phone back in his pocket.

Rachel was curious.
“Who was that?” She blinked.

“Ah…just one of my buddies.”

“Oh, I’m doing volunteer work at the community center again tomorrow. Wanna’ come?” Rachel did volunteer work frequently at the community center near her house after school and occasionally asked Rhymes to come with her. He had to go a long way by train to get there and was often reluctant to travel by train, but Rachel was sure to make it worth the trip. Lately, Rhymes had been going with Rachel more frequently, if not every time she went. He would always say yes without hesitation; strange, because the first thing he would complain about is how far the community center was from his house. This had been going on for a month now, and he’d never been happier.

~

Rhymes was late for the first time that month. Upset and slightly worried, Rachel took a short break to find out where he was. Leaning up against the wall outside the daycare, she dialed Rhymes’ number. He didn’t pick up until the third time.

“Hello?”

“Hey, where are you…?”

“Oh Rachel! I’m sorry- some of my buddies wanted to go downtown after school…” Again with the buddies? Since when was Rhymes close with any of his guy friends? Rachel frowned.

“Rachel?”

“It’s alright,” Rachel lied, hiding her disappointment.

“Sorry.”

“Call me tonight, okay?”

“Of course.” He didn’t.

Rhymes was rather quiet the next day. His grey eyes were cold and the good mood he’d been having all month completely vanished. Rachel almost forgot why she was upset at him; she was more concerned about what was bothering him instead. What’s wrong, she would ask; he’d always just apologize quietly. It wasn’t like Rhymes to keep anything from Rachel. Perhaps it was none of her business? Rachel grudgingly accepted this possibility. She just wanted him to be happy. Perhaps he’d get over it and be fine by tomorrow, she thought.
At the hill after school, she held him tightly.

I’m sorry I have to say it, but you look like you’re sad; your smile is gone, I noticed it bad. The cure is if you let in just a little more love. I promise you this: a little’s enough…

Rachel’s phone rang, but she ignored it. Rhymes was concerned, but Rachel told him not to worry about it. She just wanted him to feel better.

“I’m s-”

“Shh…It’s okay.”

She watched him close his eyes and try to relax.
“I love you.”

“I know.” He mouthed.

Days passed and Rhymes’ mood only worsened. Gradually, his time with Rachel grew less over the weeks. He stopped doing volunteer work with her completely and claimed that his phone broke. Talk about hanging out with and talking to his buddies also ended abruptly; he rarely ever talked anyway. Coldness seeped into his eyes; they were blank and angry. Rhymes always just wanted to be alone. Rachel was terrified and desperate. He wouldn’t let her comfort him. She didn’t want to lose him. She didn’t want to let him be alone. She wanted to help. She wanted her boyfriend back.

The bell rang on Friday afternoon. Rhymes headed to the bus stop when a pair of small, soft hands grabbed his tightly from behind him. He stopped and faced Rachel, who was frowning. Rachel looked down, refusing to let go.

“Rhymes…I need to talk to you.”

“Rachel, if you want to break up with me go ahead.” His words hurt.

“No! I’d never want that! Why would you think that?!”

“Because…I don’t deserve you…”
She slapped him. Hard.

“What’s wrong with you, Rhymes.” Angry tears formed at her eyes. She glared at him furiously, but desperately. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He frowned and looked down.

“Don’t you trust me?” she asked.

“With my life.”

“Don’t you love me?” she asked.

Rhymes paused.

“…I don’t know.”

“Is there…another girl?” Rachel almost choked on her sentence.

“Something happened…I- I don’t know about this girl. I’m really confused, I’m really scared; I don’t know who to trust anymore and-“ She saw the look in his eyes. Someone had hurt him and it disturbed him. His fear was genuine.

Rachel placed her fingertips on his lips, silencing him. She had calmed down.

“Rhymes, I’m sorry.”

“No Rachel, don’t be…”

“Listen,” she pressed her fingers harder, “Go and sort things out with this girl…”

Rhymes opened his mouth to protest.

“Remember,” she interrupted him, “that no matter what happens…I’ll always be here for you. I love you, Rhymes. I always will.”

He nodded in reply and Rachel lifted her silence over Rhymes in turn. She felt that her message got through to him, as a bit of his confidence began to return to his eyes. He started heading towards the bus stop again, but froze after taking two steps.

Rhymes went back and kissed Rachel passionately.

~

Footsteps. A well-dressed, handsome, redheaded boy came in, his music playing rather loudly. He completely ignored Yumi and sat at the other end of the compartment. It was complete torture for her. She looked over at him a few times; his expression was blank. It was as if she wasn’t even there. Yumi was too afraid too talk to him, but she wanted to so badly. Her heart wrenched at the thought that he possibly hated her after what she did. Could she blame him? No. She needed to do something before his stop! But it was too late. He simply got up and left. The compartment went quiet without his music.

As the train began to move, she noticed that Rhymes had left a red envelope. She scurried over to the seat, finding her name written on it. She opened it delicately and unfolded the letter. Reading it, she began to cry. It said one thing.

If love is a word that you say, say it and I will listen.

At that moment, Yumi noticed that when Rhymes left the train, he stood there at the station, as if he was waiting for her. She wiped her tears and got off at the next stop, taking the next train back to Rhymes’. She got out impatiently and made a run for the stairs to get to the other platform, which was all the way on the other end.

“Hey, where’re you going?” The train left, leaving the station empty and revealing Rhymes’ presence on the other platform. Yumi’s eyes widened and she cried out the first thing that came to her head.

“Love!”

“What?”

“Love!” Yumi waved Rhymes’ message. “Love!”

She could see him smirk and shake his head from all the way on the other side.

“Not exactly the reply I expected but listen-!”
Yumi went quiet.

“If you’re here, you’re here for a second chance.”
Yumi nodded.

“I need to decide whether you deserve it or not.”
Ouch. She deserved that.

“I’m going to call you three times- it could be in one hour, it could be in one month, hell it could be the minute we leave this train station.”

A train came in on Rhymes’ platform and left the station. With it, he vanished.

~

Rachel came home exhausted. Her stomach growled as she took off her shoes and headed into the hallway. Okay, she thought, maybe I’ll grab a bite to eat then take a nap. She headed into the kitchen, passing the table and going for the fridge. Rachel stopped; something sitting at the edge of the table caught her attention. It was a letter that lay folded on top of a red envelope. She opened the letter, reading the short message inside. It was the last line of the poem that Rhymes made up on the spot a couple of weeks back.

She smiled to herself, picking up the envelope. Rachel paused for a moment- why wasn’t the letter in the envelope?

“Rachel? I didn’t hear you come in…”
Her stepsister walked into the kitchen, cell phone in hand.

“Yumi…this letter. Where did you get it from?” Rachel asked quietly, calmly. She stared down at the name written on the envelope. There was no way. It couldn’t be. Yumi came into the kitchen and placed her cell phone on the table. She looked at the letter and sighed in relief.

“I thought I lost it…It’s very important to me.” Yumi took the letter and envelope from Rachel and held them close to her. “The person who gave me this is very important to me. But something happened and I-…I think he’s mad at me…”

“Oh?” Rachel raised an eyebrow. “What happened?”
Her fist was clenched tightly.

Yumi told Rachel everything, from having a crush on him, actually meeting him, spending time with him, and hurting him. Her friends had pressured her into it, and after Jet, she didn’t want to end up hurting Rhymes. Rachel knew all too well how that turned out in Rhymes’ end. That’s if, it was Rhymes.

“You…pushed him away so you wouldn’t hurt him?” Rachel asked.
Yumi nodded regretfully.

“Today, I saw him for the first time in a month. He gave me the letter and said he’d call me. He never said when, though.” Yumi looked down at the letter and wiped her eyes.

“Yumi? What’s his name?”

“Well, this sounds silly, but I only know him as Rhymes.”
Rachel paused.

“My relationship hasn’t exactly been perfect either.”
Yumi frowned.

“Someone lead my boyfriend on just to hurt him.”

“How is he?”

“I don’t know. I’ve been trying to get through to him all month. He was really depressed about it and I didn’t find out until today. I told him…to go sort it out with her…I just want him to be happy.” Rachel glanced over at Yumi, who slowly began to realize that their situations were more than a coincidence. They sat at the kitchen in silence for a moment.

Yumi’s phone began to ring.

…And I don’t know, and I can’t wait, if we’re gonna’ be okay but now, my last wish: is that you do this with me…

“Rachel, can you give me my phone?” Yumi asked slowly, biting her lip. She was excited, but scared. The phone was by Rachel’s arm; she glanced down at the number and looked like she was about to cry.

“No.” Rachel took the phone and gripped it tightly.

“Rachel, my phone!” Yumi cried, getting up. “Give it to me!”

The first call ended.
The second call followed immediately after.

“And let you hurt Rhymes again? No. How dare you, Yumi. How dare you! You barely even know him! Why would you do that to me?! Why would you do that to him?!” Rachel stood up also, letting the phone vibrate and ring in her hand.

…Kiss me here, hold my hand, let me feel like I’m the only one- I know you can, won’t you do it for me now? Won’t you do it for me now?...

“I didn’t know, Rachel! Please, believe me! And I didn’t want to hurt him!” Yumi pleaded in her defense, approaching Rachel slowly “I care about him, I really do! And I don’t care if you’re with him already…he’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me…”

…Now just hold on, hold on to me….hold on, hold on to me…

Rhymes was now calling for the final time.

“I’m sorry, Yumi, but you had your chance- you didn’t even deserve it in the first place, but you had one. I can’t let you hurt him again…I can’t…”

“No Rachel, I’m sorry.” Yumi was in tears, now arms reach from her phone.

It was now or never.

…Won’t you do it for me n-




The End.