FALLING
x. PHOTOGRAPH
"GO COMFORT AMELIA. SHE NEEDS YOU."
➖
"Loving can heal, loving can mend your soul
And it's the only thing that I know, know
I swear it will get easier,
Remember that with every piece of you
Hm, and it's the only thing we take with us when we die

Hm, we keep this love in this photograph
We made these memories for ourselves
Where our eyes are never closing
Hearts were never broken
And time's forever frozen still." - Ed Sheeran [Photograph]
➖

THE WORST FEELING WAS KNOWING THE EXACT REASON WHY SOMEBODY WASN'T ANSWERING YOUR PHONE CALLS. Chris knew that feeling all to well, and he hated the fact that he was the reasoning to why Amelia wasn't answering her phone. He tried to talk to Ian, but the only response he had received was to call her himself.

The thing was, he had, multiple times, over the past few weeks, and she wouldn't answer his calls. He needed to talk to his best friend, but she wasn't answering because of something he said almost a month ago. He had a bad feeling in his gut that he disliked a lot, and he really wanted her to answer.

Pressing her contact name, he placed the phone to his ear for what felt like the 20th time in the past 3 weeks. However, the phone wouldn't ring, it was like she'd blocked his number or something. He sighed, pulling the phone away from his ear in annoyance.

Chris pulled up their Instagram DM's, and typed a quick message along the lines of "hey, why won't you answer my calls?" Before he sent her another DM on Twitter to see if she was actually ignoring him. When he didn't get a quick reply like he usually would, he got really worried and decided to apologise as well.

@christophrwood: Hey, Lia. I just wanted to apologise for everything that I did, and for what I said. You didn't deserve it at all, and I'm sorry. Love you Chameleon 💕

Chris waited for a reply whilst he was busy cooking something to eat for dinner in his trailer, Drift lying down on the bed beside Chris' phone as it charged. It was quiet, until the ringtone of his phone rang out around the room, awakening the sleeping dog, and catching Chris' attention.

He brought his plate of spaghetti over, picking up his phone to look at the caller ID; Renee. It was Amelia's mother calling. Chris' eyebrows furrowed, but he answered the phone from the lady he hadn't spoken to in almost 18 months.

"Renee?" Chris questioned.

"Chris," replied Renee.

Her tone of voice was different than usual. It was usually cheerful and bubbly, but today it was sad and dull. He knew something was up, but he just couldn't quite figure out what it was just yet.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"A-Amelia, she-e was in a-an accident."

Chris couldn't believe what he was hearing. She was in an accident? That's why she wasn't replying to his texts, nor answering his phone calls. He let out a breath, focusing on the positive things, not the negative.

"Is she okay?"

"She only sprained her ankle. Thank god, but-"

"How'd it happen?" asked Chris, throwing a weeks worth of clothes into his backpack.

"S-She said she was at the park with Flash, just their usual day, when he suddenly started barking and ran off. She ran after him, calling his name, until he ran across the road, and she followed. She didn't get hit by the car very hard because it was the crossing, but she hurt her ankle and still continued to run after Flash. She said that he got hit just a block over, and that she wasn't there quick enough. H-He didn't survive it," explained Renee, her voice breaking slightly from the emotion running through her veins.

Chris held his breath, holding the tears back as best as he could. Somehow he managed, before telling Renee that he'll fly back down to New York to see her. The call ended, and Chris was making his way out of his trailer with his backpack on his shoulder and Drift on his leash.

"Julie!" He called out, spotting her in the cast and crew.

The lady turned on her heel, finding Chris with adrift walking over. The first thing she noticed was the backpack hanging on his shoulders, and she walked over to him. She wore a concerned glance, but she nodded at him.

"Julie, I'm sorry, I-" Chris started, but was interrupted by the lady himself.

"-Go, I know what happened. Go comfort Amelia. She needs you, despite the fights, okay? Shooting will just be set back for a week," replied Julie, a small smile gracing her lips.

Chris broke out into a grin. "Has anyone mentioned how amazing you are today?" He asked, a joking tone to his voice.

"You're the first," replied Julie, jokingly.

The both of them shared a laugh, before Chris gave the lady a quick hug. Thanking her, before he made his way off the set. He was glad that Julie understood what he needed to do, and he was glad that she let him leave in the first place. There's going to be a lot of drama as to why filming was unmoved back, but Chris' best friend was more important than a job.

AMELIA SAT ON HER COUCH, CURLED UNDER THE BLANKET AS SHE STARED BLANKLY AT THE CHANGING SCREEN. She couldn't move, nor think of anything positive in that moment. Her mind was completely bare as she tried her hardest not to think of what happened the day before.

It was impossible for her to sleep, the bags under her eyes made it obvious that she didn't get any rest. Her hair was still messed up from the day before, and the tossing and turning in bed while she tried to fall asleep. She felt like absolute crap, and she knew that she probably looked like it as well. With the ruined mascara, her tear stained face, messy hair, and the bags that were so noticeable under her eyes.

Images of Flash burned into her memory, to the point where she just stayed up all night. Not being able to sleep because of all the memories she shared with Flash, Chris, Drift that kept flooding her mind like a tidal wave. One after the other. Oh, Drift, She thought. She couldn't even begin to imagine how heartbroken the puppy would be when he realises Flash is gone. His best friend.

A knock on her apartment door knocked her from the trance she was in, and she looked over at the door from her spot on the couch. Flicking the blanket off her, she stood up and wrapped it around her instead, the air having a bit of a bite to it. Dragging her feet to the door, she finally managed to unlock it and pull it open.

There, she found Chris standing on the other side with a box of chocolates and a bouquet of roses. A backpack on his shoulders, and Drift on his leash. A small sob escaped her lips when she saw the look Drift was giving her. A small, saddened look with his ears down, when he realised that she was upset.

"Drift," She mumbled, a small choke escaping her lips.

Chris watched her as she stared down at Drift in so much emotion, giving the dog a big hug after taking his lead off. Chris noticed her baggy eyes, smudged mascara, tear stained face, and messy hair. He knew that she didn't get any sleep the night before. The way she looked gave it away, but it was also the spark in her eyes that was gone that let him know also.

Her eyes locked back onto Chris, and everything came back to her. She let out a sob whilst more tears starting flooding in her eyes. Chris' eyes filled with tears too, after he tried to stop them on his way here, but seeing his best friend break down like that made him upset again.

Chris pulled her into a tight hug, burying his face in the crook of her neck, rubbing her back as sobs racked her body. The both of them cried, remembering every small moment with Flash, and the fact that no more could be made because he was now gone.

"I-It's okay-y. It's o-okay," Chris mumbled, rubbing her back in a comforting matter.

"It's all my fault," she sobbed, wrapping her arms around him tighter.

"No, it's not," replied Chris, carefully picking her up by the thighs.

Amelia wrapped her legs around him, and he turned to close the door, before he made his way over to the couch. Chris gently placed Amelia down on the couch, where she curled up to the blanket she had. He quickly threw the chocolates in the fridge, and the flowers in a vase with water, before walking back over to Amelia with tissues.

Taking a seat on the couch beside her, she automatically curled up to his side, where he wrapped an arm around her. She sobbed for a second, before it stopped, and Chris kissed her forehead gently. She grabbed a few tissues to blow her nose and wipe her face, before curling back up to Chris again.

The both of them sat there for who knows how long in silence. Chris held her, rubbing her arm gently in order to comfort her. It didn't take long for Amelia to fall asleep against him, but he was glad she was finally getting some rest. He kissed her forehead again, adjusting his position so they could be laying down, which didn't wake her completely. It was only enough to make her shift in her sleep to make herself comfortable, before Chris found himself asleep too.