“What do you mean Derek’s dead?” I stammered.
“We found your boyfriend at th-“
“Ex boyfriend,” I interrupted.
“Oh sorry,” the police officer apologized and then took a big bite off his donut.  “Anyways, we found him at the bottom of the West River down the street. We will be retrieving his body tomorrow morning.”
“Do you know who did this?” I questioned.
“According to our security cameras, he committed suicide.”
“What?” I said in utter disbelief.
“Nobody was around when he jumped off Bailey Bridge into the river.” He told me, and he took another bite of his donut. The pink frosting dripped down his chin and onto his black vest, which barely fit him. The police officer was overweight, and looked like he hadn’t shaved in a while. His teeth were yellow and crooked and there were bags under his eyes. Worst of all, he smelled. I shuttered and looked away.
“Listen,” he began, “What’s your name again?”
“Rose Miller.”
“Listen Ms. Miller, It’s already 8:00. I don’t have all day. The guy had a package addressed to your address in his house so that’s the only reason why I’m here.”
“I’m so sorry! Do I need to sign anything?”
“No just take the package.”
I took the package and winced. The package was heavy, and my arm still hurt from the other night. I looked at the police officer. He didn’t notice me, obviously. He started to walk back to his car.
“Have a good night!” I yelled so he could hear me.
“Yeah you too,” he replied. Then got in his car and drove away.
I closed the front door to my house and went inside. I placed the package carefully on my kitchen counter and opened it immediately. I stared at it. Hundreds, thousands of red rose petals filled the box all the way up to the top. It was so beautiful. Red roses were my favorite flowers.
“Oh Derek,” I whispered. He must have remembered. I surely did. The night when he surprised me by asking me to go to prom with him. That was a long time ago, when I was still in high school. Now, I’m in my 2nd year in college. I remember it as if it were yesterday. It was the night of prom, and I wasn’t going. So while everyone was enjoying themselves at prom, I was at home in my bed watching T.V.  Suddenly, I heard the doorbell ring. I waited for my parents to get it but then remembered that they had gone out that night. I jumped out of my bed, ran down the stairs, and opened the door. I gasped. Red rose petals covered the entire front walkway to my front door. I followed it down to my driveway. It was completely covered with rose petals. Right in the middle of my driveway, Derek stood, holding a candle. I walked up to him and asked, “What is all this?” He smiled and looked at me.
“I want to take you to prom.”
“Don’t you think it’s a little late?” We laughed and he said,
“I was afraid that you wouldn’t go with me.”
“Why would you think that?” I asked.
“Because we have been friends for a long time and I thought you might just want to stay friends.” He looked down. Derek was always shy.
“Of course I will go with you,” I answered.
“Really?” He asked. His green eyes lit up.
“Yes! Let me just get ready first.”
“Ok. I will wait here.”
It was a wonderful night. We danced, sang, and went out for dinner after.
I could feel a tear going down my cheek. I wiped it off.
“No,” I persisted. “He may have been nice then, but I will never forgive him for what he did.” My arm still ached from a couple of nights ago. I pushed that thought away and checked to see if there was anything else inside of the box besides rose petals. I felt something hard and smooth. I lifted it out of the box to see what it was. It was a record. I read the name. “What A Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong. I almost began to cry. We had danced to that song on our one-year anniversary. That was one of the best nights of my life. It was only last spring too. We had gone out to dinner and he brought me back to his place because he said he had a surprise planned for me. I closed my eyes as we walked through his front door. After a couple of moments, he told me to open them, so I did. The floor was covered in red rose petals, like when he asked me to prom. There were candles placed all around the room, and “What A Wonderful World” was playing. He took my hand, and we started to dance together. I started to sing along to the song.
“Your voice is so beautiful,” Derek told me.
“Thank you,” I replied. I loved this song and had always been a good singer.
“I love you,” he whispered in my ear. It was the first time he ever told me he did.
“I love you too,” I whispered back, and we danced together until the song had ended.
Tears came down my face as I reached for a tissue.
“I can’t,” I cried. “What he did to me was unforgivable.” Yet, I took the record, and put it on the record player. I played it and started to sing along with the song. More tears ran down my cheeks as I grabbed for more tissues. “I have to pull myself together,” I thought. “He is gone now, and there is nothing I can do about it.” I wiped the tears off my face and stopped crying. I wondered if there was more than just the record in the box. I reached into the box and felt a hard, smaller box. “Oh no,” I thought. “It can’t be.” I pulled it out of the box to see what I was holding. A look of terror came upon my face. It was a small black box, and inside of it was the engagement ring Derek tried to propose to me with. It was a couple days ago, and Derek and I were at my house. We were having our weekly Saturday night dinner. I knew something was up though, because he seemed off that night.
“I have a little something for you.” He told me. “I will be right back.”
“Ok,” I replied, but I was nervous because I knew Derek was acting strange that night. A couple of minutes passed and I started to worry. He came back though, sat down, and told me to close my eyes. He took my hands and helped me stand up. Then he told me to open, but I wish I never had. He was on one knee, with the engagement ring in his fingers.
“Rose, will you marry me?”
I was shocked. I hadn’t expected him to propose to me. I stared at him for a couple of seconds.
“No,” I whispered so softly he could barely hear me.
“No?” he spoke again. His face turned sad, and then suddenly, into rage.
“I’m in the middle of college, and I have schoolwork, and I-“
“Don’t you love me?” he interrupted.
“I do but-“
“Don’t you love me!” he yelled and grabbed my arm.
“Yes ow please let go Derek!” I cried, but all he did was squeeze tighter. My heart was racing.
“I gave you everything you could ever want and more! And this is how I’m treated? I knew you weren’t the one.”
“Derek please! Let me explain wha-“
“There is nothing to explain!” He screamed in my ear, and then reached for his knife and hit my right arm with it. I yelped and he pushed me to the ground and kicked me. “Goodbye Rose,” was the last thing he said to me, and then he left.
I wasn’t crying. I stared at the ring. I slowly took it out of the box and put it on my finger. It fit perfectly. I couldn’t take any of it anymore. I grabbed my coat and ran out of the house. I ran down the street and through the woods. I didn’t stop until I had gotten to Bailey Bridge. It was wrapped with police tape, but I didn’t care. I stepped over it and stared into the river. It was 9:00 now, and it was dark outside. The moonlight let me see my reflection in the water. I could see my face. It is usually pale, but now, it looked as white as a ghost’s. I shivered, but it wasn’t because I was only wearing leggings with a coat and sneakers. I stepped onto the ledge of the bridge and stared out into the distance.
“I love you Derek,” I whispered to myself. Then, I plunged into the icy cold water, drowning in love.