Passion Over Presley: Based on a True Story

by Rachel Martin

plane for Memphis and he didn’t try to stop her. He cried for her memories of that night giving her virginity to unruly men at the college and Presley was not there to protect her, to stop her from ruining her life. He cried for the baby who had to suffer because of things she would never understand, not knowing why her body failed to be normal and her mind failed to be unblemished.

  He cried for the future nightmares the baby would have, and her mother not being there to console her. He cried for the many nights he wished he had his mother there to guide him, and knew that the unbelievable truth that he called his miserable childhood would also be the daily nightmare so precious a life would have to endure. He cried for Michelle, and her suffering on that table not knowing that the man who could save her life, was laying two inches from him and could not get past his own selfishness and fear to consider saving her.

  Presley cried even when he was taken away by the cops and forced into a chair inside a small room with a very big window. Presley cried as the men took his information down and stared at him for a full half hour until he raised his head finally having the strength to address why he was even there.

  The man before him was clean-cut and smelled of a thick cologne. He looked Presley up and down and told him that they were unable to get him any clothes, so he would have to sit in his hospital gown until something better was presented on his behalf. Presley sat at the table hardly hearing anything and unable to function more than a blink and a sob from his cloud of despair.

  The investigator asked him how he ended up like this, how he planned on living after committing murder had they not stopped him from beating the poor fool to death. How would he fair if the man pressed charges and how would Presley explain what he had done to his significant other? Presley looked at the officer and the man saw how distraught he was. This was the face of a victim that the investigator knew too well. It was the same face a mother has when her son has been gunned down in the streets for the third time. He knew this look was pure distress and agony, losing something precious.

  “I love her so much.” Presley’s voice was raspy and spent. “I love her so much and he is just going to let her die. He won’t even try to save her.” Presley explained what Jake was doing and how all of Presley’s problems would be solved if Michelle lived. The investigator sat there silently and listened. He introduced himself as Marcus Haven, a city-wide problem solver who was on this case taking a bit of down time after hitting a few hard cases in the week.

  “Look man, I understand how you feel. But you can’t go around beating every man you hate to death. It was his decision to help her, and it is his sin that he didn’t. You need to pick yourself up out of this chair, suck up what happened and pull yourself together because when she wakes up the first person she ought to see is the one who loves her most.” Presley put his face in his hands feeling guilty and ashamed.

  “I have been through some pretty bad situations in my life,” continued the investigator. “I can say from experience, life is too short to waste on petty confrontations if something bigger and better deserves your attention.” Presley looked up and nodded. He took the man’s advice and asked how soon he could leave to make it back to the hospital. Unfortunately, Jake did press charges and Presley was not getting out until he had a stack of bail money.

  Time went by so slowly Presley felt as if his own death could not be too far away. He called the hospital hourly since arriving at the jail house. With his new found friend Marcus by his side, he was able to make bail in time to visit Michelle in the hospital. What he found there nearly killed him. The morning of his discharge he found out that from the lack of transplant Michelle fell into a deep coma and was barely surviving on a breathing machine.

  Because Jake gave up all rights to her health after his fight with Presley, Michelle was scheduled to be disconnected the following day for lack of funds. Jake didn’t however, mind taking the time out to pick up his healthy daughter from the hospital and disappeared without a trace.

  Presley could only stare at the hospital bed where a ghost of the Michelle he once loved lay there seemingly lifeless and thin. He could not express to her how he felt, and how he forgave her for choosing her passions over him. He could not tell her how special she was to him and how he wanted to give her everything he couldn’t have. Instead he signed the necessary paperwork and paid the necessary fees to put her on life-support. He took out his cell phone and made a life-altering phone call to Marcus.

  “I have been thinking about what you said Mark. I need to get myself together for when she wakes up. But I need to do something else first. I am tired of being the nice guy and I am sick of finishing last.” Presley’s voice shook as he clutched the phone. “I need your help man, and if you have anything you hold virtuous, then you will help me.” Presley said.

  “Alright man.” Marcus said seriously. “What do you have in mind?”

   

  The Finale

  Presley

  It had been two years since Presley signed his name on the life-support permission slip, and he was confident that at this funeral today he knew exactly what to say. “Michelle was my best friend, and even though we had some rough times together, she will always be my first and last true love. These past two years have been hard, and I always dreaded the day that God would take her home.”

  “Unfortunately her parents and I were unable to hear her laugh or see her open her gorgeous eyes before exiting this world. And I know somewhere, Michelle’s daughter Abigail is thinking about those same beautiful eyes, the last gift her mother could offer.” Presley gave a marvelous speech. Everyone said that it was fabulous, even her parents were unable to follow with something better. The funeral ended well, with no one shouting out Michelle’s name yelling at the Lord for taking her so soon, instead it was a positive passing. The only person who was not present was Abigail and Presley knew why.

  Presley had spent the very last penny he owned keeping Michelle alive. After her fall into the coma he was forced to quit his job to take care of her, he didn’t even give her parents the option of taking over for him. He treated her as if she was his own wife, giving her the best in-home treatment his money could afford until every last drop ran dry. Then she survived another month or so on donations from the family, and after a while they were all forced to become near homeless to keep her breathing.

  The last dime, the very final penny went into keeping Michelle alive one more second in hopes that she would wake up and reclaim her body. But that day never came in the two years of all their prayers and waiting. Presley did not fret; he had long since said his goodbyes to Michelle and did not complain a bit when his house, label and car were taken from him.

  He stayed with Michelle’s parents, the son that he was to them could not be replaced and they were more than happy to take him in. Now that Michelle had passed, and the funeral was over it was time to read the will that she had written before her surgery those many months ago.

  She left all of her possessions to her friend Nancy, and that included all the items that were sold to prolong her stay on the earth and Nancy had paid no attention to the selling of the items. She held together well through a long song she performed at the funeral and proved that the last thing she wanted was the beautiful items Michelle enjoyed wearing while she was alive. How could she enjoy it if the items paid for a whole month of food to keep Michelle nourished.

  Next was her parents, and they were left all of her money which was now turned into all of her bills and they lowered their heads in sadness realizing all the funds they had saved for her children, and for her college fund also went to keeping her alive. They would have made the same decision a million times if it meant a possibility of seeing her again. Finally was Presley. He expected that she gave him all of her old memory items, or something close to it. So as the others got up and left leaving him alone with her lawyer, he just sat there with his eyes glued to the floor.

  “To you Presley, my life, my love, and my lau
gh from day to day, I leave you the only gift worth giving. If the good Lord spares her life, I wish for you to take full custody of my child Abigail.” Presley’s head shot up as the lawyer kept reading. “I never mentioned it, but Jake is not fit to have a child, and you will not have anything to worry about because I am leaving all of the rights to my daughter, and her insurance funds to you. It should be enough money to keep the both of you happy for the rest of your lives and I trust that you will not give Jake or his family a cent unless they are in dying need.” The lawyer continued.

  “You will have no problem getting custody, because Jake and I are not legally married, I only told you that so I would not sit and suffocate in my own guilt. I love you and I already know you have forgiven me, but I still took out this insurance policy to be sure that you understood that no matter what you do, or where you go, there is no amount of money that could replace what you have given me throughout my life. If I live through this, I will marry you. I love you Presley.” The lawyer put down the will and lowered his glasses down his nose picking up another sheet of paper.

  “Alright, it appears she has a policy under the name of her daughter Abigail, and that means