Without Warning

In the distance, Molly could see Jesse walking toward her. It was a warm, muggy night in June. Molly and Jesse had plans to go bridge jumping that night into the St. Francis River. The sky cast out a mango and pink color over the open land in the country where the couple lived half a mile from each other.
"Hey, ready to go?" Jesse greeted Molly with a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Yep, let's head," replied Molly.
Molly and Jesse headed down the dirt road, hand in hand. They had been together since Christmas Break of last year, and it had been the best six months of her life.
When they reached the river, Jesse took off his shirt revealing his fit torso. Molly stripped down to her bikini and caught a glance of Jesse's eyes run over her body. They stood on the deserted bridge for a while, just taking in the beautiful scenery of what Southern Missouri had to offer. The two lived between the small towns of Cardwell and Senath in the Southeast corner of Missouri. Their eyes met and for a brief moment they shared a connection.
"You go first!" Jesse playfully offered, breaking their moment.
"Ahh, ok, I suppose. But that means you won't be able to save me if I drown!" joked Molly.
"Oh hush, you and I both-"
Molly cut off Jesse's reassuring comment with a hug and, without warning, climbed over the edge and jumped, screaming and laughing with joy the whole way down. She hit the water with a splash and came back up to the surface within seconds.
"C'mon! Your turn!" The water is perfect!" shouted Molly from below. She swam to the shore and made her way up the weed and grass covered hill back to the bridge. When she reached the bridge, Jesse was just getting ready to jump. She saw his location. If he jumped from there and he'd land right on that...rock...
"Jesse! No! Don't jump!" By the time she finished her sentence he was halfway down. In that moment, Molly felt more love for him than she had ever felt before. His feet landed right beside the boulder and his head struck the side. He almost missed the rock. But he didn't. And now the water was turning crimson in color. Blood, so much blood.
Molly started to run down the hill screaming and crying, "Jesse! Jesse! I'm coming! Please be okay! I'm coming!"
The tall grass threw Molly off track. She was losing her balance and tumbling halfway down the hill. She finally arrived at the bottom. She could see Jesse much better now, although she'd wished she couldn't see the gruesome details of reality. His shorts were caught on barbed wire, leaving him pinned halfway under the crimson colored blur of water. His eyes were closed, and he was just...floating there. She jumped into the water and swam to where he halfway floated. She detached his shorts from the barbed wire and struggled bringing him back to the bank. She had to get help.
"Jesse, I’ll be right back. Hold on, I'm going to get you help," she panted.
Molly ran as fast as her already worn out legs would take her. The gravel from the old country road penetrated into the bottoms of her bare feet. After what seemed a lifetime, she reached a farm about a mile from where the bridge was. The place looked familiar. Her father had been a friend with this guy. Fred something. He owned a few horses and did some farming on land not far from her own. Molly ran up the long dirt driveway, ignoring the hound dog chasing her down like she was a raccoon or something.
She reached the door and pounded her fists on it creating a hollow ruckus that echoed the surrounding acres of nothing more than dry land.
"Hello?! Please answer! I need help! Help me!" Molly pounded her fists against the rotted wooden screen door again.
Screw this, thought Molly. She opened the door and let herself into the old house. The strong smell of alcohol made its way up her nose and flooded her mind. It was a familiar smell, but from so long ago. Molly hadn't touched alcohol since she'd been with Jesse. He didn't drink, and although there had been no pressure, she hadn't drunk since she'd shared her first kiss with him.
Obviously, nobody was home. She peered around looking for a phone. Aha. Barely attached to the wall was a corded phone. She picked up the receiver and dialed 911.
After the ambulance was on their way, Molly sprinted back to the bridge where Jesse was still lying at the bank of the river. She made her way back down the hill, exhausted from her run.
He looked so lifeless. She touched his face. The cold flesh shocked her body, it had been used to the muggy air of June. The sky was growing darker, yet she could still see the ghostly pale look on Jesse's face. She knew. She wasn't stupid, or naive for that matter. She knew that he'd taken his last breath before he'd collided with the water. She knew that his last words happened to be the few that she'd cut off. He’d been dead when she carried him out of the river.
She kissed Jesse's stale temple. She could hear the ambulance sirens growing closer and knew she couldn't deal with that right now. She couldn't deal with anything.
She struggled to bring herself back up the what-seemed-so-deathly hill to the bridge. She looked out into the sunset, the realization smacking her like a baseball bat to the head.
A variety of mixed emotions ran through her mind. Denial, love, fear, hurt, pain, regret, confusion, guilt, and many others she couldn’t quite put her finger on at the moment. She wasn’t sure about anything. Everything started to get immensely blurry and the surrounding area started spinning. She could see blue and red lights approaching. Molly looked straight below her. The very rock that Jesse just now died on stuck out of the water. She knew what she had to do. She took in a breath, and released it with the words “This is for you Jesse, I love you.”
Without warning, she climbed over the edge and jumped; screaming and crying with pain the whole way down.