The last thing I remembered him saying wasn't 'I love you', because he hadn't said that. I hadn't said it either, so I don't think I'm allowed to complain. But he did say something that was possibly more important than that, to me at least. Something nobody had ever said to me before, they had never thought to say, but somehow he thought it. Somehow he knew that it was the one thing that would relax me more than anything in the world. Maybe he was reading my mind. Maybe he just realised what I was scared of, what had hurt me most with every other relationship I'd ever been in. Maybe he just remembered me explaining what I wanted from a boyfriend during a boring lunch hour.
'I'll be here when you wake up,'
He'd whispered it as he traced his thumb over my cheek, carefully brushing my hair out of my face with the other hand. I hadn't even needed to try to believe him, I just did, instantly.
But I woke up, and the other side of the bed was empty. I felt a bit silly after I'd tried cuddling up to something that wasn't there. But straight after that I felt let down, stupid for believing him, for thinking he was any different. He'd gotten what he wanted; there was no reason for him to stay.
I stood up quickly picking up my clothes from around the floor and shoving them on as quickly as possible, trying not to cry in the process.
"Leaving so soon?" I turned to look at the door. He had that stupidly, boyishly, cute lopsided grin etched on his face and I'd never seen his eyes quite so alert in a morning. I looked down, my jeans half on and my shoes on the wrong feet, then looked back at him, then to the tray of breakfast he held. "That's a really attractive look you're working. Is it in this season?" He placed the tray on top of the chest of drawers, before walking over to me. "I'm starting to get the feeling that you thought I'd broken my promise,"
I smiled wider than I'd ever done in my life.