Part 12
Jake sat on a bench in Central Park, picking at the cold pretzel she'd bought from a vendor nearly an hour before. The bench, situated in a spot that overlooked Columbus Circle, was Jake's favorite spot. She often went there when she needed to be alone and think or when she wanted to find some peace of mind. She'd been sitting there for three hours now and it was as if in that time, a million people had passed right in front of her.
It was seven o'clock and as the sunlight escaped from the sky, Jake was captivated by the sight of the sun disappearing behind the buildings. Then, something in the picture changed. As the daystar became smaller, a man's figure now formed negative space within the fireball. Squinting, Jake could only make out one thing—it was Hamilton who stood right before her. He stood there until the sun vanished from their sight. He stared at her and smiled the way he always did when he saw her. It was so natural to him, she was so natural to him. "Home" was what he told Bella Jake was to him. And it was true. Never in his life did he feel as safe and at peace then when he was with her.
"Hi Jake," Hamilton greeted her. "I knew I'd find you here."
Jake's eyes smiled as he said this. "You remember," she said.
"Of course I remember. I remember everything."
He sat next to her, keeping some distance, not wanting to push her into anything she wasn't ready for. But Jake was ready, she scooted across the bench closer to him, so close that their knees and ankles touched.
I can feel the magic floating in the air
Being with you gets me that way
I watch the sunlight dance across your face
And i've never been this swept away
All my thoughts just seem to settle on the breeze
When i'm lying wrapped up in your arms
The whole world just fades away
The only thing I hear
Is the beating of your heart
His hands rested on his thighs, his gaze remaining forward. Jake maintained the same stare, but gently placed her hand on top of his
Cause I can feel you breathe
It's washing over me
And suddenly i'm melting into you
There's nothing left to prove
Baby, all we need is just to be
Caught up in the touch
Slow and steady rush
Baby, isn't that the way that love's suppose to be
I can feel you breathe
At this, Hamilton turned to her. She interlocked her fingers with his and squeezed his hand slightly. She looked at him now and said, "Hamilton, I'm scared."
A look of concern on his face, he answered, "So am I. But not so much when I'm with you."
"I've missed you so much. Not a single day passed without your face flashing before me, without your voice whispering in my ear, without your touch sending tingles up and down my spine. I remember too, Hamilton."
He took his other hand and traced the side of her face with it. "I'm sorry. I don't know what else to say."
"There's nothing else?" she asked, needing him to say what she already knew in her heart was true.
"Well, maybe…one thing," Hamilton responded teasingly. "I love you."
In a way I know my heart is waking up
As all the walls come tumbling down
Closer than i've ever felt before
And I know, and you know
There's no need for words right now
Upon hearing his confession, the tears that had formed in her eyes fell. "I love you too," her voice quaking. She held his hand tighter and his fingers curled over hers. Her eyes closed tight as the tears began to fall more frequently.
He wiped her tears with his thumb, then leaned in and kissed her eyes, causing Jake to laugh a bit. He chuckled too, as he moved back to the position he was in before.
"Hamilton, when you left…I had two options: sink or swim. I chose to swim. But I never really made it back to shore, that is, until you showed up yesterday. And it was as if, a breath of new life was breathed into me. I no longer have to stay in the middle of the ocean, wading, kicking, praying for someone to save me, because you're home. I realized that the reason why I couldn't forget you or get over you, is because I'm not meant to. I'm meant to be with you."
Now, Hamilton wiped his own face of teardrops. "I'm so sorry, Jake. I don't know if I can ever say that enough. These past two years have been the worse of my entire life. I should never have left you. I was wrong. I'm not half the man I used to be. Because when I walked out on you, I left the better half of me here—when I left you here."
Jake opened her mouth to say something, but Hamilton shook his head. "Nothing I can do will ever make up for the pain I've caused you. I want to try…if you just give me the chance. Please, forgive me."
His plea was enough for Jake. She cupped his face and nodded, "I already have."
She pulled him to her as he brought his hands up to her face. Their lips met, gently and tenderly, yet passionately. A few tears streamed down Jake's face as they kissed, falling onto Hamilton's hands. Breaking away from their kiss, he wiped the tears, and pressed his forehead to hers, their noses brushing against each other, eyes opened and locked on the other's pair.
I can feel the magic floating in the air
Being with you gets me that way...
Will sat on his bed watching the sunset through the window. It had been nine hours since Hamilton left the apartment and Jake still hadn't returned, meaning one thing—they were together. Will was tired, not because he hadn't gotten any sleep, but because it was finally over. His emotional pain had manifested itself physically—his body ached, his head hurt, his eyes red from crying so much. He called Scout earlier, but he wasn't at the office. Will could not stand being alone with his thoughts anymore. After all, he'd kept so much to himself for so long that it was finally taking it's toll on him. There was only one other person that he could talk to about this and that person was Bella.
He reached over and picked up the phone, dialed the numbers that had become so familiar to him over the years.
"Bella here. How can I help you?"
"It's me…Will."
Knowing exactly why he called, she asked, "Are you okay?" She sat behind the counter in the shop, legs crossed on top of it. She closed her eyes and sighed heavily, waiting for him to answer.
"No, but I will be," he said, sounding melancholy.
"You will be, I know you will."
Will, holding back tears, "How am I going to do this? I don't think I can take seeing them together. It would be too much."
Bella, understanding perfectly, offered, "You're just going to have to learn. It takes time. I'll help you."
"Thanks."
Abruptly she added, "So will Scout."
At the sound of Scout's name, Will hesitantly said, "I don't think he can help me there."
"Why not?" Bella's heart pounded in her chest, faster than normal, her mind raced with what Will could possibly say.
"Because…well…he never got over you."
For a moment, Will heard nothing from the other line. Then, a small, soft whimper came, followed by louder sobs. "Bella, what's wrong?"
"That's…that's…I don't believe it," was the rejoinder. He wasn't over her. All this time, she thought that he'd forgotten about her. That he'd moved on. Now, with those five words, everything about the past eight years changed completely. She stayed quiet for some time. Will didn't speak a word, however, she could hear him breathing, waiting patiently for her to say something.
"I never got over him either. I loved him. I still do."
Surprised, he said, "Oh my god. Why didn't you tell me?"
"It's not important now. I thought it would be easier that way, you know? To keep it to myself. To let him live his life."
Shaking his head, "Yeah, look at what keeping things to ourselves got us."
"Yeah."
"Did you ever tell him?"
"No."
"It's not too late."
Crying a little harder now, Bella replied, "It is Will. It's been too late for a long time now."
For Will, that was not acceptable. All this time, Bella still held on to Scout and Scout still held on to Bella. While it had been a long while, Will knew that there was still a chance for them. Though things didn't work out for him the way he hoped they would, he refused that to be the case for them. He was going to do something to help them. Somehow, he was going to make it happen.
"Don't say that. Never say you don't want to try if you can't let go."
Bella's cries began to fade. Purposely avoiding further discussion of the matter, she asked, "Is there anything I can do? Really, if there's anything, anything at all…"
"No, I'll be fine. Talking to you has helped enough."
"If you need me, you know where to find me."
Laughing at the thought of Bella still pumping gas after all these years, he quipped, "I know."
"I guess I'll see ya when I see ya."
"Yeah, see ya when I see ya."
"Bye Will." Not giving him a chance to say the same, she hung up the phone. She opened a drawer beneath her legs, and took out an old picture. It was of her and Scout during a summer picnic. Hamilton had taken it and given it to her the day before he, Will, and Jake, left for California. It was a candid shot, capturing Scout and Bella sharing a tender moment, laughing as they smashed whip cream across each other's face. Bella smiled as she looked at the photo, drying off her tears with her sleeve.
"It's better this way," she whispered before placing the picture back where she got it from and heading out the door to attend to a waiting customer.