Goodbye may seem forever
The next morning I woke up in a strange bed in an environment I was not familiar with. Then I remembered were I was – and also what had happened last night. I felt ashamed. What the hell was I thinking? I had only met the boy for one day! One single day!
Still…there was something…a certain attraction that could not prevent me from liking him. He had been so sweet with me. And I couldn't deny that I had liked it.
My daydreaming was disturbed by the sound of my door opening. It was Jim. He looked at me with worry in his eyes.
"How are you?", he asked.
"I'm fine", I replied, "I want to thank you for last night. I really could use a shoulder to cry on."
He came sitting next to me on the bed. Again we sat close to each other, but I didn't mind. It was like we had become really good friends, and, the more I thought about it, the more I knew that was true.
"No problem", he said, "Do you want to talk about it?"
For a moment I hesitated. Should I tell him? I knew I could trust Jim, but I wasn't sure if I wanted him to know. On the other hand, I felt that I owed him an explanation.
"It was my mother. She…she died in a car crash while I was with her. We tried to save her…but it was too late."
We looked right into each others eyes. Jim had beautiful blue eyes. For the first time I noticed that there was also darkness in them. They told me that he cared. He really cared about me.
The next moment I felt his arms around my body. We hugged. He gave me such a safe feeling, knowing that everything was going to be alright. I didn't really knew what to do with these sudden emotions. I had always been able to control them, but now I didn't seem to be able to control anything.
He smiled at me. Oh God! Always that wonderful smile! It didn't made things any easier for me. I just couldn't understand why I trusted this boy while I had only met him for one day. Normally I wouldn't have told about my mother to anyone, especially not to a guy I hardly knew.
"Why are you so irritating sweet?", I asked him.
Jim grinned. "I don't know…it's weird. I don't usually sneak into someone's bedroom in the middle of night to hold her into my arms."
I laughed and hugged him again. "Well I don't usually trust a guy so easily and tell him all this stuff about my past."
He stroke with his hand through my short blonde hair.
"You really trust me?", he said.
"Yes, I trust you"
It was hard to believe that two people could become so close in such a short time as we had. Though we were aware of this fact, Jim and I didn't really care. Time had become unimportant to us, it were only the moments that counted.
Jim stood up from the bed and threw a pillow at me.
"Now get dressed", he laughed, "Breakfast is served."
I took the pillow out of my face and grinned. "I'll get you! Just wait!"
When I came downstairs there was a surprise waiting for me. There was indeed a breakfast, but at the table I also saw my father. Apparently the business was over. I hadn't expect him to be back so soon, but was glad to see him nevertheless. I ran towards him and he happily embraced me.
Though he seemed happy that he was with me again, there was something about the look on his face that worried me. His eyes were tired and he acted very nervous.
"Did Jim and Mrs. Hawkins took good care of you?", he asked.
I laughed and gave Jim a short wink. "Yes they did. Don't you worry about that."
My father was content with my answer and we all sat down to enjoy the delightful breakfast Mrs. Hawkins had made for us.
While everyone was chatting and eating, I was observing my father very closely and he gave me the impression that he wanted to leave as soon as possible. I couldn't understand why, nor was I very thrilled about it.
"You have made an delicious breakfast, Sarah", I heard him saying.
"It was nothing", she laughed, "But thank you for the compliment."
From the corner of my eye I watched towards Jim. I gave him a signal to follow me upstairs. I knew there was something wrong. Really, really wrong.
"What's the matter?", Jim asked when we got safely on the first floor, without being called back. I suddenly realised that this would also be goodbye for us. That idea didn't appeal to me at all.
"There's something strange about my father", I said, "He wants to leave."
"Are you sure? That means…"
I nodded. "I'm positive. I've known him all my life. There's definitely something not ok. But…", I slowly continued, "It also means we have to say goodbye."
I could hardly hold back my tears. I tried to wipe them away with my hands, but it wasn't enough.
"Will…will I ever see you again?", I stuttered.
Jim raised my chin up with his finger so we were face to face.
"I know we will", he said, "You are not alone."
I stopped crying and hugged him one last time. He took my hand into his and gave me a kiss on my cheek.
"It's not a coincidence that out of all girls I meet one called Angel", he whispered in my ear. When I opened my hand again I saw a little necklace in it with a pendant in the shape of an Guardian Angel. I remembered that he told me that he believed that Angles always protect you, no matter were you are.
I stroke with my hand on his cheek.
"Thank you so much", I said and I managed to give him a bright smile through my tears, "I will never forget you."
Before we could say anything else I was pulled away by my sleeve. My father took me down the stairs as fast as he could. I looked back to Jim once. Then I ran with my dad. He only told me that we had to be away as far as we could and as fast as we could. At that moment I thought I would never see the Benbow Inn or Jim again.