5. Let's be friends
"What do you want Jess?" I asked. I agreed to take five minutes of my time to end all of this. I thought maybe all he wanted was an official closure to finally end this. Paris and Jamie said they'd be waiting in the car for me.
"I won't take to long, I promise," said Jess. "All I wanted to tell you is that you were my first love, and I will never be able to forget you. I know I should've treated you better. I was a jerk back then. You are so special, and you didn't deserve a guy like me. And I've learned my lesson and I am very sorry for what I did to you."
Tears formed in my eyes. It had been so long ago that I had seen the sweet side of Jess. "So is this some kind of way to get me back? Because it'll never happen." I said quietly, looking away from his sparkling eyes. He looked like he was about to have a breakdown.
"No, I just felt that in order to carry on with life, you need to revisit the past and correct all your mistakes. I have this friend, let's call him Bob. Bob was a man who once fell in love with a woman, let's calls her Suzy. Now Suzy was a wonderful woman who always loved Bob. One day, Suzy found out that Bob had another girlfriend and because of that, she never forgave Bob for what he did. Until today, Bob has not been able to carry on with his life because of how ashamed he was of his behaviour."
There was a small moment of silence where my face turned red from trying really hard not to laugh. I just couldn't bear it! I began to laugh really hard. "Where the hell did you get that from Dr. Phil?"
"One of those self-help books Luke talked me into." Jess laughed.
"Luke?" I asked shockingly. "Luke used a self-help book? Oh my God!"
"Yup! And the last time I talked to him, it seemed like it was working like a charm."
I laughed harder. I knew what that meant. After all, my Mom and Luke were still going out with each other. Unless things changed since I left, which I doubt because I know Mom and Luke are meant to be.
There was another moment of silence where Jess and I had a moment together. I looked into his glowing eyes that were filled with sadness and love. Jess had changed, I thought to myself.
"Listen Rory, I truly am sorry for what I did to you. I want you to have a copy of my new book. I signed it and everything. I put a few side notes on the pages, as usual. I hope you like it."
"Thanks," I said smiling. I was just about to leave when Jess grabbed my hand lightly.
I turned around to face him and noticed how there was only a little bit of space between us.
"Rory," he whispered, "if ever, you need a friend or someone to talk to, know that I you can count on me. It may be hard to believe, but trust me." And with that, he gave me tight hug.
I almost began to cry right there on his shoulders. I wanted tell him all my problems, all my worries and troubles. Instead, I held my thoughts back and gave a quick smile.
"Bye Jess," I whispered.
"Bye Rory," he said.
Before I turned around, I looked into his eyes again. Between us, there was some sort of understanding, some kind of bond that I can't quite explain. As I walked towards Jamie's car, I wiped away my tears. This was destiny, I thought to myself. This was meant to be.