Thank you all for the great responses to the last chapter! Timing is a little bit messy here but this takes place no more than a week after the events of the last chapter. To make it a little easier, think that from the last chapter of the first story to this one, it has only been six weeks. However, this one is unfortunately not as happy in tone as what you may be used to reading, but I hope you like it!
Jimmy's POV
"Cindy." I said it so quietly, I could barely hear myself. I was close enough to her ear, however, that I hoped she did.
When that failed to wake her up, I kissed her cheek softly, thinking that maybe touching her would trigger a response. Despite that not working either, I smiled, deciding to let her sleeping, peaceful self be. There are worse ways to leave her.
Pulling away from her, I hastily put on what remained of my clothes. Given where I was and the time of day, it would be in both of our best interests for me to make an escape as quick as I can.
It wasn't until I was pulling my shirt over my head that she began to stir and mumble.
"No…Don't leave…." What made it clear that she was speaking to me and that it wasn't just random muttering was that she as facing my direction, eyes half open, and her arm was extended, reaching out for my hand.
"I have to go Cin. It's morning." I replied. "If your parents catch me here…." I trailed off, knowing it was explanation enough. "I'm going to see you later."
"I only have hours left with you." She said, now more alert than she was a few seconds ago. "You've been packing incessantly since the second we got back from Mexico. Please," Cindy pleaded, "just a few more minutes."
It was her request, her truthfulness, and a tiny bit of how raspy her voice sounded that lead me to climb in under the covers, behind her.
We were spooning and not saying a single word, but I could still sense the energy she was giving off. I knew there was a very unlikely chance she'll say anything herself.
The day we have both been dreading has arrived and if it was difficult to determine which one of us was more upset about it, her body language gave away the answer.
"I love you so much, you know that." I whispered as I left a kiss on her bare shoulder. "And we are still going to text and call and Skype as often as we can. We just won't physically see each other as we now do."
"Yeah."
That of course, didn't help at all when it came to the question of what exactly she was thinking.
"I've never been able to figure you out Cindy and today's no different. Tell me what's wrong."
She shifted her body so that we now faced each other and it made it a lot clearer to see the imprint of the tear that recently rolled down her cheek.
"I'm not mad because you're going off to school already and leaving me or anything like that. It's just…" She stopped, as if she were thinking of how to formulate her words. I stroked her cheek, both because I thought she needed it and to encourage her to continue. "Do you remember when we first got together and I mentioned that all these years have passed and we've wasted so much time?"
She let the words out shakily and I nodded.
"It really feels like that now." Her eyes welled up. "I mean, we could have been together for so long. And maybe this would hurt less if we had but…I…I don't know. I guess I just think that we haven't had enough time to know if we're going to be able to do this. And I'm not saying that we don't love each other enough." She defended as soon as she noticed that I was going to say something. "There's just going to be so many changes and…and I want to know we're going to be able to be stronger than that. If only we'd gotten our heads out of our asses sooner and just gotten together then maybe we'd know for sure. And I realize that this sounds ridiculously clingy and overly sensitive, but I don't care."
As this was the first time she was really opening up to me about this, it took a moment to sink it. Once it did, I spoke.
"I want to be with you for as long as you'll have me, Cindy. I can't promise you everything is going to stay the same, but I swear that I will try my best to stop us from being affected if it does." I knew it would take more than that to appease her, but I had to try. "Maybe our shorter amount of time together is what's giving us motivation to do that. We care and we love. This- we- are still new and we don't want it to fail. So we are not going to let it." A smiled formed on her face at the same time a couple of tears escaped.
"I'm really going to miss you." She spoke.
"Not as much as I will." I assured her.
Our lips pressed together immediately as all thoughts escaped from our heads. Our hands quickly wrapped around the other's body, not wanting to let go. We didn't remember where we were until the sounds of footsteps and voices were heard from the other side of the room.
We broke apart soon after, knowing that it was best to do so.
"I have to go." She nodded, agreeing even though she didn't want to. "I'll still see you later right? Before I leave?"
"Yeah. Of course."
"Great." And with a kiss on her forehead, I pulled away. In only a few short seconds, my shoes were on, I grabbed the Silencer (which still didn't have an official name), and I was at her window, preparing to climb out of it, the same way I did when I came in last night. With a final glance back, I looked at her.
She smiled, a much more assertive and stronger one this time.
Apart from the contents of the lab, I like to think I don't have very many material belongings. And for the most part, that's true. As it was a practically a cross-country move, packing as lightly as possible was essential. Thanks to my parents making the trip with me, I would be able to bring pretty much everything I would need at MIT and be ready for the Honors program move-in tomorrow morning.
There were some things I would inevitably and unwillingly have to leave behind of course, most notably, my underground home away from home that is the lab.
An infinite number of memories have occurred in there, some more unforgettable than others. Even if I could take everything in it with me, I don't think I could bring myself to do it. It's a hugely significant part of my life and to leave it as, at least until I come back, seems to be the best way to go about it.
Even though my parents are not allowed in there, nor would they be able to enter if they tried, it doesn't mean the lab won't be maintained while I'm away at school.
Goddard, even as a robotic canine, won't be able to go on my college journey with me. While this is something I've known for a while, all the time in the world would never be able to lessen my unhappiness about it.
It's no secret that Goddard is my favorite and most useful invention and as he's been such an important part of my life since the day I invented him, it will be unbearably difficult to leave him behind and no longer see him every day once I'm up at Cambridge. Luckily, he'll be able to keep up maintenance in the lab and make sure it still runs smoothly once I'm able to get back to it. Most of the time, however, he'll be with my parents, who have gotten very good at taking care of him in recent years, something that works out conveniently for all of us.
Another development that has taken place is the bond Goddard has developed with Cindy.
Since theirs was done in a shorter amount of time than it was with my parents, it was a much faster evolvement too.
While Goddard would occasionally bring up Cindy throughout the years, mainly to tease me than anything else, nothing progressive happened with her until she started coming down to the lab back when we were first hooking up last year. Goddard was smart enough to figure out what was going on without me having to say anything. Putting himself to sleep while Cindy and I were going at it was proof of that. But during the other times, when we would just be hanging around or studying, he didn't hesitate to get close to her, whether it be nuzzling up to her or happily barking whenever she entered the room. I may never know if that was because he was growing accustomed to seeing her or because he knew even then, and maybe even before I did, how much she meant to me.
Cindy, in turn, reciprocated Goddard's actions. Typically, that consisted of her petting him whenever he got close or simply giving him attention. Sometimes she'd bring him a pre-approved treat and that, I felt, was likely a grand part of what brought them closer.
Goddard was, just as everyone else, excited about Cindy and I getting together. These last weeks, his affection for her has increased and he's made no effort to hide it.
I'm glad to say that they're at the place now that if my parents weren't around for whatever reason, I could trust Cindy with Goddard. Seeing as Cindy still has another month to go before she leaves for New York, Goddard will likely be with her at times, mainly while my parents are at work. While I really like the idea, I can't help but admit, though it may sound a little cocky, that it might keep them from missing me too much.
Cindy, as she made clear when she wanted me to stay a little while longer in her bedroom this morning, is going to miss me tremendously. That feeling is definitely not one-sided.
The hardest part about moving away for school is inevitably being separated from Cindy. Even after she moves out east too, we won't be as severely distant as we will be for the first month. However, it will be enough to prevent us from seeing each other every day as we do now.
Knowing how difficult it will be to see each other once I leave, it seemed appropriate that we spend as much time together as possible before it happens. Like the first night we spent together, it wasn't something we planned ahead of time and instead just sort of happened. Sleeping over at Cindy's house also gave me further understanding why she was so worried about the first time it happened at my house the night before graduation. Although, since it was Cindy's house and it was her parents that could have potentially caught us, it felt like the stakes were much higher. Lucky for us though, we left no clue that her parents could have suspected a thing.
I don't regret it of course, or even the extra minutes this morning I spent with her. But out of everything, I can't deny that I was surprised about her declaration this morning.
There aren't very many times when Cindy talks about her feelings and seeing the way she reacts when she does, I can see why. Everything she was saying about how much time we've had together is very much true and something that I've myself thought about, but apparently not as much as she has. We can't change the past however, and that's something I know she's aware of.
Even though there's been little time for our romantic relationship to develop, I have no doubt that we'll still be able to maintain it as strong as it is now due to our entire history together. We may have grown as individuals and learned to like each before we ever came close to getting together and that, just knowing how far we've come, assures me that we'll be successful in how far we've yet to go. It'll be a challenge at times, I'm sure, but we've both proven it's one that we're willing to face.
Those thoughts, along with finalizing all packing before I leave, were at the forefront of my mind all morning and early afternoon.
Before I knew it, my parents and I were loading up the car, and Cindy, hands wringing, was making her way across the street towards me.
"Hey." She said casually once she approached me.
"Hi." She didn't make any move to hug or kiss me, and I understood why.
"So I think I've exhausted everything there is to say." Cindy admitted.
"Oh?" I chuckled.
"Yeah. I mean, you know how much I'm going to miss you and how I feel about… everything. I'm not going to give this moment some cheesy rom-com ending by telling you I love you since you already know that." Although everything she said sounded confident enough, there was a bit of uncertainty in her tone.
"You okay?" I replied, since she must be smart enough to know that there was no way I wouldn't pick up on it.
"Ugh..Did- have you checked your messages? I sent you something earlier."
"I've been packing all day and my phone was in my room charging. I haven't gotten a chance." As I was saying it, I dug my hand into the pocket of my jeans to take my phone out.
"No! Don't-don't look at it now." Cindy's said alarmingly and reached her hand out as if to stop me. "You can just see it later."
"Okay." I removed my hand. "What is it?" I asked so I knew to look out for it later.
"It's a photo. Of me." She announced somewhat nervously.
I smiled at her sentiment.
"In the umm.. shower this morning." We have done so many things together than many couldn't even dream of and yet this is something she is embarrassed enough about to look in another direction as she's saying it.
"Oh!" Because when your girlfriend tells you she has sent you a naked photo of herself, how else are you supposed to react? "Um... well.. um…"
"I know you're not going to forget about me. I'll make sure of that. But I figured it might come in useful when you're…missing me a little too much." She bit her lip and I couldn't tell if it was out of hesitant seduction or overwhelming nervousness.
"Right. Okay." I scratched the back of my head. "I'll err…yeah."
"Okay." Cindy gave a relieved laugh, like she was so happy to have confessed that. Seconds later we heard footsteps approaching us.
"Cindy dear! How are you?" My mom asked.
"Hey Mrs. Neutron. I'm doing okay." Which really was the most accurate response. My mom smiled at her and then turned to me.
"We're all ready honey." She said, referring to the fact that we were ready to head out to the airport. "I'll give you two a minute." As she walked away, I glanced at the car, trunk filled with luggage and duffle bags in the backseat.
"It looks like it's time." She observed.
"Yeah."
"Call me when you can. Whatever time is fine."
"Of course." I knew she wanted to keep our goodbyes as relaxed as possible so that she wouldn't start crying and since that's not something I wanted either, I played along.
"I hope the flight goes well and you get there safely." And even though she meant it, there's no way she could have hidden the tears forming in her eyes.
"I hope so too." I nodded.
Since neither one of us knew what else there was to say, the kiss we ended up in took neither one of us by surprise.
With Cindy in my arms, time felt like it stopped, and now more than ever, I wished that was the case.
Reluctantly, we both pulled away at the same time.
"Bye." She bravely took a step back, since I knew there was no way I could have been able to do it first.
"I love you." Not caring how much of a rom-com, as Cindy put it, it sounded like, I reminded her as I squeezed her hand and let go.
The last I saw of her was as the car was heading down the street, leaving the world I've grown up with and love, behind.
This chapter was a lot harder to write than I thought it would be. Let's stay positive though, okay?
Thank you so much for reading! Please review!
