The next morning, we decided to go out and go shopping with Taylor. It would be my last outing for a while since I'd be going back to work in a couple of days and since it was summer it was the season for professional photos to be done. We spent the day at all of these incredible stores that I had never been in before and we had a blast. We tried to keep our profile as low as possible to prevent people from coming up to us every second. It was easier said than done but we got through it and had a blast. At the end of the night, Taylor departed and this would be the last time we'd see her while she was in town. It was so cool to meet and spend time with her. It was even cooler to know that she would be in my life for as long as Ed was.
The next couple days flew by and it was back to living our separate lives. I went back home to my apartment, which was definitely bittersweet. I loved spending every moment with Ed but I guess it was time to go back to reality. On Tuesday, I worked from 6 AM-11PM. I walked in my door, threw my stuff on the floor and plopped down on my couch. Not long after I received a text:
Where are you?
On my couch.
Okay, cool.
I heard the door creek open and then all of a sudden Ed was standing in front of me with some flowers and Nando's. "I just really miss you," he said, handing me the stuff. I put the stuff down on the coffee table, got up and wrapped my arms around his neck. "I miss you too. Thank you, I love you," I said, holding him tight. We loosened our grip and he kissed me, "I love you too." We stayed for a minute, pressed up against each other, until I almost fell asleep standing up. We decided to sit down on the couch. "Long day?" He asked. I nodded, "6-11." His brushed the hair off my forehead and kissed it, "Damn." I curled up in his arm, "Stay with me, just one night, please?" He kissed me, "Of course." He picked up and carried me to bed. I slid off my jeans and tshirt and covered up. He did the same, got into bed and held me. If we can't handle a night a part how are we going to handle tours?
6 months later
The next few months had been extremely busy for us both. Ed was finishing up album three and enjoying his time at home. I was working my butt off to try and open my own studio. We were still together, but lately things had been rough. Our schedules were always conflicting but we'd see each other when we can. He would be leaving in a month for tour. He finished and was about to release his album. I finally had enough saved up to open up my studio. Things would be cooled down for a couple weeks. We'd finally have time together.
"Hi babe!" I said, walking into the kitchen, where Ed was sitting. He smiled, "Hello, love." He greeted me with a kiss. "Whatcha doin?" I asked. "Oh, I'm just going through my album, making sure it's all correct before iTunes releases it tomorrow," he said. "Ya know, I still haven't gotten to hear it," I said. He looked up at me, "Do you want to hear it?" I rolled my eyes, "Well, of course." He gave me a look, "Are you sure? A lot of it is about you, ya know." I laughed, "I'm sure." He brought me into the room where his music stuff was set up and played it for me. It was incredible. We got to the last track of the album called, "Photograph." It made me tear up. We had been arguing a lot because of the amount of time we'd have to spend apart and because of the time we've been together and have been too busy to see each other.
"I'm sorry," I whispered, resting my head on his chest. "For what?" He asked. "For all the arguing. Being apart just kills me. It sucks and I hate it. I hate leaving your side. I always want to be with you, but I know we have to do our own thing. It's just been so stressful lately. We've both been busy and stressed. And I know that's what that song is about. I just love you and I don't want you to think I'm ever going to leave, because I'm not, okay? I'm in this. I'm in this for the long run. I won't ever leave. You'll never be alone, okay?" I was crying now. He lifted his head from resting on mine, "Babe, no, don't cry. We will be okay, we will get through this. The point of the song isn't to make you feel bad. It's just to say that love sucks sometimes because loving someone doesn't mean you get to be with them every second of every day. And lately, we're lucky if we get to see each other once a week. It's just showing that relationships are hard work. But it will get easier because we love each other and we can make it through anything. I'm in this for the long run too, baby. I'm in this for good. I'm not going to walk out. Even if we're 5,000 miles apart. I'm still here," he said, reassuring and kissing me. "Do you really have to go?" I whispered. He swallowed hard, "Yes, baby. I do."
We sat there for a while and he played with my hair. What was I going to do without him? I had four weeks left to spend with him. Four weeks. "What are you doing until I leave?" He asked. "Nothing, setting up my salon. Hiring," I said. "Good. Easy stuff. I'll help, and we'll spend time together," he said. I smiled, "Really?" He smiled back and kissed me, "Yes, really. I don't want to leave as much as you don't want me to go. We are going to spend every waking moment together until I go."
So we did just that. We fixed our relationship and spent as much time as humanly possible together before he had to leave for tour. Before he left, we decided it would be best for me to move in, since I'd be "house sitting" for him while he was gone for 3 months, anyways. Today was the day, Ed left.
"Don't burn the place down. Don't bring home any strange men," he said, jokingly, as we were finishing up some last minute packing while everything was being loaded in the car. "I won't, I won't," I replied with a laugh. "Good," he said kissing me. It was time. We walked outside, down the steps, and to the car. I helped him tight and shed a few tears. This was our first goodbye. I knew it wouldn't be our last. "Hey, hey, don't cry, okay? Alright? We will be fine. We will get through this, okay? Just wait for me to come home," he said, holding me tight. "Okay," I whispered into his chest. "I love you, Kels," he said, kissing me. "I love you too, Teddy." He kissed my forehead, "I'll see you soon." He kissed my lips one last time and then he was off.