Chapter 15 - Part One
The next morning we go to breakfast as a family to celebrate the newly engaged couple.
It was our last day in Spain which was sad but the excitement of the engagement makes up for it. Each time Steven holds Taylor's hand at the table he kisses the ring on her finger and I feel a warmth in my heart towards them. The ring suited Taylor. It was a fat diamond. It must have taken my brother months to save up for it but then again he was making good money now as an engineer. It makes me happy to know he could give my best friend the life she deserves and my best friend could give my brother the love he deserves. They had made it through everything. College. Long distance. Steven and Taylor were a sure thing. We spend the rest of breakfast setting a date for the wedding.
"How about the spring?" My mom smiles. "Before it gets too hot."
"I wouldn't mind that." Taylor nods. "The humidity doesn't do my hair any favors."
"Nah." Steven interjects. "We have to do a summer wedding. I mean, it's nostalgic."
"Sorry Steven but I think the bride to be gets the final say." My mom laughs.
"Come on, back me up here?" Steven looks at Cleveland and Conrad.
Cleveland throws his hands up. "Sorry, you're on your own for this one."
Then Conrad says, "I don't think the weather matters when you're marrying the love of your life."
Taylor smiles at Conrad then looks at Steven. "Looks like you're outnumbered."
Steven just laughs then kisses her. I smile at Conrad and he smiles back.
After breakfast Cleveland takes us to The Museo de Bellas Artes in Seville for one last hoorah. Cleveland had great taste in art and my mom appreciated that about him. As we walked around the museum of art, I could feel Conrad's eyes follow me the entire time. I kept asking him what he was looking at and he would just smile and say nothing. He had been staring at me at breakfast in the same way too.
For our last lunch in Spain Cleveland takes us to the Rooftop Terrace to share tapas then it's time to head back to the hotel to pack for the journey home. I couldn't believe it was all coming to an end. No trip would ever top this one. It had been the trip of a lifetime.
Steven and Taylor hug everyone goodbye before they get off the elevator holding hands. Then when it's just the four of us, Conrad takes the time to thank my mom and Cleveland.
"Thanks again for everything." Conrad nods. "I'll have to find a way to repay you. I'll start by scrubbing Cleveland's yacht until it sparkles like Taylor's diamond."
Everyone laughs and Cleveland just pats his back. "Sounds like a fair trade to me."
"Oh Connie, you'll always be invited." My mom cups Conrad's face then she nods in my direction. "Just keep treating this one good and we'll call it even."
"Will do." Conrad smiles. "Thanks, Laura."
I feel a special warmth in my heart as they hug each other then my mom turns to me.
"Thanks for everything, mom." I hug her and she seems surprised. "It has been a magical trip. I've never seen Taylor and Steven so happy."
"Thanks, bean." My mom says into my ear. "And I'm glad you're here with Connie. He's good for you. I've never seen you so happy."
Her comment surprises me.
"You too." I hug her tighter. "Don't let Cleveland slip away this time, okay?"
I say goodbye to Cleveland then the elevator doors open. We wave them goodbye then it's just Conrad and I alone in the elevator. I watch the elevator doors close with dread. I wasn't looking forward to packing or to leaving the paradise that was Spain.
I sigh. "I can't believe this is our last day here."
Conrad hits the lobby button. "Who said it was over?"
He has a mischievous look on his face when I look at him and there it was. That smile he had been wearing all morning at the museum and at breakfast.
"Did you really think I wasn't going to take my girl out on our last day in Spain?" He teases me.
The elevator doors open to the lobby and he steps out.
He holds a hand out to me with a daring smirk. "Do you trust me?"
Was he kidding? I'd follow him anywhere.
He takes me to the Alcazar Palace Gardens first. We hold hands as we roam the oldest grounds of the Spanish crown. As we admire the lush scenery, it reminds me of Susannah.
"Susannah would have loved it here." I think out loud.
Conrads nods in agreement. "Yeah, I think so too."
"I used to wear her earrings everywhere here." I reminisce. "It felt like I was never alone like she was here with me every step of the way."
"I know the feeling."
I take a deep breath then I change the subject. "I think I want a garden someday."
"Yeah?" He looks at me with a warmth in his eyes, smiling. "What else?"
"Well." I ponder his question as we walk together hand in hand. "I want a garden full of peonies."
He nods like he is taking note.
"A pool for late night swims. A wrap around porch. You know, the usual." I brush my shoulder against his and he laughs.
"So the beach house." He says and we both laugh.
"Yeah, I guess so." I smile to myself.
"It's your house too, you know." He squeezes my hand. "You can stay there as long as you'd like."
"What about you?" I keep my eyes on the ground as we walk. "What do you want?"
He pulls me into him for a kiss. "I think you know what I want."
On our way out Conrad stops a random tourist to take our picture.
"Let's take a picture." He says. "For her."
I knew he was talking about Susannah.
He wraps his arms around me and for one of the pictures he kisses my cheek. I smile looking at the camera and just think to myself if only Susannah could see us now.
He takes me to The Seville Cathedral and Giralda Tower next. The largest gothic cathedral in the world. I had always wanted to go when I was studying abroad but I never got around to it. I couldn't believe he had remembered me telling him. But that's the thing about Conrad. He remembered everything. We do the rooftop tour and I take pictures of the breathtaking view. I turn to say something to him but he's not there. I search for him in the crowd of tourists and when I finally lay my eyes on him, he is taking pictures of me.
"Come here." I laugh. "You're missing out on the real view."
"I don't know." He smiles. "This is a view I never want to forget."
He snaps another picture as he walks up to me and I laugh shyly.
"Saving that one for later." He winks. "For when I'm missing you."
It was hard to think about the fact we would be back to long distance after this trip. We were really going to have to make the most of today. Really make it count.
"Hey, the day isn't over yet." I take his hand. "Come on!"
We stroll the streets of Seville for the rest of the afternoon. We buy silly souvenirs and try on ridiculous hats. Conrad buys us helado (ice cream) to cool off from the heat. I order the helado de fresa (strawberry) and Conrad orders the chocolate negro (dark chocolate).
"Oh my god." I say as we walk, enjoying our ice cream. "It's even better than I remembered."
"You've been holding out on me." Conrad laughs. "This is pretty good."
"Here, try mine." I hand him my ice cream cone. "It's the best flavor."
Conrad tries mine then shakes his head. "Mmm. Too sugary."
I laugh out loud. "Whatever. Coming from the one who got chocolate."
"Dark chocolate." He winks. "Here, try it."
I try his and I'm too prideful to say his is better than mine.
"It's alright." I shrug and he just laughs. He knew me to well.
We continue to walk and lick our ice creams. Conrad has an amused look on his face the entire time.
"What?" I laugh.
"You have a little-" He reaches out to rub some ice cream off of my cheek.
We share a moment as he touches me. It takes me back to the peach stand years ago and I find myself not wanting to make the same mistakes we did back then. I wanted to do more than just kiss him at that moment. I wanted to tell him everything. Everything that was on my heart. I didn't want the trip to end without him knowing how I felt and how I had been feeling. I guess he was feeling the same way because after he rubs the ice cream away he kisses me. His lips are cold and wet from the ice cream but I don't mind it at all because those lips belonged to me. That smirky mouth was all mine. It was the kind of whirlwind of a kiss where the world fades out around us and it's just Conrad and I alone on the street. Suddenly a cyclist zooms past us and the force of it makes my ice cream fall from my hands. We break our kiss to look down at it. Conrad looks at me expecting me to be upset but I just burst into laughter. We both can't stop laughing as we continue to walk and he shares the rest of his ice cream with me. And I change my vote in that moment. Dark chocolate was definitely the best flavor.
A dress catches my eye in a window as we window shop and Conrad notices.
"Want to go inside?" He asks me.
"It's okay." I shrug. "Let's keep going."
He leads me back to the store with one hand then he holds the door open for me.
"We're only in Spain once." He smirks. "Live a little."
It was a beautiful shop. All of the pieces were handmade. I try on the dress I saw in the window. Usually I hated trying things on but Conrad had insisted.
"Let me know if you need help." The lady says from outside of my dressing room. She spoke very broken english and she had a very endearing motherly energy to her.
Once I have the dress on, I smooth it out with my hands. It's the kind of dress that makes you feel like a princess. It had the prettiest floral pattern I'd ever seen. Susannah would have loved it. I snap a few pictures with my phone to remember it thinking maybe I could find a similar one in the states. Whatever price it was, I was sure it was out of my budget.
"Come outside and show us, my dear." The lady says and I can't say no to her.
When I step out of the dressing room, Conrad is sitting in a chair looking off to the side.
The lady sees me first and gasps, leading me to a large mirror. "Te ves muy bella!"
I wasn't sure what she had said to me but it sounded like a compliment. She has me do a twirl for her in front of the mirror and it reminds me of something Susannah would ask me to do. In the mirror, I see Conrad's eyes slowly move up and down the dress. He takes a deep breath.
"We'll take it." Conrad says to her.
The lady happily nods, walking away for a moment.
"Conrad." I look at him in the mirror in awe. "You didn't have to do that."
"You need a dress for dinner tonight." He shrugs.
He was buying me a dress and taking me to dinner? I was speechless.
We share a moment as we look at each other in the mirror. Today had been perfect but I had a feeling tonight was going to be even better. Was tonight going to be the night? The night I tell him how I feel and lay it all out there?
As soon as we get back to the hotel, I text Taylor I need her help. I knew she would die over the dress and I needed her advice on how to style it. I knew she wouldn't say no to girl time.
"Damn, Belly." Taylor says when she sees me in the dress for the first time. "You got good taste."
"Thanks." I smile then I pause. "Conrad got it for me."
Taylor raises her brows then gives me a nod of approval. She applies blush to my cheeks.
"Well, you look beautiful." She smiles. "And I guess Conbad doesn't have bad taste after all in both dresses or women." She winks and we both laugh.
"Thanks for helping me get ready tonight." I nod, feeling nervous. "You're the best."
What would I do without her?
"Are you good?" Taylor narrows her eyes. "You seem nervous and not the good kind."
"Yeah, I'm fine." I lie to her and myself.
"Belly." She eyes me. "I'm your best friend. You can't lie to me."
I take a deep breath.
"I think I'm going to tell him how I feel tonight." I admit out loud then I shake my head at myself. "And I'm already trying to talk my heart out of it."
Taylor nods in an understanding way then she sits down so she is at the same level as me. "Can I ask you what's holding your heart back?"
"I don't know." I look down. "Maybe the past."
"I get it, babe." Taylor holds my hand. "You two have a long history together. That kind of hurt just doesn't go away easily, you know?"
"Yeah." I nod then I look at her. "I know you know."
I knew Taylor understood better than anyone else. It had taken her a long time to let Steven back in again after he had hurt her but everything had worked out for them which gave me hope.
"I know it's scary." Taylor pauses. "But isn't love supposed to be a little scary?"
"You've said that before." I look down, avoiding eye contact. She had said the same thing to me about Jere.
Taylor takes a moment to find her words as she reads my face.
"Fine, I'm no dating expert or therapist. You don't have to take my advice." She laughs. "But I wouldn't be here with you in Spain with a ring on my finger if I hadn't given Steven another chance. We both know what will happen if you never tell him how you feel, Belly. And is that a risk you're really willing to take? This isn't some boy we're talking about here. This is Conrad. The boy you've been in love with since you were like 12 years old."
One thing about Taylor was she was always honest. There was no hiding from her.
"You're right." I exhale. "I should tell him."
"I'm always right." Taylor rolls her eyes, holding my hand. "And hey, I already broke our stupid little pact so it's only right that you break it too."
We both laugh. She was referring to the pact we had made as teenagers to never go back to our first loves. Little did she know Conrad had already told me she had said that to him.
"Thanks, Taylor. I think I needed this."
"Duh." Taylor laughs.
I look down at the ring on her finger as we hold hands. "I still can't believe you're getting married."
"Neither can I." Taylor glows from happiness, admiring the ring.
"Are you sure you still want to marry my brother?" I laugh, scrunching my nose.
"Hey!" I hear Steven laugh from outside of the door. Taylor throws a pillow at the door.
"Hey, no eavesdropping!" Taylor giggles then she looks back at me.
"Like I said, are you sure?" I laugh, teasing her. "Blink twice if you're in danger."
"Oh, I'm more than sure." Taylor smiles. "What can I say? Steven is my Conrad."
Her words surprise me and I look away, smiling.
Then she jumps up to grab something from the hotel closet. "Speaking of weddings I have something for you."
She walks back out of the closet with a small box and hands it to me.
"Open it." She tries to hold back a smile as she sits back down with me.
I open the small box to find two earrings with a note that says handmade in Spain.
"Taylor." I look up at her. "Oh my god."
"I thought you'd like them. Believe it or not, Steven helped me pick them out."
"I love them!" I smile then I feel guilty. "But shouldn't I be the one giving you gifts? You're the bride to be. I still can't believe I'm saying that." I shake my head, smiling.
"I want you to wear them at the wedding." Taylor squeezes my hand. "I want you to wear them when you stand next to me at the altar."
Taylor takes a deep breath before she delivers the next part.
"Cinderbelly, you're my oldest friend in the world. We've known each other for like a grillion years. I just can't imagine going doing any of this without you. Will you be my Maid of Honor?"
I stare at her in shock then I tackle her with a hug. "Are you kidding? Yes! Yes! Of course I will!"
We hug each other laughing. It was a moment we had been talking about since we were little girls and it was finally here. She was getting married and I was going to be her Maid of Honor. Me and Taylor Jewel. My truest and oldest friend in the world.
When I step off the elevator later that night, I see him before he sees me. He is waiting next to the doors of the lobby. He looks nice. Better than nice. Perfect. He looks like he put product in his hair and it makes me smile.
"Hi." I smile as I walk up to him.
"Hey." Conrad's eyes twinkle as he takes me in.
Taylor had curled my hair and done my makeup so well I hadn't even recognized myself.
"Wow. Blue is your color." I admire his nice dress shirt I'd never seen him wear before.
"Every color is your color." He takes my hand then nods at the door. "Shall we?"
Conrad had reserved a private boat ride on the Guadalquivir. It was starting to get dark so we could see every star in the sky as we glided across the water. He holds my hand the entire time and points out constellations like we used to do. It was our thing. I was so impressed he had taken the time to book this private boat ride. How long ago had he booked all of this? I had always wanted to do something like this and he had exceeded my expectations. The day just kept getting better and better.
"I figured we might as well cross off a few items on your bucket list while we're here." He smiles.
"Any other surprises I should know about?" I laugh.
"You'll see." He smirks and kisses my hand.
The song that plays in the background of the boat ride is Invisible String by Taylor Swift:
Time, wondrous time
Gave me the blues and then purple pink skies
And it's cool, baby, with me
And isn't it just so pretty to think
All along there was some
Invisible string
Tying you to me?
After the boat ride, he takes me to the prettiest restaurant I'd ever been to in my entire life close to the water. We dine under twinkling lights and greenery. Conrad orders us Cava (Spain's sparkling wine) and we toast to our last night here. We share tapas and enjoy the finest cuisine Seville has to offer. The chemistry and conversation flowed naturally between us. This side of Conrad was my favorite Conrad. He was all the best parts of himself tonight. Completely relaxed and at ease. And I keep waiting for the perfect moment to tell him that. To open up my heart to him and to not hold back. Conrad excuses himself for a moment and I watch him walk away with a smile on my face. Nothing could spoil tonight. Everything was going right. It was pure magic.
I'm looking out at the water admiring the view when a waitress bumps into our table. Conrad's phone falls and I catch it before it reaches the ground. She apologizes and I tell her to not worry about it. Conrad's screen lights up in my hand and when I see his screensaver my heart melts. It's the picture we had taken earlier in the garden. He is kissing my cheek and I'm smiling at the camera. I smile at it then I see something else. A spam of missed calls and texts all from Jere.
Jeremiah:
We need to talk. Call me.
My stomach drops as I see the text after that.
Jeremiah:
Pick up your fucking phone. If dad is trying to challenge mom's will, I have a right to know.
Adam was trying to challenge Susannah's will?
I set Conrad's phone back down on the table and stop myself right there. A million emotions wash over me. So my gut instinct had been right. Conrad had been hiding something. He had been holding back. I just never thought it would be something as big as this. And to think I was going to tell him how I feel tonight and lay it all out there. I suddenly feel sick to my stomach.
Conrad returns to the table and I stand up before he can sit down. I walk right past him, straight for the door and I wait for him outside as he pays the bill inside. When he joins me outside, he looks confused which only upsets me more.
"Belly?" He takes a step towards me and I take a step back to keep the distance between us.
"You should look at your phone." I look at him, hating the way my voice sounded.
Conrad checks his phone for the first time in hours and I watch his face fall as he reads Jeremiah's texts. He takes a moment as he shakes his head, closing his eyes.
"Belly-" He starts again but I don't want to hear it.
"Is this why you were so upset with Adam?" I cut him off. "Is this why you've been off?"
"This isn't how you were supposed to find out." Conrad looks at me. "Laurel was going to tell everyone after the trip."
I guess I should have known my mother was involved in this but it still stung to hear it.
"So you've both been lying to me this summer." I look down. Unbelievable.
"Belly, it's not like that." Conrad swallows. "Trust me."
"Just be honest with me for once." I look back up at him. "How long have you known? How long has this been going on?"
He takes a breath. "I found out about it during the Fourth of July weekend."
They had been keeping this a secret from Jere and I for over a month?
I couldn't believe it. I wasn't trying to make this about me. This was bigger than me or Jere. This was about Susannah but I just couldn't understand why they would keep it a secret from us.
"Why would you keep this from us?" I demand to know. "Jere and I had a right to know, Conrad."
"I didn't want to keep it from either of you. It's been killing me." He shakes his head. "But it all happened so fast. Laurel thought it would be for the best if we kept it quiet at first especially with Steven proposing. We didn't want to take away from that."
"Wait so Steven doesn't know either?"
He shakes his head no.
I take a long time to process his words and when I don't answer, he reaches for my hand.
"Don't." I take a step back. "Don't touch me."
My words land cold but it works because he drops his hand. He obeys me.
"Belly, I will tell you everything you want to know." Conrad looks at me with pleading eyes. "Just please talk to me."
"But you didn't talk to me." I look him in the eye. "You've been lying to me for over a month, Conrad."
"Belly." He takes a step forward and I slowly start to back away from him. What was there to say? His face said it all.
"I-I need a second." I shake my head as I walk away.
I leave him standing there in the street. I didn't know where I was going. All I knew was I needed to get away from him. I needed time to take all of this in. To come to terms with all of it.
Maybe it wasn't fair for me to be mad at them. Out of anyone, I felt the most sorry for Jere and Conrad. This wasn't ideal for anyone. It was shitty. As shitty as it gets. But why would my mom and Conrad lie to me? I wasn't a kid anymore. Wasn't I worth the truth? And didn't Conrad know I would have been there for him through everything? I thought we were past this. I thought we were past all of the lies and secrets but once again he had lied and pushed me away when he needed me most. At least with Prom he had an excuse for his behavior. Susannah had been dying. But what his excuse now? Our perfect day we had spent together was tainted now. And I hated him for that. I hated that we always ended up here. Falling back into our same old ways and patterns. I was tired of it.
I find myself at the Plaza De Espana Bridge. It was the only landmark in Seville I was familiar with. He knew better than to follow me. Our hotel was only a few blocks from here anyways.
But as I walk up to the bridge, Conrad is already there. Why were we always showing up at the same place at the same time? I used to think it was fate but now I wasn't so sure. All I knew was I didn't believe in him anymore. Not right now. Not tonight.
"I thought you might come here." He says and I ignore him. I don't even look at him.
"I'm sorry." He looks at me. "I should have told you and I should have told Jere."
As nice as it was to hear him apologize it was too late. What was done was done.
"Yeah." I find my words. "You should have."
"I don't want to end the trip like this. We promised to always talk even when it gets hard."
I suddenly have an epiphany as he is speaking.
"Alright, let's talk." I face him. "Is this why you haven't been touching me?"
"I do touch you."
"You know what I mean."
He pauses. "It just didn't feel right to be intimate with you when-"
"When you've been lying to me." I finish his sentence for him.
We exchange a long painful moment of silence.
"No one could have prepared us for this, Belly." He swallows. "Laurel was just trying to do what she thought was best and-"
"And what's your excuse?" I glare at him.
He blinks. "What?"
"What's your excuse for lying to me?" I pause. "Or do you not even have one?"
Conrad flinches and I start to see the first cracks in his armor.
"Belly, I never meant to hurt anyone." He shakes his head.
"Well, it's too late for that." I start to lose my patience with him. "What am I supposed to do with all of this, Conrad!?"
"Do you really think I don't understand how fucked up all of this is?" Conrad shakes his head. "I hate Adam for putting all of us in this shitty position and you have every right to be upset with me. I get it. I really do. I hate myself for lying to you. But I did it to protect you and Jere-"
"But that wasn't your call to make!" I shout. "Jere and I love Susannah too!"
Conrad's face drops and I try to calm down as I find my words.
"What happened to asking for help and not doing everything on your own? Whatever my mom asked you to do is between you and her, Conrad, but Jere and I have a right to be pissed about being left out of all of this. What happened to doing things as a family?" I shake my head, trying to get through to him.
"You're right." Conrad looks down. "You're both right. I fucked up and I'm sorry."
I couldn't believe we were doing this in Spain. I look down at the ground in disappointment. Then I close my eyes as I whisper, "We can't keep doing this."
Conrad's head snaps up. "Doing what?"
"Whatever this is is." I open my eyes and gesture between us. "We keep saying things are going to be different when we just go back to our old ways. All we do is hurt each other."
"That's not true-"
"It's not?" I shake my head. "What are we doing right now, Conrad?"
He looks at me with a pained expression.
"What's it going to take for us to finally admit maybe this will never work?" I throw my hands in the air with tears in my eyes. "When are we finally going to let each other go, Conrad?"
Conrad just stares at me too stunned to speak. We've been here before and it always ends the same. I guess I had to be the strong one once again. I have to be the one to say what we were both thinking out loud even though my heart was fighting every word.
"Fine." I hold back the tears. "Then if you won't say it I will."
He flinches. It was just like our Prom all over again.
"It's over." I breathe. "We're over."
I turn to walk away from him for good until I hear him say, "Bullshit."
I freeze then turn around to look at him. "Excuse me?"
"I said that's bullshit." He crosses the bridge to me. "And you know it."
The intensity in his eyes scares me and I force myself to keep walking. "We're not doing this."
He catches my arm to stop me from walking away.
"You're right." He shakes his head, holding onto me. "We're not doing this because I'm not letting you walk away from me, Belly. Not tonight. Not ever."
"You're the one who always leaves." I shake him off. "Not me."
"Maybe that used to be true but it's not anymore."
I look at him. "What-what are you talking about?"
"You know what I'm talking about." He takes a step closer. "I'm not the only one who has been holding back, Belly."
This time I'm the speechless one. Because he was right. I had been holding back. For this very reason. I didn't want to get hurt by him again. I wasn't sure I would be able to survive it this time.
"What did you expect me to say to you when I found out, Conrad?" I search his eyes. "What do you want from me?"
"I want you to be honest with yourself and honest with me." His eyes hold mine.
"I have been honest." I look away. "You're the one who has been lying and keeping secrets, Conrad."
"Really? So you haven't been lying to yourself all summer about what you feel for me?" He doesn't break eye contact as he takes another step towards me. "You haven't been lying to yourself about this invisible string that has always been there between us?"
We are face to face now and I have to close my eyes. "No."
"Don't lie." He says and I open my eyes to look up at him.
"Conrad." I breathe. "Stop."
"I can't and you know I can't."
Conrad's face softens and he as he delivers a line that stops my heart.
"Because I am in love with you, Isabel."
Everything around me becomes a blur in that moment and he is the focal point. It was like hearing him say the words out loud for the first time on the beach.
"I've never stopped loving you. I haven't lied about that. I've been upfront about my feelings for you this entire summer. I've tried to show you this can work. That we can work. And I'm sorry I've hurt you. I'm sorry I lied and kept this from you. That was wrong of me and I'll never lie to you ever again but I'm not going to stand here and pretend I'm the only one who has been holding back when that's a lie too."
I try to find my breath as his words heal and break my heart all at the same time.
"You're the one who has been holding back, Isabel. You know how I feel and you know what I want. I don't think I can make it any more clear that it has always been and will always be you." His eyes start to fill with tears then he looks down. "But it's not just about what I want. It's what you want too. And you need to ask yourself what you want, Isabel."
"It's not that simple." I breathe.
"It is." He says and my eyes start to fill with tears too.
Was he breaking my heart or was I breaking his?
"And if it's not me-" Conrad's voice catches. It was the most painful conversation we've ever had. He looks down, trying to compose himself again then he looks me in the eye. "If it's not me then I will finally let you go." His voice breaks on the word you and it breaks me.
"Conrad." I close my eyes, trying to find the right words to say and trying to fight the tears.
"I want you to know no matter what this summer was worth it to me. Being with you and loving you again. You looking at me the way you used to. It was all worth it." He starts to cry as he presses his lips on my forehead and it's all too familiar. "But this is something you have to figure out on your own. I've been as honest and open with you as I can be. Now you need to be honest with yourself. I'll give you space now."
When I open my eyes, I'm alone on the bridge and that's when I start to cry too.
Author's Note: This chapter broke me too don't worry lol but stay with me.. Part Two will be here soon!