Chloe hadn’t intended to run, she’d actually had everything she planned to say written out and memorized front and back. She’d started to cry and that hadn’t been in her plan so she ran. Chloe had wanted to turn back, but her legs hadn’t let her. The look on Presley’s face had scared her; he had looked in pain; almost like it hurt him to see her cry. His face tore her heart in two and she hadn’t been able to take it. Now, Chloe sat against a wall, her arms hugged her knees tightly to her chest and she placed her head between her knees to hide her tears. She sat alone for about five minutes, until she felt a warm hand on her back. She lifted her head and saw Presley. Chloe just looked at him and smiled. She fell into his strong arms and began to cry harder. He just held her for nearly ten minutes until she looked up into his calm and caring yes. She managed to say, “I’m going to miss you.”
“I know, I’m going to miss you too, but you know what? It’s going to be fine. I won’t let it not be. I want to be with you forever.”
Chloe bit her lip and hugged him, saying, “Thank you, you’re the best friend I’ve ever had.”
Presley smiled, “You know what I noticed? This is the same place I found you the first time we met. I think God is giving us a restart.”
“Whoa, it is. That’s so ironic.”
“I agree. It reminds me of how I felt about you that first day. I wanted to protect you, and just fix it all. I knew I couldn’t although. I had to be there for you and hurt along with you. I felt it all, every smidgen of what you felt. I loved your brother too, do you not realize that? He was always my only best friend, ever since preschool. You have no clue how much I felt when he died. You never bothered to ask. You just sat there and felt sorry for yourself. You weren’t the only that loved him. I’m not either, but you didn’t try to care about how I….” Presley stopped in midsentence, “Oh no… I didn’t mean that. I’m sorry! Forget everything I just said, I didn’t mean it.” Presley grabbed Chloe’s arm as she tried to stand and walk away. Chloe jerked herself from him and just let the hot tears fall. She did bite her lip although and straighten her posture so he wouldn’t think that hurt her. The truth was, her whole life had just crashed down.
Chloe sat on the bench outside, completely alone. If anyone was there she sure didn’t notice. She knew all of this was going to happen. She hated herself, she’d never cared about anyone. She was so self-centered. Presley was right. Chloe rubbed her eyes and tried to calm herself. He’d told her to forget what he said, but she knew she’d never be able to in her whole life. He’d hurt her, bad, and no apology would cover it up. She finally managed to calm herself, yet she still sat there, staring off into space. Her thoughts wandered to and fro. The only things she knew for sure when the bell rang, was that she hadn’t eaten lunch and that she had to let Presley go. She had to let go of everyone in her life, even though all the memories would keep her hanging on; so much for a restart.
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