Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 107944 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 540(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107944 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 540(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
Don’t get me wrong, I too could go with the flow. As long as I knew where the flow was flowing and the speed of the flow and the duration of said flow and how chaotic the flow could’ve been due to elemental equations and the pros and cons of the flow and why in the hell would anyone want to flow anyway when you could plan ahead and account for every mishap that could’ve happened beforehand?
Anyway. I was cool, calm, and collected. No big deal.
“You know what?” Aiden asked. “I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me. It must mean you’re going to miss me.”
Yes.
I am.
More than words.
I could cry right now thinking of you leaving me.
I rolled my eyes. “Missing is a dramatic term and a weak human emotion that keeps people from focusing on their lives.”
Aiden smiled. “I’ll miss you, too, Hails.”
“When do you leave?” I asked.
“Tomorrow, actually.”
Tomorrow?
As in…the day after today?
As in…within less than twenty-four hours?
As in… Oh no. My heart. It was starting to feel as if it was being ripped apart. First slowly, then all at a painfully quick speed.
So that was what heartbreak felt like. It amazed me how a heart could break so quietly when others were around. I see why some people avoided the sensation and chose not to love at all. Aiden hadn’t even known as I sat in front of him that every piece of me was aching. That every piece of me was in the depths of sadness. I couldn’t keep sitting there. If I did, I’d cry. If I cried, he’d feel bad. I didn’t want him to feel bad because something great was happening to him. Still, it felt as if the best day of his life was my worst, and I wasn’t certain how to deal with that.
Emotions and things. Yuck.
I stood from the grass, dusted off my semi-wet bottom, and started heading toward my window.
“Wait, where the heck are you going? We just got out here.”
“I’ve got some homework to finish.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “But…I just told you I’m leaving tomorrow.”
“Yeah. I heard you.”
“Don’t you want to hang out or something? Before my big send-off in the morning?”
In the morning?
I didn’t even get until the afternoon?
Tears. They were screaming to fall.
“It’s fine, Aiden. Have a nice trip. I’ll see you in a year.”
“Hailee, wait—”
I didn’t. I went into my bedroom, shut my window, closed my blinds, and I cried. Aiden pounded on my window for a little while and texted me repeatedly, but I didn’t respond.
Aiden: I leave at seven in the morning. You better be there to say goodbye, Hails. See you in the morning.
When morning came, I still wasn’t ready to say goodbye. Mama sat on the edge of my bed, and Dad leaned against my bedroom doorframe.
“You should go say goodbye, Hailee. They are going to pull out any minute now,” Mama told me.
Dad nodded in agreement. “I saw them getting into the car.”
“It’s fine,” I told them, hugging my pillow. “I’ll see him when he gets back.”
“Hailee…” Mama sighed. “You’ll regret not getting that hug from him. He’s your best friend.”
Didn’t she know that I knew that? I also knew that a final hug would feel like a final goodbye. After Aiden succeeded, which he would, he’d be given more opportunities and more reasons not to come back. He was leaving me with a wish and a prayer that we might be able to finish our senior year together.
I wasn’t real keen on wishes and prayers—they didn’t fit into my pie charts.
I listened as I heard the car next door start. My heart began pounding wildly against my chest. Dad walked into my bedroom and sat beside me. He looked like a giant linebacker who could’ve been the meanest person alive, but he was truly nothing but a big giant teddy bear. He was the gentlest man I’d ever known. From his brown eyes to his soft smile, my father oozed kindness.
“Hailee…Imagine if every time I headed to Los Angeles or around the world to film a movie, I didn’t say goodbye to your mother. Don’t you think that would hurt her?”
“Of course, it would.”
“And wouldn’t it make you sad if I never said goodbye to you?”
“Yeah…”
“So why would you do that to Aiden?”
I parted my lips to speak, but only a whisper came out as my voice shook. “I’m scared he might not come back.”
“I get that fear. I’m not going to pretend that Aiden isn’t insanely talented because he is, but still…he’s your person. And you always say hello and goodbye to your person.”
“Even when it’s hard?”
“Especially when it’s hard.” Dad leaned in and kissed my forehead. “You can do difficult things for love, sweetheart. The love is what makes it a little easier.”
Love.
Was that what this was between Aiden and me?