[Quick Author's Note: Don't judge me, this chapter is hard core cliche lmao]
Aaron is smiling.
I can feel his smile as we kiss and the moment our lips separate I can see the smile on his face. And my heart beats so fast I can hardly take it, because I just kissed him and he's smiling at me and it's everything I've wanted for a while now.
I open my mouth to say something but he beats me to it.
"Brunch, tomorrow at 11. At the Waffle House by Fort. Meet me there?"
"Y-yeah," I say and he gets up and for a moment I'm unsure of what is happening but then he turns to look at me, a soft chuckle coming out of his mouth and he smiles again before walking toward his motorcycle. I watch him go before I step back inside and I walk upstairs, finding my dad tucking Sage to sleep. My dad sighs as he places a glass of water by the night stand. When he walks out of his room I notice the dark circles that have formed in his eyes.
"Dad," I say and he looks up at me, a frown on his face. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Sage."
"I know," he replies, "you need to tell me when anything, especially something like this happens Lux. Sage could've gotten hurt, you could've gotten hurt. How am I supposed to protect you kids if you can't even tell me when you're in trouble? And what am I supposed to tell your mom tomorrow? She's gonna freak out."
"I'm sorry," I repeat, knowing the word won't do much, but I still say it.
Dad sighs and pulls me in a hug. "I know. Thank you for looking out for your brother. Promise me that you'll tell me next time, which hopefully there won't be one."
"I promise dad." Dad lets me go and we go to our rooms. That night I have to force myself to sleep. The only thing keeping me awake are Aaron's lips. And seeing him tomorrow at Waffle House. It's what I think about before I go to sleep. It's what I dream about while I am asleep. And it's the first thing that pops in my head the minute I get up.
It is nine, only two hours until I meet Aaron and I know it's still too early but I get up and get dressed. By nine-thirty I'm ready to go. I walk to Sage's room to check on him and notice he just woke up. The glass of water is empty on the night stand and he's sitting up his bed the minute I walk in. He turns his head and looks at me as I sit beside him.
"Hey," I say. "How are you feeling?"
"I've had better days," he says and lets out a sarcastic laugh. As he says this dad walks in with another glass of water and hands it to Sage who gladly takes it, gulping it immediately.
"Thanks," he tells him once he's done.
Dad only smiles as he takes a seat on the chair in front of Sage's desk and scoots over closer to us. He lets out a sigh and says, "How about I tell you two a story."
Sage and I stay quiet and listen as my dad begins his story.
"A guy, not too many years ago, had decided to leave his hometown after high school and go to college out of state. Truth to be told he was nervous to leave, he had many friends staying home and a family that cared for him. But he realized that if he didn't leave he'd feel stuck there and would eventually resent the fact that he didn't leave. So he did. His first year of college was hard. He didn't realize that making friends was going to be an obstacle for him because he was an easy going guy. But the first semester passed rather quickly and he had only made about three friends. The next semester, he had met more people, but the thought of going back home because he felt lonely never left his mind. He was really close to leaving after that first year until he met a girl."
Dad pauses for a second and I listen, a little confused at where this story is going.
"She was in his Intro to Bio class and he had never seen her before, but then again the class was held in an auditorium and getting to know every single person was almost impossible. The only reason they even met was because they got put in the same group. She was funny and smart and incredibly beautiful and he was intrigued with her strong minded attitude for he had never met anyone like her. She was the leader of the group, bossy to say the least but driven. She knew exactly who she was and where she wanted her life to go. She made sure no one in the group felt excluded, especially not him. And eventually they become friends, really good friends and by the last year of college they began to date. Their love felt new and fresh and nothing less than complete and utter bliss for him and he knew that she felt the same. Sometime during the summer after they graduated the girl got pregnant. And although they both felt like having a baby at 22 was going to be hard and they were still so young, the thought of not having the baby was never an option. They loved each other, so very much, and although a baby was not written in their plans they didn't care, they wanted to have the baby. They were so excited, they had already bought clothes for the baby and although they hadn't been told the sex of their baby, the girl felt it in her heart that it was girl. But some time later, not too long after they bought the clothes, the girl found herself bleeding on the bathroom floor. And the boy would never forget her screams, her worry for the baby. And when they went to the hospital they found out that the girl had a miscarriage."
I watch as my dad puts a sad smile and his eyes flash with melancholy.
"You'd think their love would keep them together. But their love just wasn't enough and both of them felt distant to one another after their child's passing. The pain was too grave for them to even look at each other and eventually they broke up, and the day the girl left him, the boy swore he'd never see her again. Year pass, five and a half years to be exact. The boy was no longer a boy but now a grown man. And within those five and a half years the pain of his great love was still buried in his heart for he had yet to meet someone as amazing as the girl and at times his mind would drift to the days when they were still together, happy. The man had gotten his first real job as an assistant at a law firm. He was nervous to say the least but the first couple of days weren't as bad as he expected, that was until he woke up late on the Friday of his first week. He didn't have a car, not having enough money to buy one yet, and he had taken the metro to work, but by the time he arrived to the bus stop the bus he'd normally go on had left. When he checked the times for the next but he realized that instead of staying on just one bus he would have to get off at one stop and go on another bus and the thought of this mad his stomach uneasy. When he gets on the first bus he realizes how much more people there are on that bus than on the one he normally goes on. He manages to squeeze his way through the back of the bus and takes his seat, feeling nervous at the fact that he'd be late to work. What he didn't realize, until he turned his head that is, the person who was sitting next to him was someone familiar to him. It was then that he notices her features, the ones he memorized years ago have matured and the girl he had fallen for was not a girl anymore but a woman."
At this, dad smiles fondly as he continues to talk.
"The man could not believe it and he felt like his heart was about burst out because there she was, beautiful as always, sitting right beside him. He said her name and when she turned to look at him she was surprised. To this day he remembers her smile the moment she realizes who he is. He can still remember how they talked the entire time on the bus and by the time he had to get off he didn't want to. He was scared he would never see her again. So he grows the courage and asks her for her email, which thankfully, she gave to him. When he gets to work the first thing he does is email her. And it doesn't take long for her to email him back. For an entire month, after they saw each other on the bus they continue emailing each other nonstop. He finds out that she's single and is currently working at a publishing company and is very happy with her job and current life. When the month comes to an end he finally has gathered some courage and asks her on a date, but her initial response is no, saying that she likes the friendship they've built up. The man agrees and waits another month until he asks her out again, her response the same. Another month passes by and although he knows that he's already been rejected twice, and should probably not ask her out again, he still does. He doesn't regret asking her out a third time, in fact because he did, he now strongly believes in the phrase 'third time's a charm' because she had finally said yes."
Dad carries on, "From then on they continue the relationship they had and they were happy. And within seven months of dating again they elope and on that same year she got pregnant. At first they were scared that their baby would pass away again but instead of being negative they did whatever they could to have a healthy baby. And within the next nine months their healthy baby boy was born and a year later they had a daughter. It was the best years of their life, but then fourteen years had passed and suddenly the environment at home wasn't what either of them expected. They would fight a lot and at times they realized just how bad it got and in the end they decided to get a divorce, not wanting their kids to grow up with fighting parents. Truth to be told, he regrets agreeing to the divorce because in the end he still loved her and even to this day he would do anything for her. But he also knows that the divorce was for the best. He's realized that the love they had for each other had an expiration date and alas their time together had come to an end. As time passed, he had learned to accept that their time together was over, but doesn't, not for a single second, regret loving her."
And at that moment I realize that this isn't just some random story he's telling us but rather the story of him and my mom; their love story. And I can't help but let a tear roll down my cheek as I realize all that they had been through together.
"As I can tell from your faces," dad begins, "you two have figured out whose story this is. And there's a reason why I'm telling it to you to. Lux, I wanted to tell you this story so that you can realize that falling in love with someone is going to come with obstacles and great pains, that's what it's all about. You shouldn't be afraid, but just go for it. Embrace it, because even if it hurts, there's nothing greater than being in love. As for you Sage, I want you take this story as a way to help you cope with your break up. I know how hard it is, and I know it hurts badly right now, but I promise you will get through it. Okay?"
"Okay," we both say and I go over to give him a hug.
On my way to meet Aaron I can't help but think back to my dad's story I realize what I have to do.
When Aaron sees me he stands up and I walk up to him and kiss him.
"I'm gonna start thinking that's how we're gonna greet each other from now on if you continue to do that," Aaron says once our lips part, laughing a little while at it.
I smile at him and say, "Good. Look Aaron I like you, a lot. And I know so much has happened between us that we still need to talk about but I just want to make one thing clear. I'm not gonna let anything, not even myself, get in the way anymore. I don't want to be afraid, in fact I'm not afraid anymore. And I understand if you don't want to do this right now but-"
And he's kissing me, shutting me up and kissing me. And I can't help but feel giddy inside, my heart beating faster than ever before.
"Okay, I'm waiting," he says expectantly.
"Waiting for what?" I question.
"For you to officially ask me out."
"You're kidding," I say, smiling hard.
"Go on," he replies, smirking.
I let out a laugh. "Fine," I say, "Will you be my boyfriend?"
"Why of course," Aaron says smiling. He pulls me close and puts his hand on my cheek and leans in, planting a sweet kiss on my lips.
What up friends
I hope y'all are pretty happy with this chapter. I know i am. Sorry for the extra cliche-ness...but I mean c'mon...this is a bad boy story after all lmao
So..thoughts?
Also um...so...you know how I said there's be like 36-38 chapters in this story...there's actually only 2 chapters left...the end is near! Also I don't think I will be writing an epilogue...
Lastly as you guys can tell I'm writing quite a lot fast for this story and will probably have the next two chapters all written up by the end of the week. My question is...would you guys want me to upload them right away or would you rather I upload one next week and the last chapter the week after that? I know some people don't want things to come to an end whereas other want it to end already so make sure to tell me your thoughts in the comments. I'll probably have the date of the next update on my bio by tomorrow so I can give you guys time to decided, so be sure to keep a look out for that.
Hope you guys enjoyed this. Have a good day. Love you.