My Life Would Suck Without You

by Krystal George

  ~*~

  That summer, she moved into a small, third-floor walk-up, one-room sub-let apartment in southern Manhattan. While the view from the only window was a brick wall, it did open onto a fire escape from a tiny balcony. The entire apartment was white paint over red brick and had industrial piping attached to the ceiling that entered and disappeared through the opposite walls. With some stuff she brought with her, she made it feel like home. It was clean and cozy. And it was hers.

  When she went to register for her classes at NYU, she discovered she had a full scholarship. Being able to stretch her classes out, she started working on a new play. Jillian was determined to meet her contractual obligations before the deadline.

  Unfortunately, her muses were quiet; so quiet, in fact, she thought they went back home. She tried to write, but the words refused to come. Hours turned into days, which turned into weeks. She stared at the blinking cursor on her laptop.

  This is not good. I have a progress meeting next week and I have absolutely nothing to show for it. God, I miss home. I could write anything there. But here… She went out and sat on the fire escape. I am living in New York City and I can’t find a drop of inspiration! What is wrong with me?

  Grabbing her wallet and a pad, she headed to the corner café hoping for a germ of an idea.

  Nothing developed.

  With classes starting in a week, Jillian decided to put the writing on the back burner. I’ll have homework anyway, she justified. She grabbed her old MP-3 player and headed uptown to her meeting with Irving. Walking the thirty or so blocks instead of catching a bus, Jillian kept looking around for something… anything. Standing on the corner of Thirty-Eighth and Avenue of the Americas waiting for the light to change, the MP-3 player shifted to earlier music she taped—recordings of the poems Vicki set to music.

  Jillian stood there, frozen to the spot, listening to her words—her songs. The haunting lyrics triggered in her mind. All at once, all at the same time, the voices started talking.

  Not wanting to waste another minute, she hopped the uptown bus. Irving was in between meetings, but since there was nothing in the way of an update, he agreed to postpone the meeting until after classes got underway. She did ask one question.

  “Mr. Birchwood. Hypothetically speaking, how would you feel about a musical?”

  When his eyes lit up, she knew.

  Jillian couldn’t wait to get back home. As soon as the laptop booted, she started. The words flowed. The plot developed and danced in her head. Everything was based on the story in the old poems.

  She worked through the day and all night. By daybreak, a rudimentary musical was finished. Oh, it needed cleaned up, but it was there. Now she needed someone to write the music.

  By the end of the first month of classes, Jillian had a bunch of new friends. She approached them with her problem of needing a composer. They supplied her with a few names. The referrals were all people her friends knew and could vouch for their skills. Finding out their music styles, she narrowed the list down to two fellow students. One was busy, but the other was not only free, but very interested.

  They agreed to meet. Turned out Boone Williams lived in her neighborhood. Jillian was truthful with him, explaining she was under contract for the musical. She couldn’t guarantee anything in the way of compensation for him, but when he heard the first poem, he was hooked.

  Jillian met with Irving and Jay two times before Christmas, and by year-end she had a finished product.

  With the rebirth of her muses and having completed the musical in less than six months, churning out the second play was a piece of cake. By the end of her third year in the city, Jillian earned her Master’s degree and completed not one but two plays in addition to the musical. She found a bigger apartment in a building with an elevator and finally settled into a career she enjoyed.

  Jay continued as her agent and her partnership with Irving Birchwood continued to blossom. She became the darling of Broadway. Her plays and musicals were hot properties. Over the years, she was nominated four times for a Tony, but this was the first time she won the award.

  Jillian wrote her acceptance speech years earlier but finally had a chance to share it with the world. Live, with cameras on her, she delivered her thanks to Irving, Jay and all the others responsible for her success, but ended with one more personal note. Looking directly into the camera, Jillian said, “Thank you Jake. I’m so glad you pushed me in right direction. My life would have sucked had I not listened to you. Wherever you are, my friend, I am forever grateful.”

  Just a Letter

  By Bree Vanderland

  ©2014 by Bree Vanderland

  Dear Carina,

  You’re my younger sister and there’s so much I want to say to you. You’re beautiful. You’re amazing AND you deserve so much out of life. You can be anything you want to be and do anything you set your mind to! At eight years old, I know the world looks big and maybe a little intimidating, but take a deep breath.

  I remember everything from the time you were brought home to the last second I saw you. I remember how little you were and man you had a set of lungs.I remember holding you and feeding you for the first time as well.

  As my sister, we’re bound to have many arguments, but you mean a lot to me. I’ve taken care of you for a while and a part of me sees you as my own daughter. You’re always there to make me laugh when I’m down, even though you don’t know it. You do the silliest things that I just can’t help but want to see more of. I want to protect you even though I know I can’t protect you from everything in the world.

  No matter what, know that you can do anything. Know that I love you and that I can’t do any of this without you. You’re my world and no one will ever be able to replace you.

  Your Loving Sister,

  Bree

  Moments

  By Amanda Alberson

  ©2014 by Amanda Alberson

  “Ewwwww heck no I won’t kiss you!”

  “And why not?”

  “Cuz, girls are gross and kissin’s for moms and dads.”

  “Nuh uh my cousin Jodie kisses boys all the time.”

  She puckered her lips and moved towards me again.

  “So help me, I’ll…I’ll punch you!” I said raising my fists.

  “You can’t.” She said, kicking one hip out as she crossed her arms over her chest. She was wearing that cocky grin that irritated me more than anything. Mostly because it meant she was right.

  “Why can’t I?”

  “Cuz, I’m a girl you idiot.”

  My small fists lowered helplessly to my sides.

  Dang it, she was right, as always.

  “Whatever, South Dakota. Keep your girl cooties to yourself.”

  I jumped from the porch and bolted towards the tree house ladder.

  She yelled behind me as she struggled to kick off her flip flops and chase me.

  “You get back here Paxton Archibald.”

  I was already pulling the rope ladder up into the tree house as she clambered over the pasture fence. I have no clue when Dakota changed from the weird kid I stay with after school, into the insane kissing monster, but I knew I didn’t like it.

  Dakota was the only friend I’d made since my grandmother moved us out to ‘the sticks’. It was obvious from day one that a skinny, nerdy kid from the city didn’t belong in the rural farm land of Kansas. I would never be a ‘corn-fed country boy’, whatever that meant. I ate corn all the time so I’m not sure what qualifies someone as ‘corn-fed’. Being a petite boy, who according to Grandma was “fragile as sugar glass” made me easy to ignore.

  Dakota didn’t ignore me so much as almost kill me the first time I met her. The Lawrence family farm sat just beyond the back fence of the small acreage and house Grandma bought. I caught her swimming in our pond just days after we’d moved in. When I threatened to tell on her, she’d punched me in the stomach so hard I had an asthma attack. She dragged my wheezing body across the fie
ld muttering the same threats and candied promises she offered me now from below the tree house.

  My head bounced off every step of our porch as she hauled my quickly failing body up to the door. Dropping me by the wayside as she pounded on the screen door.

  “Hey, I think I broke your kid!” she hollered.

  Grandma never let me live that one down.

  When the yelling below slowed and became an irritated mutter I dropped the ladder back down. As Dakota’s freckled, sweaty face popped through the opening in the floor, she huffed her stringy brown hair out of her eyes, searching the small room for Paxton.

  “You quit?” I asked from the far corner.

  “Yeah I quit. But one day Paxton you’re gonna wanna kiss me and I’ll be the one running.”

  My head violently at her, but she was wearing that cocky grin as she climbed into the room, the one that said she was right.

  By ninth grade we were best friends. I’d long ago forgiven her for being taller than me, stronger than me, slyer than me and she stopped picking on me for being so book smart, so short and so non athletic.

  We sat across the table and swapped goodies from our lunch sacks. Grandma always sent an extra cookie or slice of pie for Dakota and Dakota’s mother always sent an extra fried chicken leg for me. She was the coolest girl I’d ever met.

  “I don’t know how you eat like that and stay thin as a rail.” Dakota commented as I chewed through my second piece of her mom’s buttermilk fried chicken. Dakota was far from over weight, I reminded her of that as often as I could. She was curvy, with solid, soccer ball crushing thighs and an adorably round face, still speckled with freckles. Sometimes I caught myself staring at her half smile, or lost in the wild untamable curls of hair that framed her face. Sometimes I caught myself loving her.

  “Same way you run all the time and don’t look like a horse.” I smiled.

  “Must be magic.” She laughed sarcastically. Magic was my answer for any and everything I couldn’t explain to her. Like physics.

  As we laughed a rugged hand reached over my shoulder and snatched up my slice of peach pie. I turned as it disappeared into the gaping maul of Darrin Hornsworth, the senior quarterback.

  “What the hell?” Dakota snapped.

  “He doesn’t mind, do ya?” Darrin ruffled my hair like a child.

  “It’s no big deal Dakota. I’m full anyway.” There’s no way I was going to argue with the half man half beast towering behind me.

  “No, it’s not okay. Give him a dollar.” Dakota rose from her chair glaring up at Darrin.

  “You gonna make me pudgy princess?” He laughed. The hurt flashed in Dakota’s eyes but her stern glare remained unflinching. Pure hate ran through my veins as I pushed back from the table.

  “If I have to Captain Chlamydia.” Her voice rang out bouncing off the cafeteria walls. There was a gasping pause then the room erupted with laughter. Darrin’s face slowly caught fire as he moved towards her. I jumped to my feet but Dakota was faster. Before Darrin could blink she swung at him, popping him in the dead center of his pie filled mouth.

  It should be noted that Darrin slipped on a puddle of lemonade I spilled trying to get up, but to the rest of the cafeteria Dakota had floored him and so I let her have that moment of glory.

  The entire incident earned Dakota three days of suspension, a broken hand and several rumors about both she and I. Wild unfounded rumors, as most are. Rumors that she was really a guy, that I was too scared to fight for myself, that we were lovers, that Darrin really did have chlamydia and had given it to Dakota one cold night after a game. We laughed every time we heard a new one that almost always contradicted the one before it.

  Senior year rolled around and I knew she’d been right. Every time I saw her all I wanted to do was kiss her, and she was the one running. The sound of her laugh down the hall could shorten my breath. The nights she fell asleep on my shoulder watching movies on Grandma’s old couch nearly drove me insane. I was a mess. I could fess up and risk losing my best friend or keep my mouth shut and lose the love of my life.

  “What’s up Pax?” She asked as her head popped up through the floor of the old tree house.

  “Just thought we’d hang.” I laughed, looking away sheepishly.

  “We hang all the time Pax.” She looked at me suspiciously. Her sparkling brown eyes chewing their way through my confidence.

  “How do you always see right through me?”

  “Well you got wider not denser.” She smirked, making me laugh.

  “I don’t know, we don’t seem to spend much alone time together anymore. Remember when we spent every waking hour in this tree house?”

  She walked, trailing her fingers along the rough, painted walls. Each bump, each splinter a memory of us hiding from the world inside our fort.

  I watch her move carefully from wall to wall, noting how much we’ve changed. I’d finally caught and passed her height wise. Whereas she topped out at 5’7, I shot past her to 6 ft. In the last few weeks her thick thighs and curves faded into a thin almost frail frame, while my scrawny shoulders widened, my nonexistent muscles flourished. The asthmatic wheezing dissipated to the point I made the varsity track team.

  “I’m glad you’re my best friend.” I whispered as she brushed past me.

  “You should be, your life would suck without me.” Her eyes stayed on the ceiling. This was her running, artfully dodging my advances, slamming the door in the face of my affection, softly and always with a smile.

  “You’d be fine without me though.” It was as close to a question as I could muster. Her eyes flickered to me before she spun on her toes, pirouetting across the floor.

  “I’m always fine!” She smiled, that cocky smile that meant she was right.

 

  Prom loomed on the horizon and with each passing day I loved her more and liked myself less. I didn’t ask anyone, hoping that no one would ask Dakota. I knew deep down someone would but I hoped. Every time I thought I’d worked up the courage to ask my stomach would drop and the words were lost somewhere in my throat.

  The air left my lungs so quickly I knew for sure I was having an asthma attack. My hand instinctively went to the front pocket of my dress pants. After a moment of panicked searching I remembered I hadn’t used an inhaler in over a year.

  I drew a shaky thin breath as I watched Dakota enter the room. The lights reflected off the sequenced dress that clung to her, illuminating her angelic face. This is it, get over there and confess every stupid feeling you’ve ever had. Tell her you’ve loved her since the moment she knocked you on your ass. Tell her you loved her ever since she punched that pie stealing tool in the mouth. Tell her about every single moment you’ve thought about her, about her smile, her eyes, her laugh, the way she eats watermelon.

  I didn’t move an inch. A lump filled my throat as she moved further into the crowd, Daniel Ramos’s arm wrapped possessively around her waist. Watching him take her away was the worst moment of my entire life.

  I waved off Ashley Walden for the fifth time, I had no interest in dancing with her. As I stood, downing the last of my “champagne”, I headed for the back exit. Some fresh air and a moment away from watching Ramos cling to Dakota as he pulled her around the dance floor would surely help clear my head.

  Outside under the stars, the night air cool on my skin I wondered how I was going to fix this before my heart completely broke.

  “Hey loser, whatcha doin out here?”

  A smile crept into the corners of my mouth.

  “Taking a breather South Dakota.” I turned just as she pulled her hair from the silver clasp, it fell in waves around her shoulders. I wanted to spend all night kissing each freckle on her bare shoulders, even if they outnumbered the stars in the sky.

  “Must be hard work avoiding Ashley.” She laughed shouldering me as she stepped closer.

  “Not nearly as hard as Tangoing all night with ‘Legs Ramos’ in there.” She snorted
as she swatted my arm.

  She snorted, like a tiny pot-bellied pig. It was obnoxious and stupid and I’ll be damned if it wasn’t the last straw. I moved forward, grasping her face in my hands and kissed her like I’d wanted to for years.

  “About time, I told you, you’d want to kiss me.” She mumbled against my mouth.

  “Shut up.” I growled kissing her deeper.

  My hands moved into her hair, my fingers lost in the deep curls as the ground shifted beneath us. This moment, this kiss, this girl was all I ever wanted for as long as I could remember.

  “I wasted so much time. Why did you ever let me be so stupid?” I asked pulling her against my chest.

  “Let’s get out of here, stupid.” She turned towards the door and stumbled.

  “Easy there grace, are you okay?”

  She mumbled something incoherently before slumping against to the ground. My heart fell with her as she crumpled into a beautiful pile.

  “Dakota, Dakota!” I swept her up into my arms and rushed back inside shouting for someone to call 911.

  I set her gently down just as Ramos ran up next to us.

  “What happened?” He asked bending down to brush her hair from her face. I nearly took his arm off.

  “Don’t touch her. What did you do? What did you give her?”

  “What the hell are you talking about?” Daniel jerked his arm free and stepped back as I moved in on him.

  “I will damage you permanently if anything happens to her. If I find out you slipped her some stupid shit, I will find you and I will tear you apart.” I shook with rage as I glared down at him.

  “I swear to God man, I didn’t give her anything, she begged me to bring her tonight.”

  My fists clenched the lapels of his tuxedo.

  “You’re a liar.”

  “She said she couldn’t come alone and risk seeing you with someone else. I never stood a chance with her, no one does. She’s had it bad for you forever, I swear, we’re just friends.”

  His words crushed me as I let him go. The ambulance workers dashed to Dakota’s side and ran next to them as they wheeled her out.

  They shouted questions and I tried to answer them over the thundering of my heart in my ears. I dialed Dakota’s mom as I pulled out behind the ambulance. Rain splashed against the windshield as I tried to explain what was happening. It was the scariest moment of my entire life.

  The room was blurry and cold. My throat was like sandpaper when I swallowed. A small groan pushed past my lips as I try to raise my head.

  “Oh honey.” My mom sobbed as she touched my cheeks.

  “Mom?” I struggled to sit up as she wrapped her arms around me and cried.

  “Mom? What happened?”

  “You passed out at the dance. Your blood sugar was too high. That’s why you’ve felt bad for so long.” She kisses my forehead. Everything’s jumbled in my memory. Moments flash and fade, Daniel…the prom…the night sky…Paxton. The last thing I remember clearly was Paxton kissing me. Oh my God, Paxton finally kissed me!

  “Mom, Paxton kissed me! He finally got off his ass and kissed me!” She looks nervously towards the door and sniffles harder.

  “Mom? Did you hear me?” I can’t wait to see him. I have to tell him, I’ve loved him since the moment he caught me in his pond, the moment he high fived me on my broken hand for defending him, the moment I saw him across the room at prom and knew he was all I wanted.

  “Mom?”

  “He was following the ambulance Dakota. He called me. Oh honey, his voice on the phone, he was so scared for you.”

  She grabs my hands and squeezes them. Everything in the room freezes, only the monitors connected to me seem unaffected.

  “Where is he?” I whisper.

  “Honey, listen.”

  “Where.Is.He?” A sharp pain rises in my chest and even with pure oxygen being pumped up my nose I can’t breathe.

  “Dakota, it was raining, and dark. There was a truck…”

  “WHERE. IS. HE?” Tears are running hot streams down my cheeks as I begin ripping at the I.V.’s and tubes. Before she can stop me I’m on my feet running into the hall.

  “Paxton! Pax!” I rush from room to room stealing glances into other people’s misery as I run blindly through the hospital. I round a corner and run into a nurse.

  “Child what are you doing out of your room?” She asks, as she begins guiding me back down the hall.

  “I have to find Paxton, Paxton Archibald. Please. I have to tell him I’ve always loved him.” She looks at me sadly but turns and takes me down another hall, away from my room.

  Swiping her badge we enter I.C.U.

  “Listen to me child. He’s hurt something awful. We don’t know if he’ll wake up.” She gives me a squeeze as she slowly pulls back a curtain. Wrapped in bloody gauze, tubes and wires like cobwebs clinging to him, I gasp at the sight of him.

  “Pax….Paxton. It’s Dakota.” I move to the bed side and look to the nurse before grasping his hand. She nods and leaves the room.

  “Paxton Archibald you listen to me right now. You have to wake up, because, because dammit I love you. I always have. You were with me every moment of my childhood, and I loved you in every one of them. I love you in this moment even though I really want to kick your ass for being so stupid.” I take a breath and swallow the lump growing in my throat.

  “I lied Paxton. It’s the only lie I ever told you I swear. I said I’d always be alright, but I won’t, I can’t Pax, not without you.”

  I sat there through more moments than my mind could count. I sat through shift change, through bandage changes, bed changes, I.V. changes. I sat, my heart breaking, talking to him until my voice gave out. I begged, I threatened, I bargained. Pax laid there unmoved, unmoving, un-Pax through it all.

  “Paxton, everyone’s giving up. They think you’re gone. You can’t be. Everything will change if you’re gone. Everything will suck. You’re my best friend. Please, do this one stupid thing for me okay? Just wake up, please.”

  By midnight they forced me out of the room. Said I needed to take care of myself. Needed to attend diabetes training, needed to rest, needed to eat. They didn’t understand all I needed was Pax.

  Halfway to the hospital cafeteria the nurse from the first night came rushing towards me.

  “Honey, honey come back.” I turned too afraid to hope.

  “Now don’t get too excited but he’s awake. We think there could be some brain damage, everything we ask him he answers ‘South Dakota’ “

  A burst of laughter erupted from me as I rushed back to his room.

  “Pax?” I asked pushing past the nurse next to his bed.

  “South Dakota.” His green eyes rolled towards me.

  When the grin crept into the corners of his beautifully bruised lips, it became my favorite moment in the history of moments.

  “About time you woke up.”

  “Shut up.” He whispered.

  Life is full of moments. Tiny blips in time. Mere seconds that most everyone lets slip by without ever realizing it. Grab them. Hold them. Keep them. In the end they are everything, added together they are life. And they are gone before we know it.

  I hope you enjoyed “Moments” as well as the other amazingly beautiful stories in this anthology. We write for you, the readers, we write for the characters clawing their way through our brains, we write for the joy of the words. I appreciate everyone who has downloaded this or any of our anthologies, feel free to contact me anytime! I love chatting with readers, and fellow bookaholics!

  Your’e Still the One

  By Chasity Tarantino

  ©2014 by Chasity Tarantino

  There was a knock on Adriel’s hotel room door. She wasn’t expecting anyone, so she didn’t know who it could possibly be. She hadn’t even ordered her dinner yet so it couldn’t be room service.

  ‘That’s odd’ she thought to herself as she got up off the bed and walked towards th
e door. She had just got done in Paris showing her clothing line on the runway. This had been a big deal for her, to finally show her work off in the fashion capital. She had wanted this since she was a little girl.

  Honestly no one even knew she was back in town yet. Considering after her work was done in Paris she decided that she was going to take a month off and vacation there. She was so burnt out from working; she knew she deserved a little rest and relaxation. At least that what she told everyone, but deep down she knew why she really didn’t want to come back to LA. She just wasn’t ready to face it.

  Adriel made it to the door and looked out the peephole to see who her mystery guest was. Her heart dropped to her stomach and she slowly backed away from the door.

  It was Mason.

  ‘What is he doing here?’ She thought frantically.

  “Adriel, please open the door.” He said evenly through the door.

  Adriel pulled herself together, took a deep breath, and opened the door.

  “Mason, hi.” She said praying her voice didn’t betray how nervous she was.

  He looked even better than he had the last time they had been together, his golden, shoulder length hair pushed back haphazardly as if he was constantly running his hands through it. His ice blue eyes that she could get lost in were now boring into her own hazel ones. His perfectly sculpted cheek bones and luscious full lips making him look like an angel, except for the fact that he was dressed in all black. He was wearing a black V-neck shirt, black leather pants, and black boots, his signature silver chain bracelet hung loosely from his left wrist, and his cross ring that haunted her. She could remember the feel of the cool metal on her skin all too well.

  He looked like perfection to Adriel but when she looked closely she noticed bags under his eyes, most likely from lack of sleep. Was he having trouble sleeping? Better yet what was he doing here?

  Mason and Adriel had dated for over a year. Adriel thought everything was going fine, she had really fallen for him. Mason was the drummer of a well-known rock band named ‘The Hurricane’ and he had quite the reputation of a play boy but when she met him she didn’t see that in him. He was a perfect gentleman, not to mention hilarious he kept her smiling so much her cheeks hurt.

  Then right before she went to Paris he dropped a bomb on her, he wanted to break up. He thought they were away from each other too much, their schedules conflicted. At least that’s what he told her, she thought there was someone else he was interested in considering they had always had grueling schedules and they had always worked around it. She flew to Paris the next week with a broken heart and a desperate urge to run away.

  “You look beautiful”, were the first words out of his mouth.

  Her stomach churned violently. That wasn’t fair.

  She was dressed in one of the summer dresses that she had designed herself. It was gray and fell to her ankles gracefully. It had a fitted bodice and hugged all her curves perfectly. She had always loved summer dresses, she thought they were the most comfortable thing you could wear and still look cute. Mason adored when she wore summer dresses; she was wearing one similar to the one she had on now when they first met. Her long auburn locks fell down over her back in soft curls. She hated putting her hair up, she adored her long locks that went past her bottom. Adriel was a petite beauty that never truly understood her effect on men when she walked into a room.

  Together they were quite a pair, especially on the red carpet. They were a Hollywood ‘it’ couple and many were disappointed when they spilt.

  “What are you doing here Mason?” She said sighing.

  “I need to talk to you Adriel, can I come in?” He said rubbing his hands together.

  That was something he only did when he was nervous, and only on rare occasions was Mason nervous.

  She hesitated looking at him with questioning eyes.

  “Please.” He pleaded.

  She sighed and stepped aside to let him in the room. He stepped into the room and she closed the door behind him.

  “Nice room.” He said as he looked around the room, then back at her.

  She rolled her eyes; it was so typical of him to be calm and casual while her insides went haywire.

  “Mason what did you come here for?” She repeated her question as she sat down on the bed.

  He walked over to her and looked down into her eyes, those beautiful eyes that seemed to look right through her soul.

  “I came to tell you that I made a big mistake.” He said softly, still gazing into her eyes, “I should’ve never let you walk out that door that night. I knew I screwed up as soon as you were gone.”

  Her heart clenched, was this really happening?

  “Please don’t so this. It’s not fair.” She muttered.

  She wanted to believe him so bad and forget all of this had even happened but she just couldn’t. He had really hurt her and she wasn’t even sure of the reasoning behind the break up.

  He knelt down in front of her and grabbed her left hand with his right.

  “Please Adriel, you have to believe me. I can’t stop thinking about you. I was so wrong to believe this wasn’t real. I need you Adriel.” He was practically begging she could hear the pain in his voice.

  “Are you really sitting here tell me this? What has happened Mason? Did you get tired of your little fling already?” She asked sarcastically.

  She was so sure that there was another girl. She thought his playboy reputation had finally reared its ugly head and it sure had bitten her.

  “No why would you think that? I’ve missed you like crazy. There was no fling. What are you talking about?” He said his eyes widening in surprise.

  “Then why did you end it? Remember it was you who wanted to break up not me. I figured you found a new girl.” She said reminding him that it was indeed his doing that caused this.

  “No there wasn’t a new girl. Are you out of your mind? I know I made a huge mistake. I know I messed up, but I was so afraid of the idea of a commitment that I ran away. I’m so ashamed of how I handled it and I miss you like crazy.” He said.

  “I don’t understand if that’s how you felt, why did you wait until now to tell me?” She asked confusion written across her face.

  He had ended their relationship out of nowhere; she needed to know exactly why so she didn’t make the same mistake twice. Not to mention he waited a month to tell her that he wanted to get back together.

  “I thought you stayed in Paris because you didn’t want to see me and honestly I had too much pride to admit I was wrong, but I was wrong. We belong together Adriel. I love you and I never stopped loving you.”

  She didn’t respond at first, of course that’s what she wanted to hear. She wanted him back so bad that she had dreams of him coming back to her but she had a gnawing feeling eating away at her gut. What if he hurt her again and left her because he got bored? Could she really go through this again?

  He stared at her in anticipation, he could see the doubt in her eyes, and his heart was racing at such a high speed he thought it might just fly right out of his chest. How could he convince her that he needed her in his life?

  “Adriel, please I am telling you the truth. I should have told you how I really felt ages ago. I was scared of how strong my feelings were. I knew if you left me, I’d be nothing. So I was a coward and left first. I’m not proud of it but I am trying to make it right, love.” He pleaded reaching up to push a strand of hair that had fell in front of her face, back behind her ear.

  She looked into his eyes for a minute before looking down at her hands. She needed to be strong and get this out but if she kept looking in those beautiful blue eyes she would never get him out of her room.

  “Mason I don’t know what to tell you.” She sighed still looking at her hands, “You’re too late. I met someone in Paris.”

  Mason jerked back as if she had slapped him.

  “What? Who?” He asked rather loudly.

  “His name is Garrett, he
’s a model. He worked in one of my shows.” She said avoiding his eyes.

  His eyes widened, he waited too long, and it took a minute for that to seep in. His veins felt like they were filling with ice at the realization that he had lost her. He knew he should have gone after her.

  “How did you know I was back anyway?” She asked meeting his eyes finally.

  “The show was all over the tabloids, so were the theories as to why you stayed in Paris. You know the usual, pregnancy, drug addiction, the typical downward spiral.” He explained, “I called Stacy and begged her to tell me when you were coming back.”

  Stacy was her publicist and thought that her and Mason were perfect together but Adriel had given the strict order not to reveal when she was coming back to anyone. Apparently Mason was not just anyone.

  “Don’t be mad at her, she didn’t want to tell me, trust me. I made a bit of a scene for her, I’m afraid.”

  “It’s fine. Mason I really think you should go.” She said standing up.

  “That’s it? Garrett has your heart now.” He said the name ‘Garrett’ like it was a disease.

  “I’m sorry but I’ve moved on. This was not my doing Mason.” She said wearily, walking over to the door and opening it. She leaned against it her hand clutching the doorknob.

  Her stomach was tightly knotted; she just needed to get him out of here before she gave in.

  Mason sighed,

  “I never wanted it to end like this Adriel. I never wanted it to end period.”

  “Please just go.” She said motioning to the hallway.

  He walked out the door and looked back at her; the pain was evident in his eyes.

  “Adriel…” he began but was cut off when the hotel door slammed closed in his face.

  Inside the hotel room Adriel moved numbly toward the bed before collapsing on it, attempting to take deep breaths as the tears ran down her cheeks. She couldn’t even begin to explain to herself why she had turned him away.

  A few nights later Adriel and Garrett were at a party hosted by an elite supermodel named Camilla, who was a close friend of Garrett. Adriel didn’t want to be there to begin with, let alone be there with Garrett. She liked Garrett; he was a nice guy and was easy on the eyes. He had chin length brunette hair and very beautiful hazel eyes, and of course he had amazing bone structure, typical of a runway model. However it seemed being with Garrett was a lot easier when she thought that Mason moved on. Now his words were constantly flying around in her head, weighing heavily on her.

  Garret seemed to be having the time of his life, glass of champagne in hand, dancing around the room with anyone within his grasp.

  Adriel sighed, closed her eyes, and rubbed at her temples in an attempt to elevate the pressure that had gathered up in her head.

  She suddenly felt someone’s gaze on her. She looked up and did a quick scan of the room.

  Sure enough she locked eyes with a familiar icy blue gaze.

  Mason.

  She grabbed a glass of champagne off the tray of a waiter walking by and quickly turned around, bringing her gaze back to Garrett. She couldn’t think any more about how good Mason looked, or how what he said was so right. She downed the flute of champagne trying to fight the desperate urge to run into Mason’s arms.

  Her self-control failed and she turned her head just enough to see where he was standing but he wasn’t there.

  She turned her whole body around and searched the room but he was nowhere to be found. Had she imagined him standing there?

  ‘Good lord I need to get a grip.’ She thought to herself.

  A few minutes later she grew tired of watching Garrett mingle and act foolishly, so she made her way to the bathroom at the back of the suite where the party was being held.

  She was going to use the bathroom and then leave this overrated party. Garrett could fend for himself, since it seemed he already was.

  When Adriel opened the bathroom door after using the restroom, she gasped. Mason was standing there blocking her way out. She stepped back as he moved into the bathroom with her and closed the door behind him and then he turned to face her.

  “Mason what…” her question was lost as his lips crashed against hers.

  She tensed at first not expecting the kiss then she quickly gave in kissing him back.

  It felt so right, it felt like home. He felt like home, this was the man whose arms she was supposed to be in.

  Could she really allow herself to fall again?

  She pulled away from his eager lips taking a breath.

  “Mason stop. What about Garrett?” she muttered in his ear as he kissed her neck, never once letting her leave his grip.

  One hand was firmly placed on her hip the other on the back of her neck, bringing her close to him. Their faces were only inches apart.

  “You’re not his. You’re mine. Always have been, always will be.” He replied with a look of determination and desire she had never seen before.

  “Mason, I..” again she was interrupted.

  “I know you don’t want him. Please, I know I hurt you; I deserved what happened but Adriel we belong together. I love you.”

  Right in that moment looking into his eyes she knew, he was telling the truth. They did belong together. She nodded her head once.

  “I love you too.” She responded as a smile slowly appeared on her face.

  He beamed back at her.

  “Good because my life would suck without you.”

 

  The Book of Besties

  By Courtney Houston

  ©2014 by Courtney Houston

  From: Nikki

  Subject: Because I love you

  To: Annie

  Let's start off with I miss you. Things aren't the same without you here. Can you please reiterate to your parents how much this sucks for me? But do it nicely. Why couldn't your dad get stationed somewhere closer, like California or Florida.

  Recap of what you missed the first 9 weeks of spring semester Junior year.

  *Your precious NJROTC team has done really good at Drill Competitions. (BTW, you're welcome. I've sacrificed several Saturday mornings to watch them for you. See attached videos)

  *The cheer team is also doing well. (Again see attached video)

  *Anthony and Maggie broke up, got back together and broke up again. Congrats to Anthony for growing a set.

  *I’m on the honor roll. Again. Which is good because I would have lost my shit if I weren't.