Grown ish: Zoey and Aaron's Story (BOOK 1)

Part 34: New

Zoey narrates.

'Zoey, we can't be together.' Aaron says, as he gets up, frustrated.

'What do you mean we can't be together?' I ask, shocked.

'You deserve someone better than me, Zoey. And I'm sorry for pulling you along and making you think that we could work out...I really am sorry. I care about you, more than you could ever imagine but...' He starts to argue, but I interrupt him.

'So why can't we be together then? Aaron, you know I couldn't love anyone else.' I say, as I also stand up, my eyes brimming with tears.

He sighs.

'Zoey, I need you to understand. You're never going to be happy with me.' He says.

I am stunned to silence.

'The last few days I've realised...I've just hurt you too much. It's not fair to you.' He says.

I respond, through tears.

'You don't get to decide what's fair for me, Aaron. Do you think any of this is easy? I'm heartbroken. I lost my child. Over the last few months, my life has changed in ways I could never have imagined. And you know what? Through all of this, the only constant in my life has been you. I get it, our relationship has been complicated. Things have happened which we both wish we could erase. But I know that they were mistakes.' I say, emotionally.

'Why are you trying to break my heart even more?' I ask, hopelessly, as his face twitches, and I can sense the hurt in his expression.

'Zoey, I'm trying to be there for you. Trust me. It hurts me too. But I've caused you too much pain. And I can't let myself do that to you anymore. I love you too much.' He says, as I wipe my tears.

'You wouldn't do this, if you loved me.' I say.

'Zoey...' He pauses, speechless.

I walk over to him and take his face in my hands, and standing on my toes, I reach up and kiss his lips, softly at first, then harder. He reciprocates and places his hands on my waist, before I pull away and lock eyes with him.

He then leans in and kisses me again, for a long time, savouring my lips. As he finally pulls away, he looks at me, kisses my cheek, as I close my eyes, and then he steps back.

'Zoey, I'm always going to be here. I'm always going to care about you. I've never stopped loving you, and I can promise you I won't stop. But I can't promise I'll never hurt you again. I'm sorry. It's for the best.' He says, as he leaves, sadly, and I sit down, in tears, and confused.

_____

The next few days pass in a blur. I'm hurting and I don't quite know what to do with myself.

Today, I'm walking into class, my only one with Aaron, and I retreat to my seat. I notice him walk in, but I pretend not to, and keep my head down, as he sits at the back of the room.

I'm getting ready for the class to begin, when a guy approaches the seat beside me.

'Hey, mind if I sit here?' He asks, as I shake my head, with a faint smile, and he sits, pulling his books out of his back pack.

I continue looking at him. I've never seen him on campus before, but he looks familiar, so I'm confused.

'Do I know you?' I ask.

He laughs.

'It's nice to meet you too.' He says.

'Oh, god, I'm sorry! That was rude of me. I'm Zoey.' I say, smiling, as I put my hand out for him to shake.

He shakes my hand and smiles.

'I'm Marcus.' He says, and I nod.

'I've never seen you around before.' I say.

'I transferred here, recently. To move closer to home.' He says.

'Oh, I see. Well, it's nice to meet you and welcome to CalU!' I say.

'Thanks! It's great to finally meet someone so kind. I feel like an outsider, since I don't know anyone here.' He says.

'Well, now you have a new friend.' I say, smiling, as he laughs and nods, before the professor begins to speak.

I spend the rest of the class talking to Marcus and laughing with him. He's honestly really nice.

The class ends, and as we pack our things and stand up, he stops me, gently placing a hand on my forearm.

'Hey...do you want to maybe meet this evening? Just...to talk? It's just great to finally make a friend...no pressure though!' He says, as I see Aaron glancing in my direction as he walks towards the door.

'I'd love to! Our campus bar, Titanium is great. You can meet the rest of my friends! I'm sure you'll love to meet them.' I say.

'I'd love that. I'll see you tonight then!' He says, as I nod and he leaves, before I smile to myself. This is the first time in a long while that I've actually felt normal. It feels...new?

I walk on out of the class room, where I see Aaron shuffling a little further away, awkwardly. I look at him, and he stares back at me, before I walk away.

Aaron chose this for himself. Not me.

_____

Author's Note:

I've introduced a new character for a while, to help with Zoey's story, and I may start writing a few chapters from Aaron's perspective.

I'd picture Keith Powers as the character Marcus! :)