Lost & Found

The tale of a scared girl

"Anything besides the coffee?" The waitress asked as they sat at a small diner that Aiden took Emma to.

"Could I get a glass of water?" Aiden asked, smiling pleasantly at the woman, but Emma noticed that the smile never reached his eyes.

"Sure thing. Anything for you, dear?" She asked. Emma shook her head slowly. She just really wanted the lady to get lost.

"I'll bring that right over," she said, smiling genuinely at Aiden.

"Thank you," he said, giving her a nod as she hurried off.

Their eyes connected from across the table and Emma knew both of them had so much they wanted to say, but neither of them knew how to start the conversation or even begin to express the things that were pent up inside of them. And before they could get any words out, the waitress was back, bringing Aiden his water.

"Just let me know if I can get you two anything else," she said, smiling at them.

"Will do," Aiden told her. She nodded and hurried off once again.

"Emmy," he breathed.

At the sound of the nickname on his tongue, her vision fell to her hands wrapped around the coffee mug.

"Nobody ever calls me that," she said quietly.

"From what I remember, nobody but me ever did call you that," he added.

"True," she said, nodding her head lightly.

"How long has it been?" He asked. Emma's eyes lifted up to look at him again.

She knew exactly how long it had been. It was the Christmas of their senior year of high school – that was the last time she saw him. She was back in New York on winter break and she was out getting some last minute groceries for her mother before the stores closed on Christmas Eve. Running into Aiden at the supermarket was not expected, but his mom had the same needs as her own mother and they nearly crashed into each other down the canned goods aisle.

...

Emma almost couldn't believe her eyes – he grew up so much. She stood there staring at him, unable to speak. He was so tall – almost too tall. And his hair was slightly grown out and he was even more handsome than she remembered. His beautiful green eyes hadn't changed, neither did the smile that always made her weak.

"Emmy..." He breathed.

"Aiden," she said, her voice cracking slightly, her mouth all of a sudden feeling as dry as sandpaper.

"Oh my god," he said, setting the can of green beans that he had in his hand back onto the shelf, never dropping his eyes from hers.

She had no idea what to say. The guilt that consumed her when it came to Aiden was enough to paralyze her. When she first left for boarding school in Boston, she promised him they'd keep in touch; that their friendship meant more to her than anything else in the world; that she loved him and she always would. But somewhere along the line they grew apart. Their phone calls were few and far between until they stopped altogether. They lost touch and she knew it was her fault because Aiden tried to keep the connection open for a while after she gave up. He still called. He still wrote. He still texted. It was all on her. It was her fault they were standing in front of each other speechless.

"You look... you look absolutely beautiful," he told her, his eyes staring into hers.

"Thanks," she said, dropping her gaze, feeling bashful.

"You're... you're home?" He asked.

"On winter break," she told him.

"Oh," he nodded.