"We all have dreams, Devon Parker!"
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Hadley Carter's life is a mess. That is, more of a mess than usual. The unexpected return of her ex creates a storm of chaos Hadley is left to battle alone. Ha...
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Hadley falls asleep in my arms, her skin warm and soft against my own.
I hold her close as she rests, studying the tranquil expression sleep has written all over her features. She's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. My heart melts as I gaze down at her, gently playing with her silky blond hair as she snores lightly.
It's getting harder to keep this secret from her, especially when she's beginning to take note of my distant behavior. I hate knowing that I'm hurting her–I promised her I never would. Yet I know telling her the truth will only inflict worse pain upon her heart. She'd never admit how much it would break her, me moving to attend Stanford. She'll say she's proud of me; that she's happy I'm living out my dream. But secretly, she won't want me to go. She wants me with her. And the way she keeps talking about senior year, how excited she is to spend our last year of high school together, now that we're free to be out as a couple. She's talked my ear off about how she can't wait to cheer me on at my soccer games, the dress she's dreaming of wearing to prom, the colleges we should apply to together after graduation.
I'm going to break her heart, I think to myself as heaviness fills my chest. No matter what I do, I'm going to break her. Telling her the truth. Leaving.
I'm too selfish to soften the blow by breaking up with her. I want to marry this girl–that's the only thing I'm certain of. Hadley walked into my life and flipped my entire world upside down in the best of ways. I've never known a love like the love I feel for her. I can't lose her.
But how can I ask her to stay with me, when I'm choosing to move hundreds of miles away?
My vision blurs, stinging with oncoming tears. I caress Hadley's soft cheek as I will my tears to fall silently. I don't want to wake her–I won't dare take away the peace she's feeling now.
I'll bear all of this pain myself if it means she won't have to feel any of it at all.
——— a/n: surprise update bc i'm bored 🤠
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