The Ocean Remembers | JJ Maybank

C H A P T E R 18

ONE OF THEM

𝐈 𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐊𝐄𝐃 𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄 alone after pretending I had a headache to my mother, and cried on the way home. As soon as I reached my house, I rushed into my bedroom and screamed into my pillow. How could he do that to me?

I grabbed my phone and called him about ten times but he was always declining. My mother went back home about an hour later, and I tried to calm down so she would not worry but I couldn't.

"Sam? do you want a cold towel for your head?" she asked as she got in my room and saw me crying on my bed. "Oh, baby does it hurt so bad?"

"M-mom, I-I can't-" I sobbed uncontrollably.

She rushed to my bed and sat on the edge of it, as I sat up, wishing it would help me breathe. I didn't usually cry this much, and she wasn't really used to taking care of me. It was more the otherwise. "Shh, what's wrong Sam? talk to me, you can tell me anything," she voiced.

I hugged her and she wrapped her arms around me, making me feel a little better but I was still deeply hurt. "It's JJ," I said.

I sobbed more as I pronounced his name and she rubbed my back slowly. "What did he do? did something happen to him?"

My heart shattered at her words, because it made me realise how for her, us breaking up was not an option at all. Our love for one another had always only been increasing, and she had witnessed my happiness through those gleeful days of passion and love.

"No," I reassured her and pulled away from our hug. "H-he broke up w-with me"

Her eyes went wide and I cried even more, remembering the words he had told me, and how they had hurt me. My mother held me back, tighter, trying to calm me down. "Why?" she asked.

"He thinks I cheated on him with Rafe, but mom I swear I didn't," I whispered and she kissed my head. "Rafe and I are old story"

"I know, baby, it doesn't look like you, my sweet girl wouldn't hurt a boy she likes," my mother gently said, caressing my hair. "Did you try to call him?"

"Like a hundred times but he didn't answer, he hates me now," I sobbed and she held me again, tighter this time.

"I'm sure he doesn't hate you, he's just upset. Try to text him, he'll at least read your words. But for now have some rest okay?" she hummed.

I nodded and she kept holding me for a few minutes before getting up and leaving me alone in my dark bedroom. I grabbed my phone and thought of sending him a text message. But I couldn't. He had to learn the truth face to face.

I spent hours crying on my bed, but it didn't look like me. Because moping around wasn't the solution and it had never been how I had dealt with hard situations. I grabbed my phone and composed the number of the person I needed the most right now. He didn't reply so I kept calling, over and over, desperately crying because I felt so alone in this moment.

After a few minutes, I heard the beeping noise through my phone stop. "Hi?"

"Oh God, you answered," I said, holding my phone to my ear, relieved.

"Sam? what the fuck, you've been calling me like," he stayed silent and I could hear he was scrolling on his phone. "twelve times, and it's four in the morning"

I sighed and tried not to cry but it was so complicated. "Please, just meet me at the beach, right now," I mumbled.

"Sam, you're scaring me, is everything okay?"

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I saw his figure running on the dark beach, towards me, and I felt tears coming back in my eyes. He didn't ask questions or wiped my tears away, he just opened his arms for me and I hugged him very tight.