I Broke The Girl I Loved

That's the One

(Aydrian's POV)

Jayce is a mystery. A closed book that has only collected dust as it sits unopened, waiting for someone to see past its cover. I saw past his cover and into his soul that was encased by frail pages, each one a moment to the story of his life. He opened up to me and let me read the words he'd tried so hard to scribble out of his memory. When he made himself vulnerable to me, I could finally see how truly torn his pages were.

I don't understand why Jayce took me to this cliff or what significance this place held to him but it was beautiful. The water lapped in waves around my feet as the sun and the moon chased each other across the sky, never once being able to reach one another. Jayce went over to a log behind me and sat down. I picked up my sandals and dropped them in the sand near the log before sitting down beside him. He had told me so much, like how lost and hurt and confused he was with his mom leaving, and how kids bullied him and made him think things he shouldn't, and how his father was his best friend so when he died not only did he lose a parent but he lost a friend too. Jayce told me everything from beginning to end and I felt that I needed to share some of my life with him too.

"My parents-" I started to say before Jayce stopped me.

"You don't have to open up to me just because I did to you. Only tell me if you're comfortable telling me. You aren't obligated to tell me anything," he said.

"I want to," I replied. Jayce nodded his head in understanding and let me continue. Grey storm clouds were rolling in overhead as the sound of lightning cracking traveled to my ears.

"I never knew my biological parents. They gave me away as a baby. One day the couple who adopted me somehow got in contact with my parents and arranged for me to met them. The next day they were reported dead," I turned my head away from him as I felt warm liquid drip from my eyes and roll down my face as I recalled the memory.

"Aydrian, come here for a moment please," Molly called out to me from the kitchen.

I continued, "I was twelve years old and had these stupid braces on my teeth that kept getting caught on my lips. Molly and Derrick, my foster parents, only made me soft foods for the first week of getting them since my teeth hurt so bad. I hate yogurt now because that's what I was eating when I walked over to the couch where Molly called me."

"Sure, what's up?" I replied, taking big spoonfuls of plain vanilla yogurt.

"Sweetheart, your parents..." Derrick paused.

"Yes I'm seeing them today!" I exclaimed with a smile.

"You wouldn't believe how excited I was to see them. I mean I was practically bursting like a bubble. In only two hours I would've seen them, hugged them, reunited with them, but they couldn't make it." The memory was fresh and I could recall every word Derrick said to me when he told me the news.

"Aydrian, your parents are gone."

I laughed. "What do you mean 'gone'? That makes no sense."

"They died at 1:15 this morning. They aren't here anymore."

Just then the lightning cracked again and water droplets started falling out of the clouds gloomy eyes which erased any trace of the tears that I felt were slipping out of my own eyes. The only sound being heard was that of the rain dumping buckets on us. Jayce put a hand on my shoulder.

"I'm so sorry that you never got to meet them, but I know that they are looking down on you right now and smiling at what an amazing, talented, beautiful daughter they have," he consoled me.

I wiped my eyes with the sleeve of my black hoodie and smiled at Jayce through my tears. As I looked at him I realized I knew the deep and personal things about him but not the surface level stuff like some of his favorites. Jayce returned my smile with one of his own that comforted me and made me want this moment to last forever.

"What is your favorite color?" I asked quietly keeping eye contact, afraid that if I spoke any louder I'd wake up this rainy night and the morning sun would rise, ruining this moment.

He tilted his head towards me and answered, "the faint reddish tint that graces your cheeks when you blush."

And I did just that, I blushed, and he took my face in his hands and rubbed his thumbs across my cheeks.

"That's the one," he smiled.

His dark blue orbs captivated my green ones as we stared intensely into each other's eyes. The circles of warmth he created with his hands were starting to become too much as my face began to flare up when the distance between us lessened. He was slowly moving his face towards mine. There was part of me that felt I should move away and not start something that I wasn't ready to finish but I didn't. My body froze and I let him lean in closer until his lips barely brushed over mine and our breaths mingled with each other, dancing in the space between our open mouths. We stayed like that, neither of us moving, as our chests quickly rose and fell. In that moment my mind took control of my body and my eyelashes brushed my cheeks as I closed my eyes and pressed my lips to his.

It was a soft slow kiss, filled with emotions that my flustered mind couldn't comprehend in the moment. Both our lips were chapped from the cold weather and neither of us seemed to know what we were doing but it was perfect regardless of those things.

He slowly pulled away, only lingering for a brief second, before his hands made their way back to his side. I had wished so badly that he would have kissed me again but he didn't, maybe out of fear or maybe out of some other force in his mind.

He turned away and blushed a deep crimson color that I could only barely seen in the moonlight. I stayed staring at him, taking in every detail I could. His eyes were drinking the stars and his breath was coming out in visible curls around his mouth as he exhaled. The thick strands of his short black hair were framing his face perfectly. He closed his eyes momentarily as his lips turned up into a smile. I sniffled, as the rain water and cold air finally got to me, and Jayce turned his head noticing how cold I was. He offered me a hand and helped me up.

"Let's go home," he smiled and we began walking hand and hand away from the beach and back to his car.