New Romantics

Chapter 13: Letting go

You sat at the motel pool, the sun sparkling on the water with your feet submerged.

Steve was packing the last few things in the trunk and you excused yourself to 'go to the bathroom' this was a hella long bathroom trip and he probably would come find you to make sure you weren't severely constipated.

You sighed as you looked at your reflection in the water. It felt like only yesterday you were that shy freshman who was hoping to get a performing arts degree and now look where you're headed.

You're almost done with the semester, and then after 2nd semester you'll be on your way to being a sophomore in college. It worries you, though. Especially because your boyfriend was two grades higher than you and he'd graduate before you. And you feared that would drift the two of you apart.

"Hey," the calming sound of his voice snapped you out of your trance.

You looked up at a concerned Steve. His eyes soft, and his lips pursed looking down at you.

"Ready to go?" He asked when you didn't respond back. All you did was nod and get out of the water to slip on your flip flops.

"You've been awfully quiet." Steve said a few miles onto going home.

"Yeah, it's um...just thinking about things that's all." You replied lowly, not sure if he caught it.

"What're you thinking about doll?"

You sighed and turned to him, deciding to get it over with now.

"You graduate before me, and..." you trailed off with a sigh before continuing, "Your life will be all figured out while I'm still in school figuring out mine. I'm afraid that will drift us apart, you'll find another girl maybe a teacher or secretary who already has her life figured out and...forget about me."

The blonde sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"I'd never leave you, at least not on purpose Y/n." He said.

"I love you more than anything."

His words shocked you. He said it first. He said it.

I love you.

Well you'd be damned.

"Steve I-" you started, but he cut you off.

"Sorry if you don't feel the same way, I just had to get that out there."

"Steve, I love you too." It was silent for a moment, both of you taking in what you just confessed to each other.

He put his hand on top of yours, and brought to his lips, kissing your knuckles.

And at that moment, everything was okay. Suddenly all your problems and worries disintegrated into dust, blowing away in the wind like leaves on an autumn's day.

It reminded you of that poem by Taylor Swift, which you recited in your head:

When she crashed, her clothes disintegrated and blew away with the winds that took all of her fare whether friends.

And the last part:

And in the death of her reputation, she felt truly alive.

Even though you can't quite relate to the words, they feel so relatable and real. So raw. So much emotion and maybe pent up anger within the chain of letters.

Another one by Taylor comes to mind,

The trick to holding on, was all that letting go.

And it's true, maybe just maybe if you could allow yourself to let go of the things dragging you down, you could actually get a grasp on life. Be successful. Be what you want to be. Not what your mother or anyone tells you you should.

And maybe letting go of some of the lessons your mother engraved into your head ever since you could talk could be a big step in making your life wonderful.

Like Taylor did.

Like Natasha did.

Like Wanda did.

Like Kate did.

Like Steve did.

Like everyone did.

You wrote down some notes in your phone, more like inspirational quotes you remember from films or tumblr posts. Or some of those instagram accounts you follow.

And some by Taylor.

"You are not damaged goods." Taylor once said on NYU commencement speech. That gave you hope. And confidence. For the longest time you had felt like a burden. Mainly because of your mom. All the times she told you that she loved you weren't real, they were just a tool for manipulating you into doing whatever you wanted for her. To bend to her will.

But here, sitting right next to you is someone who says it and genuinely means it. Someone who'll never hurt you, who'll go out of their way to right all your wrongs and flip your frowns.

Someone who'll protect you and take care of you. Someone you could trust to make decisions for you.

And that's what makes this whole relationship stuff worth it because in the end, you'll always have someone to lean on. To love and care for. To cherish for the rest of your life.

"I love you Steve."

"I love you too sweetheart."

The end.

Thank you so much for reading this book! I'm pretty proud of it and I think it was a very new and interesting concept for me so I hope you liked it! More to come!