AGAIN

Water Under the Bridge

Today was my first day at my new job, I just got my masters and will be teaching Arabic and art history of Asia, Africa and Middle East at the University of London. It's ironic that I once was ashamed of my heritage, and today I'm a professor passing down my culture. I am glad that I was able to rekindle my love for my ancestry, my mom was really proud of me and I know my grandad Mohammed would be too.

As the overthinker that I am, I ended up arriving too early so I decided to grab a coffee and some cookies to kill time. I was in a cute little cafe near campus and was on my phone texting my friend Zack.

"Oat milk latte for Perrie" I heard the barista call. There was no chance that it was her, but I had to look. I looked up from my phone, and my suspicions were right.

It was Perrie, but she was very different; she had always been beautiful, but now there was a light in her that wasn't there before. She looked happier; she was walking with confidence instead of anger; her skin had a slight tan now, her freckles fully visible; her hair was now longer and a natural shade of blonde; her features were even more sharp and most importantly, her eyes looked very alive. She had a smile on her face while she thanked the barista.

She looked in my direction, and it was as if time stood still. The spell was broken when she gave me an even brighter smile and walked towards me. 

"Hi" Perrie said, and to my surprise hugged me.

"Hi, how are you?" I replied, returning the hug.

"I'm great. How are you? How's the family?"

"Mom is good and Karl is being Karl, you know." I said with a laugh, "They are doing great. You look great, I mean you're glowing" I told her.

"Thanks Jade. You too, I didn't even know it was possible for you to look better but here we are" I couldn't help but blush a little. "I like your curly hair, it suits you" she complimented.

"Thanks" I said. We stood still, just looking deeply into each other's eyes, until Perrie spoke again.

"Look, I have to work now, so I really have to go. But maybe we should do this on purpose sometime" she suggested, and something compelled me to agree; I missed her and was really glad she seemed to be well. We exchanged phone numbers to plan our next get-together.

I stayed in the cafe for a bit before heading to work. My first day was great, and my students seemed eager to learn. I was now on my way home, where I lived with Holly and Zack.

"Hey, how was work?" Holly asked

"It was great, I'm very excited for this year"

"Any hot professor aside from you?" Zack joked

"I was focusing on work, Zack, not on hot people" I joked back, and then I remembered Perrie, she was for sure hot.

"I know this look, what is it?"

"Nothing" I paused, "I saw Perrie today"

"Perrie as in your former girlfriend Perrie?" Holly asked, wide-eyed

"Yeah"

"Who's Perrie?" Zack inquired

"Jade had a girlfriend on high school who went to rehab, they haven't seen each other till now." Holly explained

"Wow, about 10 years then?" Zack asked.

"That's right, we didn't have time to talk much, but she seems to be way better now. We're going to catch up some other day"

"Jade" Holly said with a warning tone looking at me.

"It will be nothing like last time, we aren't back together we're just catching up" I replied, not sure if I believed in it myself.

"Just be careful, OK, we know how it ended last time"

"Thanks Hol, I'll be" I replied with a smile.

I filled Zack in on all Perrie related stuff, and he was very surprised with my teenage love story.

"Maybe you guys were star crossed lovers, like Romeo and Juliet" Zack said.

"Shut up" I threw a pillow at him playfully.

Perrie and I kept texting each other and on a Wednesday morning I received a message

"Do you remember when we went to London together? It was supposed to be a school trip, but we sneaked out so we could have fun. We could go to Maya at Willow St like we did that day"

"Won't that be too nostalgic?" I replied

"Maybe, but let's do it anyway. We won't sit at the same table, I promise."

I caught myself smiling at my phone more often than not while I spoke to Perrie. I was scared I would fall for her again and get hurt again. She looked better, but maybe it was a facade. What if she was still using? What if I would have to watch her almost die in my arms again? I didn't know if I could take it, but I needed to know how she was doing.

I had a very hard time when we broke up, thankfully my mom and Holly were by my side. As much as they didn't approve of our relationship, they knew how much I loved her and how difficult it was for me. My mom helped me move to London so I could start over, it would be funny to see her reaction knowing that Perrie was here too, I won't tell her yet because I know what she will think.

Perrie and I scheduled our lunch for Saturday and I couldn't wait, Perrie was my first love and she will forever hold a special place in my heart. I hope I hold one on hers too.

PERRIE

When I saw Jade at the coffee shop, I was awestruck. From the moment I saw Jade, I thought she was the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, but past Jade only loses for present Jade. She gained some beautiful curves and was now wearing her naturally curly hair that I loved so much, when we were together I always told her she should leave her hair curly, but she said she didn't like it. I'm glad she changed her mind because she looks like an absolute goddess with it.

I feel so bad for what I put Jade through, but that was the hardest moment of my life. After she broke up with me, I was devastated, Jade was the only thing that kept me going and I thought that without her there was no reason to continue. That all changed though, while I was at the hospital they sent in a mental health professional to talk to me. Doctor Ritter, the therapist, was able to gain my trust very quickly, and I ended up telling her what happened at home.

She asked me if I wanted to report Cindy, but I didn't because I didn't want to relive it and I was still afraid of her threats. Doctor Ritter and I made a deal, she would say that the only way that I could recover would be in patient treatment, that way I would be in a rehabilitation centre at least until I was eighteen, away from Cindy and all the pain she caused me.

That worked very well, and when I left rehab, I went straight to London. I wanted a fresh start and to be able to enjoy my newly acquired love for life, I still attended therapy when I got settled here, I still do. I also volunteer on a shelter for people who survived sexual abuse. I wanted to help people, like Doctor Ritter and my London therapist helped me.

I am so excited about seeing Jade again, she was my first and to be honest, only love. I've dated other girls before and after Jade, but there is nobody like her. I hope she can forgive me and we can at least be friends. We are set to see each other on Saturday and I couldn't be happier, maybe that was the universe's way to tell us that we should try again.