Diamond: The Promise

Chapter 63 "Now I understand he broke her heart"

~Iria~

14/2/25

My heart raced faster than ever, I really thought Tristan could heard it from the few feet that separated us. He was just standing there... with his hair shorter and blacker but the same electric blue eyes that once trapped me and refused to let me go.

How embarrassing that I hadn't taken off the blue contacts I wore because they reminded me of his gaze.

I wanted to touch him, I wanted to check he was real and I did it. I walked two steps forward, leaving my dorm and reaching out to brush his face, he was just as tall and as pale. I caressed the side of his face feeling how my eyes suddenly filled with tears.

"Hi, rough diamond." He let out once my stupid emotions let clear I wouldn't be able to break the ice if I didn't break the lump in my throat first.

I swallowed that lump, it took me a lot of saliva to dissolve it what left my mouth dry.

"Hi, Wonder Boy." I smiled as the girl impressed by his eyes, his height and beauty that maybe I still was.

He somehow looked more mature, he will be nineteen in a month and a half after all. I realized how some of his traces had deepened though he kept without having the slightest trace of beard.

I can't have beard, I would look like I'm seventy years old, he joked once.

"May I come in?" He asked then and I realized he was touching me too, his hands were on the back of my neck and his thumbs ran up and down my face.

I nodded, putting my lips together in that same smile I hadn't gotten rid of.

I let Tristan head inside first. I leaned against the door as he walked past the door frame, sneaking my hand behind the door to grab the post-it. I put it under some books over the desk right next to the door while he didn't look, then closed the door behind me. I wanted to avoid any hasty conclusion he could think about.

I wasn't sure if I wanted Tristan to ever find out what happened in Toronto.

I stayed close to the door while he stood in the middle of the room, facing me. I think I needed the distance.

"How did you find me?" I first asked holding his gaze and being aware that the way in which we looked at each other hadn't changed a bit. It was a little sadder, I could say that.

"You were the one who found me, rough diamond." His eyes lit up, I bit my lip and averted my gaze from his.

It's true that the Massachusetts university wasn't quite a coincidence. When Molly forced me to apply to a good university in the USA... she made me apply to the best one in every state. I entered in all of them, including the Ivy League. In London, when back in August I was gossiping through Mr. White's desk drawers, I found the address of his sister's house in the United States. I haven't had a bigger gut feeling in my life.

I chose Massachusetts because that was where Emily White lived. During the first couple of months I had the fear and hope to find Tristan walking down the street whenever I left the residence, I understood then the reason why I moved to that city, where I thought I may find him yet never looked for him. I needed time, I guess having that none certain chance to meet him when I was ready reassured me.

"How did you find me?" I repeated the question, this time using a different tone that didn't want to know anymore how he became aware that I was in the same city as him but how did he find out I lived in this residence and which was my dorm.

"Last week an ex-classmate from high school kinda dragged me to meet with a couple of friends more and some more people I didn't know. We started talking about disguises and one of them assured the best disguise he has ever seen was this last Halloween at an university party. He said the girl wore some contacts that looked like truly diamond. I just knew it was you. Although it wasn't as easy to find you, you weren't at the party of your university." He gave me a shy smile, with one of those I fell for him but there was this one thought that wouldn't leave my mind.