Down the road of memories

I wish you the best

Noah POV

It's definitely not my type of evening. High school dances or college parties were more opportunities for me to talk with friends and usually, I tried to bow out quickly. Elle looked in her element with her old high school friends. So I reconnected with a few friends from my promo and then went outside to get some fresh air.

When I went out onto the terrace adjacent to the reception room, I breathed in the fresh air coming from the ocean with delight, taking off my jacket and slightly loosening my tie. The last weeks of work before the holiday season had been intense and I felt exhausted. I stayed for a few minutes with my hands leaning on the railing, letting myself relax before hearing a deep voice behind me which immediately made my stress skyrocket:
- So you rushed to propose to her so that you could control her even more?

I turned around to see Marco leaning against a column on the terrace having clearly had too much to drink. I could see the beer bottle still in his hand. I took a deep breath before telling him :
- How do you know that?" I asked him.
- I heard your brother question her about the ring she has been wearing on the fourth finger of her left hand for a few weeks." he said to me as if he were spitting venom at me.
- We were already engaged when you saw Elle again in the hospital, Marco. I didn't propose to her to keep her away from you.

He started laughing, a Machiavellian laugh before telling me :
- And you still asked her not to become friends with me again! Do you trust your fiancée?
- She's not the problem Pena, she never was! I know very well what your desire to be friends with Elle can cause. I can't lose her again!
- Oh yes! I can't believe you didn't take advantage of your time as a bachelor at Harvard to flirt with all the hottest cheerleaders after you dumped Elle, Flynn. You've never experienced what it's like to hear the girl of your dreams tell you that you can't even be friends.

A memory came back to me and a strong emotion invaded me!
- You are completely wrong, Pena. I know what it is more than you think...

Flashback September in Boston, 2 years after the breakup

The start of my Senior year at Harvard was... difficult at best. Is it the fact that being in the last year of my degree, the courses are becoming more and more intense? Is it the stress of applying to law school at the end of this year and having every one of my grades count? Was it the temperature this fall that quickly dropped below 62 degrees? Is it the fact that it seems to rain every day? Probably a combination of all of these!

But also something else, so obvious that I didn't want to admit it to myself. Reality did hit me one rainy afternoon when I came home completely soaked from my workout. I opened my phone to find that Elle had changed her cover photo. Having entered medicine at John Hopkins, she posed with a white smock and stethoscope in front of the medical school.

I couldn't help but stare at how beautiful she is! How I miss her beautiful blue eyes! But what struck me most about this photo was her true, dazzling smile... I realized that my Shelly had truly spread her wings and flown away from LA towards a career in medicine. How I would have liked to be part of this adventure, to know what she thinks, to understand her fears and her victories. Find out how her day went! But with everything that happened between us, I realized that I was probably dragging her down.

I explored her Facebook and Instagram account. There were several photos where she had been tagged by medical colleagues. Several guys much to my dismay! All these photos in the light of a bright sun. She looked so happy!

The idea came to me to call her, to get back in touch now that I could no longer be an issue for her career choice. At least be friends again, I miss her so much! But I knew that if I told her we were going to be just friends again, it would be a lie. I would never be able to just be friends with her... without hoping for something more.