I wish we hadn't ended.

Chapter 23: catastrophe

ZAID EASTON

It was Christmas Eve— and I was supposed to go shopping for gifts today.
I put on my jacket and left the house, Matthew and I were going to the mall together, we used to go together every year to buy gifts but this time we were going to buy gifts for our significant others for the first time. It felt strange to both of us, but actually we liked it..

I had asked for permission from my dad the previous evening, to use his car— neither of us had our own cars yet, and we didn't want to walk in this cold weather, and we didn't want to take the bus because who wants to get on a crowded bus filled with bags full of purchases on the way back from shopping, right?

"Yo, my man!" Matthew exclaimed the moment I stepped out, and we fist bumped.

"What's cookin'?" I asked, unlocking the car with a flourish. Just as I was about to hop in, he muttered something, but it got lost in the wind. Probably something about being ready to roll.

"Hope your wallet's bulging... those girls can drain a bank!" Matthew quipped, a mischievous glint in his eye, and I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Packed tighter than a sardine can," I replied, fastening my seatbelt.

"Hey, surprised you and Vanessa haven't declared war yet. Aren't you two always at it?" I teased.

"Hush, don't curse it. Besides, nah— we're cool. Sometimes fireworks, but that's the fun, right?" He said, grinning as I fired up the engine, my dad's playlist invading the car.

"Dude, seriously jamming to this?" Matthew burst into laughter.

"It's the dad mobile—remember? And hey, my tunes are in here too, you just hit the unlucky jackpot with this one," I retorted, rolling my eyes playfully.

"So, what are you getting for Aria?" Matthew asked, and I had my answer ready, I'd been mulling it over for days.

"Well, when we split, I wrote her a letter, so I'll give her that first. Then, I'll pick up a lovely bouquet, some makeup goodies since she's into that, and uh— I don't know, I'll see... How about you?"

"Wow, you're quite the romantic, it seems... Nice, nice. I'm getting a ring and there's this bag she's been eyeing for ages, if my wallet allows, I'll grab that too."

"Sounds good. Oh, and I think you should write her a letter."

"I'm no good at that stuff, mate..."

"Just pour your feelings onto paper, Vanessa will understand, trust me."

"Do you really think so?" Matt asked.

"Yeah, I think a heartfelt gift speaks volumes. Let your girlfriend know what's in your heart."

"Last year, Ivor was with us... now, he's ruined everything," Matthew said, the smile absent from his face.

"He apologized to Aria and supposedly won't try to come between us anymore. He apologized to me too, seemed remorseful, but I couldn't bring myself to trust him— though it seems he'll apologize to me again, face to face. I'm waiting for that moment. I'll give him another chance, I've thought it through, I don't want to throw away all these years, especially with you occasionally drifting away..."

"I didn't just drift away, I stood by whoever was right, Zaid— I was hurt too, of course, but you were in the right, you were the one hurting. Of course, I would stand by your side, but I hope after this apology, we'll be back to how we used to be."

"I hope so."

I parked the car in the mall's parking lot, and we both got out. After talking about Ivor, we didn't say a word until we reached the mall. We missed him, he was the one who had made us feel whole, but now he was gone.