Lillian Bianca Jones and Rafe Cameron have been enemies for as long as they can remember, but when the tide switches, things change. The waves take the past with them delicately. Will it be brought back to land? There are uncertainties in the ocean...
Listen to Clean by Taylor Swift while reading this!!
Today was the day of my speech. I'd taken a lot of time to write it and I was confident with the things that I was going to say.
Needless to say, my anxiety was burning me alive, but at the same time, I had a feeling of freedom in my chest that I hadn't felt in a very long time. My family, the Camerons, and Topper were all going to be attending, Rafe included. I was told that he really wanted to come, and to be frank, I wasn't mad about it.
For the first time in a long time, I felt at peace with my situation with Rafe. He wasn't my soulmate, no matter how much I wanted him to be. The time we spent together taught me a lot about myself, and even though it didn't feel right, we weren't together, and that was ok.
All of our families were driving to Raleigh (where the speech would be held). I was carpooling with Sarah, Topper with Rafe, and then the rest of our family members in their respective cars. I had spent the previous night practicing my speech and choosing my outfit and I had landed with a light blue dress with a flower on its neckline. I paired it with white heels, a clutch, and some jewellery, I did my hair in a curled half-up half-down situation and did my makeup like I always do.
Lillian's Outfit:
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I wasn't going to be the only speaker at the event, but definitely the youngest, and considering that this was going on tv, my speech needed to be impeccable. I was given a 5-minute limit for my speech, and once other speakers were done talking about their own experiences we would all leave and then go out to dinner.
Rafe's POV:
We were all seated and waiting for the event to start. I was sitting next to Topper and Wheezie who was sitting next to Sarah who was sitting next to Dad who was sitting next to Rose who was sitting next to Laura who was sitting next to Simon who was sitting next to Ethan. The event was held in a square surrounded by some trees, there were chairs set up, and in front of them a stage with a podium that had a microphone incorporated into it.
I was honestly surprised that Lillian was fine with me coming, but I was glad she was. This was such an important moment for her and I was so glad that I was there to see it. I was so proud of her and just wished I could tell her that.
Although, today wasn't about me, it wasn't about me and Lillian, it was about how Lillian was able to heal from such a traumatic experience and be brave enough to talk about it. I was always going to be her number one supporter, no matter where we stood. After some waiting, an announcer took the stage and talked about the event's agenda. There were going to be about four speakers, one from each age group, they chose to do this to reach as many demographics as they could. Lillian was the youngest speaker, and she was first up.
"With all of that said, it's my pleasure to introduce our first speaker, Lillian Jones," the announcer said. Everyone in the room clapped, but especially our family's row. Sarah Topper and I were clapping like there was no tomorrow, and Lillian's parents were both tearing up as they saw her take the stage.
