Belief

7.5

Maddie's POV

"I've been waiting to leave this place for the longest damn time. The only thing keeping me here was you."

Ashton leaves me standing alone on the path leading to my dorm. I waited for him to turn around and start laughing, shouting "ha I got ya!" but that moment never came. I run my fingers through my hair, my mind buzzing with opposing thoughts and worries. He would be fine, right? I would just give him some time to cool off. Right?

I hesitantly make my way back to my dorm, an anxious pit still in the depths of my stomach, but I try my best to ignore it. Until my phone starts buzzing.

"Hello?" I ask nervously. God Ashton please be okay.

"Hey Maddie," Luke's voice puts a temporary pause on my anxiety. I exhaled shakily.

"Oh, hey," I sound a bit too relieved.

"Listen last night-"

"-was the closure we needed," I finished for him. I heard him let out a refreshed breath as if he had been holding in his worries as well.

"Yeah," he agrees, "So we are okay now?"

I pick up my pace towards the dorm, finding myself searching the grounds for any sign of Ashton. "I mean, it is still going to hurt, a love like that isn't easy to get over, but that just means that what we had was something real."

"We had a good run Maddie," Luke gives a soft chuckle to cover the pain he is trying ever so hard to rid from his heart.

"I will never forget it," I tuck my phone in between my shoulder and my ear so I can unlock my dorm, hurriedly checking my empty room for- well I don't really know what I am looking for.

"Thanks," Luke takes a deep breath.

"For what?" I walk over to the pile of hoodies on my dresser and shove them back to the top of my closet. I had made Luke take the Nirvana shirt with him. I couldn't bear to keep it anymore if I had any hopes of moving on.

"Everything you did for me the past year. Believing in me. You were what pushed me to work so hard, and now we are finally starting to make our way into the industry. Whatever happens to us, if we ever do really make it big, I will always have you to thank. I wouldn't have been able to get through a lot of last year's shit without you."

"Oh," I take a seat on the edge of my bed, letting his words sink in. Of course half of the problems he faced throughout the year were because of me, but I won't mention that. "Thanks. Well, I guess this is goodbye then."

I can feel Luke's smile through the phone. "I'll see you at lunch tomorrow," he lets out a soft chuckle. I can't help but let out a breathy laugh, saying goodbye before I hang up. It just eased the tension I guess. We were both just hiding the fact we knew it was going to be hard as hell to get over each other, especially when we will be seeing each other so often.

But life goes on, hearts start to mend, they heal so they can be broken again.

I lay back on my bed, staring at the ceiling. My stomach was unsettled, my mind kept coming back to Ashton. We have never really fought before, he was always my shoulder to cry on, my hand to hold, and my chest to fall asleep on. I couldn't do this, I have to apologize.

I grab my keys, running out to my car and shakily rev up the ignition. I turn off the radio, for once I need to hear my thoughts, for once I need to think this through. Who am I kidding there is only one thing I know right now and that is I need to find Ashton. I don't need to plan the words I will say to him, I just need to see him, I need to hug him, I need him to finally be happy, it's his turn, not mine.