Roller Coaster Summer

~Chapter Thirty~

     When I finally stopped crying and it stopped raining, we were soaked so I asked Ronnie if he wanted to come in my house and dry off. He said he would love to and that I had to explain what happened.

     Before I told him it all, I changed into some other clothes and gave him some of Jake's clothes that he left here a long time ago. I sat down on the couch with a knitted quilt around my body and some hot chocolate with Ronnie next to me and I told him everything. From how Jake didn't seem right after he told me what happened to his parents right down to how he started to drink and gamble. I fought tears the whole time but in the end they came.

     Ronnie didn't say anything since he knew I didn't need to be answered. The whole thing took two hours of explaining and then I told Ronnie that he could crash on the couch if he wanted to. Once I got into bed, I heard him talking and then I heard another voice. Was someone at my house?

     I quietly opened my door and walked down the hallway to listen.

     "Why'd you do that? Why? She didn't deserve that, Jake!" Ronnie said in a hushed voice.

     "I screwed up and I don't know. Ron, how do you even know this?" He was talking to Jake over the phone and for some reason had it on speaker; maybe he wanted me to listen.

     "Because I ran into her and she needed someone to talk to."

     "Ronnie! You're with her? Get her to talk to me! I need her. She's was the closest I ever had to a normal life again. I had someone who cared and loved me again and I messed it up. Can you get her to come back to me?" Jake sounded like he was close to tears and I knew that without me, he was going to be a wreck. I was a wreck without him but I wasn't going to sound or show it.

     "Jake, I'm sorry. I can't do that." Ronnie decided to look over at the hallway in that second and saw me. He sighed. Even though he knew I was there and listening, I still stayed in the hallway. I slid down the wall and pulled my knees against my chest as I listened to their conversation.

     "What do you mean you can't do that? What the hell, Ronnie! You're my best friend and you can't help me get Elena back? I love her and need her in my life and I know she loves me. She won't walk away from someone who she loves, I know her. I know I screwed up but I can fix it! I need to talk to her and tell her everything and how I'm sorry and why it happened. It was never her fault. Never. She always brought the best of me out in the open and she thinks the total opposite. Ronnie, she thinks that she did something wrong; she thought I was falling out of love with her. I fall in love with her more and more every second of the day, even when I'm not with her. Can't you help me?" With all those words, tears were falling down my cheeks again and it felt difficult to breath anymore.

     "I'm sorry; you'll have to win her back yourself." Then he closed his phone and sat down on the couch. I thought he was going to come over and see if I was alright but he probably knew I wanted to be alone.

     When I finally stood up and went into my room, it was four in the morning. I didn't fall asleep until seven fourteen.

~*~*~

     "Are you sure that Jake is going to stay in the store long enough?" I asked Ronnie when he dropped me off at Jake's house at eight at night.

     "Yes, J.C. said that he's been staying in the store until late since you left. Call if you need anything, Elena." He said as he started up his car again. It was three nights after I left and I've talked to Ronnie and Summer a lot. Jake has called about a hundred times and left voicemails during all of them. I couldn't even listen to them anymore so I blocked his number from my phone. I knew it was cruel but he was being so difficult and wouldn't get the hint.

     "Okay, thanks, Ronnie." I smiled slightly at him and he returned it and then drove away, leaving me in Jake's driveway. I climbed the familiar wooden stairs that lead to the door in the kitchen. Like always, the door was unlocked because nothing bad ever happened in New Hope or Lambertville. I had to be quick and silent though.

     First I went into the bedroom. I took everything I owned from the drawers and stuffed it into the bag I brought, then I went into the bathroom and got all my makeup and hair stuff. When I thought I got everything, I did a double check and when I went back into the bedroom, I got struck with memories. Amazing, happy yet painful memories.

     There was this one day when I came back from the store and then we had a gig at another wedding. It was so stressful that when we finally came back, I collapsed on the bed and then Jake came in and gave me a wonderful massage but then it ended up a tickle fest. He didn't stop tickling me until he made me admit that he was the best and most amazing person I have ever met in the whole entire world. Then after that, we were both exhausted that we fell asleep in our dressy clothes, and in each other's arms.

     Then there was this one memory that brought a smile to my face. I came back from shopping with Summer and heard a guitar strumming and a hushed voice. I quietly opened the bedroom door and saw Jake sitting on the ground with the guitar in his lap and a piece of paper in front of him. He told me it was a song he was writing. Never said what for but I always believed it was for me.

     The memories were getting overwhelming and I knew I had to leave since I had everything already and I should be leaving. Just when I was opening the back door to the stairs, I heard the other door open and then Jake was looking at me. His face was so obviously covered in pain and sadness that it made me freeze for a moment. The expression on his face brought tears to my eyes and I didn't want to cry about him anymore so I quickly recovered and ran out the door and down the stairs. He was faster and had longer legs then me so he should have been right behind me already. Maybe he finally came to believe that the situation couldn't be resolved.

     When I was going around his truck in a hurry, I heard my name being called. I turned around and saw Jake finally running after me, but he had something in his hand so that's probably why he was delayed.

     "No, Jake." I started to run but he caught up to me and grabbed me around my wrist.

     "Elena, please just listen to me." He wouldn't let go of me until I said something.

     "I heard enough, Jake. Please let me go." I couldn't believe it but he let me go right away.

     When I started to walk away again, he yelled, "Just please take this." I turned around and he tossed me something. Luckily, I caught it and opened it. What I saw almost made me choke on air; it was a silver ring with the infinity sign on it and engraved on the inside said: I love you.

     "What is this?" I yelled back to him and my promised didn't stay because I was crying again. It couldn't be what I thought it was. It couldn't be-

     "It’s a promise ring. I got it when I left and said I was going with the guys. I didn't go out drinking or gambling that time. I was trying to change and I wanted to start it off with you promising your life with me. We're too young to be getting married so I thought a promise ring would be perfect. I just wanted it to be stated that you were promised to me when you went to college with all those other guys." When he was saying all of that, my heart was aching and breaking in half and I knew that I was the cause of it but that still didn't take back what he did.

     "I can't take this, Jake."

     "Yes you can because you're the only one that it was meant for. You're the only one that those words will ever be true to. I want you to have it to show you who will always be waiting for you. No matter how much time goes by." I started to turn around but then something overtook me and I dropped my bag and ran over to Jake. I grabbed his face and kissed him. I needed to give him one last kiss before everything was all over. I wanted the kiss to last forever and that's what it felt like; I didn't even need to breath.

     My finger tips were in his sideburns and the palms of my hands were pressed against his cheeks as his hands were pressed hot against my back. When I reluctantly pulled away because it was the right thing to do, I whispered, "Goodbye, Jake." Then I walked away and didn't look back when he called my name in the cool night.

     I realized too soon that when I was trying to give him a kiss he would never forget, I ended up giving him a kiss I would never forget.