getaway // cth

xxxiii

She would be there.

I know it.

I entered the coffee shop and made my way to our usual booth.

She was gone.

I approached the counter where a waiter was sitting reading a book.

"Excuse me?" I said. She put her book down and looked at me.

"Was there a girl with dark wavy hair here sitting in that booth." I said pointing to the booth.

"Yeah she just left."

"Did you see which way she went?"

"Who are you?"

"What?"

"Who are you? She's in here every day and I wanna know who your are."

"I need to tell her that I'm in love with her."

"She went left of the coffee shop. Better hurry."

I rushed from the shop and ran left of the shop looking at every face I passed seeing if it was her.

And I stopped.

I saw her wavy dark brown hair.

I knew it was her.

There were thousands of girls in Melbourne that could have wavy, dark brown hair.

But it was Hadley.

I continued to run down the sidewalk and didn't stop till I reached her.

"Hadley!" I yelled.

She turned around.

I slowed down as I approached her and she stared at me with her large hazel eyes that over years I had learned to absolutely fall in love with.

"You left me."

"Hadley-"

"You don't get to be the prince that sweeps me off me feet, Calum. You don't get to swoop in and kiss me and confess to me about your undying love for me. You don't get to hand me a book with all of the songs you wrote about me and leave and ignore me for a year. You don't get to come back."

"Hadley-"

"No Calum. You hurt me."

"I'm sorry."

"No you're not Calum. Because after this, you're gonna go home and nothing will have changed. I'll still be teenage Hadley who was obsessed and absolutely in love with Calum Hood. The boy who tours the world performing music, living his dream and meeting all his amazing fans. I will never live up to any sort of potential that you have. I will never equal to anything you have done or achieved-"

"Hadley. Stop."

"No Calum! I don't get to stop. The world keeps turning and life goes on, Calum. We're are but two people in the world fighting on a sidewalk in Melbourne about something that could have but never happened and life goes on."

"But my life can't go on without you Hadley. I love you. And always have."

"Calum-"

"Hadley. I love you and nothing will change how I feel."

Hadley looked up at me with wide, glassy eyes and brushed her hand against my cheek.

"I'll always be the same teenage boy you want me to be Hadley. I'll always be teenage Calum Hood who fell in love with your beautiful eyes and everything else about you. I'll always be the same Calum who wrote songs about you nonstop. I will never live up to your potential Hadley. I will never live up to how beautiful, kind, and creative you are. You don't have to be famous to live up to my potential, Hadley. You did that years ago."

"Calum-"

"No Hadley, you're not-"

"Calum, I love you."

I stared at Hadley in awe as a tear slid down her cheek.

Three years

We had waited to hear these words.

These three words.

Were taken sensitively.

I pressed my lips to Hadleys.

She solved it.

She solved the riddle.