Where Do Broken Hearts Go?

Chapter Thirty One

It was January 3, the day Andrew was leaving for the University of New York. Rose still hadn't spoken to him since the incident five months ago. She knew deep down inside that she overreacted and that she needed to forgive him, but she just couldn't do that. Andrew Perkins had broken his promise, and that broke Rose.

It wasn't easy for her to get over it. She refused to see Dr. Tund, considering she was doing so well. She talked out her problems and found new ways to forgive herself. It was a process of detoxifying all the things she previously thought about herself. She was just started to get better, and then Andrew had to ruin it. 

Rose wasn't completely devastated. Some days were harder than others. She continued going to school and even went as far as applying out of the state. Rose was trying to find what she really wanted to do, but nothing was coming to mind. She was too focused on Andrew.

Today, on January 3, was the hardest day of them all. Andrew had sent her one final text message, letting her know when he was leaving and where he would be. Rose wanted to say goodbye to him but chose not to go. Instead, she busied herself with homework and avoided all clocks. If she could make it through this day everything would be fine. Or at least she hoped it would.

Andrew's POV

Andrew waited until the last second in the airport before boarding his plane. There was that small ounce of hope that Rose would come. He hadn't spoken to her in five months and it was killing him. He missed her voice and her jokes. He missed her smile and the cute things she would do. Andrew missed all of it. His missed everything about Rose.

Crushed, Andrew walked toward his plane, sulking the whole way. He took a seat on the plane, sitting next to a blonde girl who looked about his age. She gave him a huge smile as he sat down. When he was comfortably settled in, he leaned his head back against the chair.

All he could think about was Rose. Everything reminded him of her. The beautiful sky, the snow on the ground, the boots a teen girl was wearing. He couldn't stop thinking about her. It had been that way for five months. Five months of painful reminders. Andrew rubbed his hand across his heart, feeling the ongoing ache become stronger. 

He placed his other hand on his head, feeling a headache coming on. It didn't help that it was raining outside and that he felt like his life was a bottomless pit. His stomach hurt and he was constantly feeling guilty. Andrew didn't know how he was supposed to make it through the next four years.

His negative thoughts were interrupted by the blonde girl sitting next to him. "Are you okay?" she asked, placing an hand on Andrew's arm.

Andrew turned to her, pushing her hand off in the process. "Yes," he mumbled.

The girl didn't seem to get the hint that Andrew didn't want to talk to her. "Are you single?"

"Wow, you sure don't waste time," Andrew said flatly. He returned his gaze to the ceiling as he leaned his head back once again.

"It's an honest question," she defended. When Andrew said nothing, the girl continued. "My name is Alyssa by the way." Andrew still said nothing. He knew he was being rude but didn't care. "I'm 18 and I'm off to NYU."

Andrew let out a groan. Hopefully he wouldn't have to see her around. Five and a half hours was going to be plenty of time with her.

"You aren't a talker, are you?" Alyssa said.

Andrew could feel his patience running thin. He couldn't handle one more word she wanted to say. He pulled out his headphones and plugged them into his phone. He turned to the Alyssa girl and said in a rude tone, "It's been a pleasure talking to you but I'm going to try and sleep."

He should've felt bad seeing that look in her eyes but didn't. He put his earbuds in and turned the volume up loud enough to block her out but to not bother people. He listened to a few songs before one came on that made his heart skip a beat.

It was Never Stop by Safetysuit, and it was their song. Andrew tried to change the song but couldn't force his body to do so. It was as if everything in his body was numb. He listened to the lyrics and felt his eyes becoming moist.

I will stop trying. I will never stop watching as you leave. I will never stop losing my breath every time I see you looking back at me. And I will never stop holding your hand. I will never stop opening your door. I will never stop choosing you babe. I will never get used to you.

Andrew felt the warm tears run down his cheeks as the song continued. You are my life I don't deserve you. But you love me just the same. And as the mirror says we're older I will not look the other way. You are my life, my love, my only and that's the one thing that won't change.

Before the song could go on, Andrew hit the next button with all the energy he had left. As soon as he skipped the song, he felt like he had lost a huge piece of his heart. His eyes were watery as he tried to calm his heart. He was following his dream, but why did it seem like he had chosen the wrong one? It was eating him alive. But it was always his dream, so how could it be wrong?

Andrew let out a frustrated sigh as he ran a hand through his blond hair. His mind was confused and his heart was broken. He thought he knew what he wanted, but did he? Did he really know what he wanted? Before he could overthink the answer, Andrew forced his eyes closed, and sleep soon came over him.

When the plane landed, Andrew felt an icy hand touch his arm. His eyes shot opened as he looked for the source of the cold. When he saw Alyssa's brown eyes on him, he looked away. "Oh good, you're awake. We landed," she said with her high pitched voice.

"Thanks," Andrew mumbled.

"Hey, I was thinking maybe we could ride to NYU together?" Alyssa questioned.

"How do you know I'm going to NYU?" Andrew asked skeptically. 

"It's pretty obvious. I mean why else would you, at such a young age, be coming to New York City? It's not like you got a high tech, superficial job already," Alyssa laughed.

Andrew looked at her, not thinking it was funny. "No thanks, I need to come some other places first."

"I could come with you," she chirped.

"No, I'll pass," Andrew said. As if angels were looking over him, the flight attendant was starting to usher people off of the plane. Andrew stood up quickly, retrieving his backpack and fighting his way out of the plane.

When he came to the area where his luggage was, he noticed Alyssa walking towards him. He looked back at the conveyor belt and almost cried when he saw his two suitcases there. He rushed over and gathered them quickly, then booked it out of the airport.

The cold New York air hit him as he hailed a cab. Andrew gave the old woman his apartment address, and they were off. Less than an hour later and Andrew was standing in front of his new home for the next four years.

He climbed up the steps slowly,  not really excited to be there. He climbed up to the third floor and unlocked his door room. When he stepped inside the tiny apartment he was met with a rush of cold air. Chills ran down Andrew's spine as he took in his surroundings. There was a decent sized kitchen and living room, a nice bathroom and a nice bedroom. It was all he needed for his stay in New York because it wasn't that big. And even though it wasn't that big, Andrew still felt lonely.

He wanted for Rose to be with him so bad, but she had chosen differently. He was a 20 year old man living all alone. He didn't have the love of his life with him because he gave her up. Andrew threw his coat off and took a seat on one of the chairs. He rubbed his temples and let out a sigh.

This was going to be harder than Andrew could have ever imagined.