Where Do Broken Hearts Go?

Chapter Thirty Five

Rose stepped back and admired her work. She had a smile on her face when she wiped the sweat off her forehead. It was ten thirty at night but she managed to finish the wall. It only took her two trips to the nearest Walmart to figure it all out.

Rose sat down on one of the chairs and couldn't stop smiling. The whole wall was covered in a neat pattern with her family photos. In the center of the wall she had placed the words, Memories never fade. If Rose had done this any earlier she wouldn't have been able to handle it. She would've been too heartbroken to stare at it all day.

But today, today was different. Today was the day Rose finally realized that it was okay to move on. She realized it was the day she could start truly being herself again. Her family would always be in her heart. They may not be with her physically, but they were with her mentally. She would never ever forget them or the memories they gave her to remember.

Rose looked down at her phone and stared at the picture of her and Andrew. She fiddled with her fingers and bit her lip. Her heart rate quickened when she unlocked her phone and dialed Andrew's number. She was about to call him when she remembered it was nearly two a.m. in New York. Rose sighed and exited out of the phone app.

She placed her phone upside down on her lap and continued to stare at the wall before her. Now it was starting to feel more like home.

Andrew's POV

Andrew rubbed his tired eyes and took a sip of the milk he was drinking. His fingers hovered over the keyboard, waiting for words to come to him.

When nothing came to mind he exited out of the document he was writing on. How come he couldn't think of what to write about? The topic was easy. What is love, in your opinion? It was all he had to write about. His English class was almost over and this was the last essay due.

His mind was drawing a blank for nearly two days now. He stayed up late the night before as well, trying to think of at least something to write on the paper. Andrew let out a frustrated sigh as he grabbed his phone next to his laptop.

He turned on the screen and was greeted by the picture of him and Rose at the Eiffel Tower. It was still his favorite picture and he wasn't ready to change it, yet. He felt a lump rising in his throat as he looked at the picture.

He slid the screen and clicked on the phone app. He dialed Rose's number and hovered over the call button. Even though it was almost two a.m. his time, he knew it was ten thirty in Washington and Rose was most likely asleep. Even if she wasn't, how could Andrew be sure she would answer?

After having a debate between his mind and his heart, his mind finally won. He exited out of the lap and dragged himself to his bed. 

This was killing him. He wanted to follow his heart but his mind beat it out every single time. There was nothing he could seem to do to change that.

Two weeks had passed and Andrew once again was staring at the blank document before him. His free response essay was due in twenty four hours and he hadn't even started. Andrew spent the last to weeks racking his brain for anything. It didn't matter if it was bad, he just needed something. He would start a sentence and delete it because he didn't know where he was going with it.

Andrew ran a furious hand through his hair as the screen before him taunted him. He had nothing. Nothing. They had been given a month to work on the assignment and Andrew had nothing.

Andrew switched his focus to his phone before he could destroy his nice laptop. Before he even realized what he was doing, he found himself going through the old photos of him and Rose.

He started from the very beginning. The first photo was awkward. Rose was holding the camera and smiling while Andrew looked a little unsure. Then he swiped to the next photo and the next, and pretty soon the photos began looking more and more natural.

Andrew spent the next half hour looking through all their pictures they took. He laughed at the memories of some and teared up at the memories of others. His eyes were moist and tears trickled down his cheeks when he looked at the photo of Rose asleep on the couch, her head resting on her hands.

She looked so peaceful, so beautiful. Her hair fell perfectly on her shoulders and all the features on her face were relaxed. A blanket covered her legs and her sweater sleeves were pulled over her hands. She was the most beautiful woman Andrew had ever seen. He was in love with her. He loved the way she looked when she slept and the way her breathing sounded.

He loved how her hair would fall so perfectly around her face. She looked beautiful when she slept and she looked beautiful when she was awake. Andrew suddenly turned to his computer and ran his finger across the mouse pad to wake it up. He let his mind wander and didn't overthink it. His fingers hovered over the keyboard for a split second before they began typing.

Love is a wonderful, magical thing. It's something that you don't miss until you no longer get to experience it. I used to think that I never needed love and that it was overrated. I used to think it was about getting married and having kids. That's it, that's all I thought was to it. Boy was I so wrong.

It turns out that love is the best thing I've ever gotten to experience. It's found in the simple things, not just the big things. It's found in the way someone walks or how they talk. It can be found in the way they breathe when they're asleep. It can be found in the way they rub your back or play with your hair. Love is found in every act, when the love is right.

Love isn't some big, complicated thing. It doesn't take a miracle to fall in love with someone. Sometimes it's just slowly falling in love with the way their eyes light up when you talk or the way their cheeks blush when you pay them a compliment. It can be falling in love with the way they use their hands to talk or the way they dance when their favorite songs comes on. You can fall in love with the words they use or the smile they always wear. 

Love isn't supposed to be hard. It's supposed to be easy. It's supposed to come naturally. If you have to constantly look for what you love about someone, then it isn't really love. You shouldn't have to look for love. It comes naturally. You don't have to look hard to fall in love with what you see. Sometimes it just happens without you even knowing it.

Sometimes you don't know you truly love someone until you no longer have them.

Andrew continued to write his essay, the words continuously flowing out of him. He finished his paper in twenty minutes and smiled big when he reread it. He had finally figured out what love was to him. He finally understood.

Love is the way you feel when you watch them fall asleep. It's the way you feel when you see them roll their head back in laughter or lightly push you for something you said. Love is the way you feel when you hold their hand and feel sparks every single time. It's the way you feel when you know this is the person you want to have by your side for the rest of your life.

If you don't feel that way, then it isn't love.