A Long Time Coming

Chapter Thirty Nine

LIV'S POV

Justin sat down and rubbed his hand down his face. "What happened?" I asked again.

He took a deep breath and didn't say anything before turning to his mom. "Mom, Liv and I are going to go upstairs and talk."

"That's fine, sweetie. We can talk later." She gave Justin a quick hug and Justin led me up to his room.

"Uh, do you want to go outside?" He motioned toward a balcony and I just nodded my head, not knowing how to act. 

Justin sat down on a lounge chair and I sat in the adjacent one, facing him. I just looked at him and held his hand until he was ready to talk.

"So, basically this is our last night together." That's all he could manage to say.

"Wh-what do you mean?" I started to choke up and gripped his hand harder.

Justin was avoiding my eyes. "Well, you're dad said that he liked me and all but he doesn't want you around my lifestyle? I don't really know. Uh, he doesn't want you to get shadowed and lose your potential."

"Justin, he didn't mean it like that." I looked at him softly, trying to bring him to look back at me but he turned away even more.

"Then what did he mean, Liv? Cus I'm obviously not good for you." He was on the verge of tears and it killed me.

"Don't even say that. You're the best thing that's happened to me." I made him scoot over and I laid down next to him.

He wrapped his arm around me and I nuzzled up against his chest. We just sat in silence while looking at the stars before either one of us spoke up.

"I love the stars." I said quietly.

"What do you love about them?" Justin had this new-found wonder in his voice and I loved it when he got like this. He treats me like I'm the most interesting person in the world.

"I love how I can be looking at the sky right now and see what I see and think what I think about them and then you can be right next to me and see something totally different even though it's virtually the same. Stars connect people, like, if I'm back home in Minnesota, I could be looking at the same sky as you but with a different view. They're just so vast and yet their beauty never ends. I just, I just find them inspiring. It makes me want to be here longer so I can just stare a little harder." My eyes never left the sky and I felt a kiss on my forehead.

"I am so in love with you." Justin whispered into my ear. "I want to hear more. Just talk to me about the things you love."

I felt warm inside and safe and loved and I never wanted this feeling to go away. "I want to see the world. I want to experience a life outisde of Minnesota, outside of America. I want to go places and see things. I want to grow culterally and learn. There is so much beauty infused into this world, but so few people actually take the time to go and find it. I want to be one of those people."

I stopped for a moment to gather my thoughts. "I love music. I love that it's open for interpretation. I love that it can make me feel or remember and that there are endless possiblities. People are so often creatively challenged these days, and music sets people apart."

He kissed me again, pulling me closer. "And I love books and reading and words. Words are the root of our expression. Why talk when you only know a few words, expand your vocabulary. And reading, reading allows you to escape your life and just settle into someone else's for a bit. It can help you forget about your problems for the time being. Reading can bring out emotions like nothing else, it's so easy to find yourself between the pages of a book. And writing is just self expression. Who cares if you suck at it, but if you're talented share with the world. We want to hear what you have to say. No one says anything anymore."