Star Light Star Bright

Epilogue

Chris dropped me off at Sam’s house so that she could bring me back home and not have my parents be suspicious. Once I got home I gave a huge apology to my parents and sister about being totally closed off and angst ridden. I called Sam and apologized to her about the way I had been acting and assured her that I didn’t hate her. They all then made me give a huge apology to Chris, for being so cold to him, and I could tell he was hiding a grin the entire time as he nodded and pretended to listen.

For the next couple of weeks we were “forced” together by my parents. They insisted that it would be good for our “friendship.” And those few weeks were some of the best of my life. We spent those weeks actually getting to know each other. We learned about the common things: favorite colors, favorite movies, favorite books ect. But we also talked about the deeper things: the way he felt about his parents’ divorce that had happened a few years back, the way he felt about his father leaving for the summer and his mother’s summer job. Every so often we would talk about how we felt about each other. Those conversations more often than not made me blush uncontrollably and he would end up doing most of the talking. They always ended with a kiss, usually administered by me to make him stop talking, not that he complained.

But summer had to come to an end at some point. We both did everything we could to keep it from ending. Chris even called his mother to tell her that he would be home a couple of days late, but nothing either of us could do would make summer last forever.

It was the evening before he had to go that we finally said our goodbyes. Chris walked out to the nature preserve, the one out behind my house. He had been feeling anxious about leaving for a couple of days and a walk was not an uncommon thing for him to do to calm his nerves.

I told my parents I was going to go make sure he was alright, and rushed out after him. I found him standing in the same position he had been in, when I had jumped on him the night of our first kiss. This time I wasn’t stupid enough to come up with a plan like that.

I walked down to him quietly and stood next to him. Everything was quiet. Even the wind didn’t dare to rustle the leaves, as if it was holding its breath so that it could hear ever word of our goodbyes.

“Well I guess I have to leave tomorrow.” Chris started off in a whisper.

I nodded in agreement. “Yeah,” I breathed.

He turned to me and opened his mouth as if he were going to say something then stopped.

“Chris, listen I-.”

“I love you.” He blurted out, and even though I had known, it still caught me off guard. I could have blamed it on the fact that he cut me off, or that he blurted it out so insistently, but the only reason it shocked me was because it was the first time he had said it to me. Out loud. Sure I’d had notes written by him that said it, and he had whispered it to me that one time when he thought I was asleep, but it wasn’t the same as hearing him say it right to me.

“I love you too Chris.” I replied.

He looked relieved and his shoulders released their tension.  “Oh thank god,” he let out in a fast exhale. I laughed and took his cheeks in my hands, kissing him tenderly.

“I’m so glad that I got to know you this summer and if I had to do it over I don’t think I would do it any other way.”

“really not even the party?” he asked incredulously.

“Not even the party.” I assured him.

The sun set quickly and it was already dark. The stars sparkled brightly that night. There were no clouds, and even though I knew that you could see more stars if you were out camping, they haven’t ever shown quite as bright as they did that night.

“We should head back.” He sighed and pulled away.

But I shook my head. Usually I was the one telling him to come home, but tonight I wanted just a little bit more time. “Wait,” I whispered. “There is one thing I want before we go back.”

He closed the distance between us quickly and leaned down to press his lips against mine. I turned my head to the side so his lips brushed against my cheek. “Ok two things.” I laughed humorlessly. “The first though, is a promise.”

Chris looked at me suspiciously, but nodded. “Alright.”

“Promise you’ll come back next summer?” I bit my bottom lip waiting for an answer. “Let me warn you that if you say no I’m going to track you down and live with you all summer.”

“Promise?” he teased with a mocking grin.

I nodded seriously. “Yes that is a promise.”

“Alright then, no.”

I nudged him in the ribs playfully and rolled my eyes. “Ok let me rephrase that. Promise I’ll see you next summer?”

“That one’s inevitable, and not only because you’ll see me even with your eyes closed.”

I nodded and sighed. “Good.” Though it wasn’t good. It would be nine months before I saw him again and the thought was almost unbearable. Looking back on the years when all I had wanted was to keep him as far as possible from me, I couldn’t figure out how I lived, but I figured I would find out tomorrow.

“Now can I have my kiss?” I laughed and pushed up on my tip toes to press my lips to his.

We walked back to the house with our hands laced with each others, but we were careful to pull apart before we got to close to the house. We stopped on the front porch and turned to each other. “Well this is goodbye then.” He murmured.

Again I nodded. “Goodbye.” I whispered. He brushed a strand of hair behind my ear before cupping my cheek and bringing my lips to meet his. The kiss was filled with a passion that could have lasted until he came back the next summer, but I was selfish and used it all up in that one moment.

We separated and walked into the house, with distant expressions on each of our faces. “Goodnight.” I called to my parents and walked up to my room. I turned at the top of the stairs just in time to see Chris shut his door behind him.

When I woke up in the morning I knew Chris was gone. Not because I didn’t see his car out front or because of the silence coming from downstairs, where his boisterous laugh used to be, but there was an energy gone from the house I hadn’t noticed before. The house seemed deflated and depressed, along with my heart.

I sat up and grabbed the book off of my bedside table. From the outside it looked like a completely normal book, but on the inside it held every note that Chris had ever sent me. Except for the first one. The one that had been folded over so many times that I refused to touch it.

That one now sat in a black frame next to my bed, still folded into a tight square. I reluctantly turned the frame over and pulled out the note, unfolding it one perfect square at a time.

Something fell out and drifted softly into my lap, but I left it there until I was done reading the note. It didn’t take quite as long as I had expected, but the message did so much more than I ever could have imagined.

I love you

I slipped the note back into the frame, centering it perfectly, before picking up what had fallen into my lap. It was a picture of the two of us on one of the few days our parents had forced us together. His arm was wrapped around me and I looked as if I would rather be anywhere but there.

I slipped the picture into the corner of the frame making sure not to cover up the message and set the picture frame back down on my nightstand. I didn’t care who saw it now. It has just become my most prized possession. I stood up and stretched before opening my door and heading back downstairs, without a second glance.

I didn’t need second glances. The only thing that mattered now was what was in front of me. Summer couldn’t arrive fast enough.

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Alright, I have finally uploaded the entire thing! I am so sorry that it took this long, and if you have actually made it to the end I congratulate you! I'm sorry it's not the best writing, but I hope you got some enjoyment out of it.

Hopefully I'll start something better soon, but nothing is planned yet.