Soul Speaker

Chapter 5

The next morning arrives much sooner than either of you wanted it to. Wake up call comes at 7 and bus call is at 8 am... one hour.

You watch him as he walks around the room, reluctantly gathering his things to pack away. He walks slowly, his face crestfallen and head down with his shoulders slumped over.

He stuffs something into his bag, maybe a bit more forcefully than necessary and huffs out an exasperated breath. He stops and walks over to you, placing his hands on your hips and slowly pulling you to him. He wraps his arms around you and leans down to place his forehead against yours and lets his eyes slide shut. He stands there for a few seconds, just feeling your presence within his arms and breathing you in.

He sighs heavily and says, "God, this is so hard. It feels like I'm walking towards a funeral. Maybe even my own funeral." He stops for a second as his hands start to run up and down your back. "I don't wanna leave, but I know I have to." He places his hand on the back of your head, kissing the top before pulling it to his chest. You turn your head and close your eyes as you listen to his steady heartbeat. "I'm going to miss you so, so much."

You feel the familiar prickling at the corners of your eyes and squeeze them shut, fighting to keep any tears that threaten away. You're going to miss him just as much. 'Come on now, be strong. If not for yourself, for him,' you think to yourself.

"And just think, 48 hours ago, you didn't even know me," you say with a halfhearted laugh, trying and failing to lighten the mood.

He scoffs before saying, "I can't even remember what life was like before then. It's crazy how much your life can change in an instant." He leans back, using his finger to tilt your chin up before leaning down and placing a soft, light kiss against your lips. The buzzing is there, but it somehow seems subdued. "I'm so glad I met you."

"Hey," he drops his hand and takes a step back, fishing for something in his pockets. "can...can I, umm, can I have your phone number?"

"Sure, but only if I can have yours too," you tease, smiling up at him, trying to make him feel better. You turn toward the tv stand where your purse sits, pulling it over to you and start digging around for your phone. When you finally find it and pull it out, something drops to the ground. You look down and realize it's your favorite bracelet. It's just a simple, brown leather bracelet that has a kitty cat face charm on it, a knot on each side of the charm, and a snap closure. It gives you an idea.

You hand Josh your phone and he busies himself putting in his number, quickly calling his phone from yours so he can save your number as well. While he's distracted, you bend down to pick up the bracelet. He hands your phone back asking, "You promise you'll text me?" he asks shyly, as if you wouldn't text him. Yeah, right.

"Of course I'll text you, but only if you wear this for me," you tease, holding up the bracelet between your thumb and first finger. "This is my favorite bracelet ever. I used to wear it everywhere. Now I want you to have it."

He looks at the bracelet and smiles with a toothy grin, reaching out to take it from you. "Aww, it's got a little kitty on it."

"Yeah. A kitty for Kitty," you giggle. "I figured it could be something of mine that you could wear and keep with you, but it would be inconspicuous enough that no one would speculate."

"I love cats. It's perfect." he leans down and kisses your cheek. "I'll never take it off. Put it on me?" he asks, holding out his arm. You snap it onto his left wrist, then bring his wrist up to your mouth to place a small kiss there. Josh blushes and glances away. How in the world is he so cute?! You give his hand one final squeeze before turning to grab your purse. He swings his backpack over his shoulders and you both take a deep breath before heading downstairs, the room door closing loudly behind you.