Phoebe and Asher have been in love since high school. They were the couple that everyone thought would get married and have kids together. So when they broke up both Asher and Phoebe were inconsolable.
But then Riley walked into Phoebe's life, banda...
Song is "Gorgeous (Upstate Sessions)" by X Ambassadors
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
❛Your love seems to cut me the deep, the sharpest You'll always have a part of me A part of me Losing you has always been the hardest I wish it were the old days (Oh I wish it were the old days).❜ - 8TEEN, Khalid
Ten
"Pardon?"
"I came here to get over you," he repeated, the words echoing in her ears. Here he was, standing in the rain and she didn't know what to say. How would one even respond to that? The feel of his words pressed down on her heart and wouldn't let themselves be relieved.
She didn't even have time to reply before Asher continued, thankfully, because
she wouldn't have even known where to start. "And I know that's probably a shitty thing to hear, but it's true. I thought I could just watch you get married and then move on with this God-forsaken shitty life I'm living without you. But I could barely make it through, in fact, I didn't. I thought I could, I really did. It has been three years."
Phoebe couldn't tell if it was rain that dripped down his cheek or something else entirely, and that fact alone almost broke her into pieces.
"Do you know how much it hurt to get the invitation? I don't think you understand the gut-wrenching agony. But despite all that, I came. I came here, for you. And I guess for myself too. But now that I'm back I can't leave. I want you, Phoebe. Every single day of my lonely life, I will want you."
Phoebe inhaled a sharp breath as the words tumbled from his mouth. The mouth that was poison and the antidote at the same time.
"But at the end of the day, your happiness is enough for me. And if you've found that happiness in Riley then I want you to go for it. I want you to be with him," Asher could feel his voice cracking, just like his heart. Asher knew that in life there were some things that were meant to heal. A broken leg, a sprained wrist, a broken heart. But with the way Phoebe was ingrained in Asher's heart, he knew he didn't want change. He just wanted her.
"But if there is even the tiniest part of you that wants something else, that wants me, I have to know. If it's there and you feel what I feel too, I'm going to fight for it. I will fight for your heart. Because if all I have to do to get the future I've dreamt of for years is chase you, then I won't stop. But just don't leave me in the dark again, I'm begging you."
There was so much tension in the air that she could practically hear it sizzling. Phoebe was conflicted, she felt the passion and sadness in his words and it affected her more than she'd like to admit.
"I love you, I still do. There hasn't been a day that passed without you being on my mind. I see you in even the most simplistic tasks. When I'm making breakfast in the morning I think of the day when we cooked together and you got upset because you got food all over your favourite shirt. And I know it sounds unsympathetic but you looked so adorable. With your hair falling out of its bun and all around your face. You were so beautiful and you didn't even have to try. I see you in everything I do, do you know what it's like for someone to have that kind of effect on you?"
Although Phoebe knew it was a rhetorical question she needed to answer him, she felt the truth in the deepest part of her heart, "You have that sort of an effect on me."
He couldn't move, he was rooted to the ground with her confession. He had since known that there was something there, a spark maybe. But he didn't know she felt this way, he didn't know she still felt the burning chemistry between them.
The tension dissipated and was replaced with a whole new feeling; something new; something they felt four years ago.
Asher allowed his eyes to search her face, he allowed himself to take her in and memorise the changes in her face. His eyes dropped to her lips as he took a step closer to her, she didn't reject the movement. There was an innocence in the way they moved, in the way they acted around one another. It was as if they were seventeen and in love for the first time.
Asher took a moment to reacquaint himself with her mannerisms and recognise her new ones. He noticed that she had been pulling on the piercing she had in her ear's cartilage. He wondered when she'd gotten that done. He also remembered how she'd play with the ring she always wore on her ring finger when she was upset. The thought that the ring that adorned the finger now was the symbol of her love with someone else made him feel helpless. It made him feel like the villain in a beautiful love story. He'd loved every single habit she'd had, he still did. He loved everything about the woman before him and wasn't ready to give that up.
Phoebe noticed Asher taking another step towards her and she let him. He placed his right hand on her cheek and let his thumb stroke her face. She wasn't sure if this was the right thing to do. She didn't want to hurt anyone. But she knew how right this all felt. She knew she wanted this, she wanted him, but would that mean she was doing the wrong thing by Riley?
Phoebe was a smart girl; she was always amongst the top of her class. She was book smart; she always knew the correct answer. But for once in her life, she had to stop using her head and let her heart rule. So she leant into his touch, and she inched closer to Asher, to the man of her dreams.
"I didn't really like the movie, it was a little slow and didn't make much sense," Phoebe wanted to curse at her sister for ruining such a beautiful moment with her untimely arrival.
"I'm not saying it was amazing but it was tolerable at least. Like that scene when – Ohhh shit."
The pair continued to walk slowly towards the front door where Asher and Phoebe stood. They approached them with a look of regret on their faces. They clearly felt terrible for breaking up what appeared to be a pivotal moment in their relationship.
Asher, however, acted as though the moment never happened, he retracted his hand from her face as though her skin was burning him.
Phoebe wanted to scream, she wanted to pull him closer and push him away at the same time. She was deeply, madly, desperately in love with him and she had no control over it.
"Ummm, we're so sorry," Aurora comments and Phoebe looks at her and Caden. Caden with his arm slung casually over Aurora's shoulders and Aurora playing with his hand which is dangled down by her side. Phoebe wished she could have a relationship like that, but it'd take work. Love took work.
By the time Phoebe could turn back to Asher he had disappeared. She wondered how someone could leave without being noticed when they were standing so close just moments before.
She felt her heart break once more at the thought of having to decide. She didn't want to break anyone's heart but she didn't want to sacrifice her own for a love she couldn't return, she just had to figure out who her heart belonged to first.
