To see that smile one more time

Chapter 1

"Welcome to Paris! The time is now 3:12 and the weather outside is very cool. Please stay seated for the time being and enjoy your stay," announced the overly enthusiastic (adjective phrase) flight attendant speaking into the small microphone connected to the wall. Cramped in my seat, I remained sitting adding to the 11 hours I had been trapped on this plane. In a few minutes we would all be off this plane and go our separate ways, it was strange to think about but a person who had just sat next to you for many hours would soon disappear. I was in a hurry to arrive at the hotel minutes away from The Louvre and drop off my luggage to surprise him. I slept for most of the car ride to the hotel, Charles de Gaulle Airport was not as far from Hôtel des Marronniers as I thought it would be. "Merci beaucoup," I said, with a dreadful accent, shutting the door of the taxi. I quickly checked in and made my way towards the stairs. The architecture was absolutely magnificent and the view from where I was staying looked out to other beautiful sights in Paris. It was around 5:30 and I had never been more anxious in my life. I'm not really sure why I was nervous and maybe I was only overreacting but the butterflies in my stomach had turned to bees and my stomach ached in pain. Sure I hadn't seen Adrien since he moved to Paris for college (dependent clause) and I stayed behind in California, but it had only been less than a year and I had finally planned out this surprise visit with the help from his mom. I walked into the ornate bathroom and looked at myself one last time in the mirror before I stepped out to catch a cab. Before I could brush out my long brown hair my hazel eyes motioned towards my phone buzzing on the crimson red sink.

"Violet how was your flight?," was the first thing Mrs.Moreau had asked me.

"It was long and tiring but I'm excited to see Adrien," I replied.

"He's going to be shocked when he sees you. I never understood why you both broke up if you care so much about each other," she questioned.

"Long distant relationships never really work out. Even if we do have feelings for each other it wasn't going to last forever," I responded.

"He still has feelings for you and I would know cause I'm his mother," she said.

"Alright, I better get going. I'll let you know how it goes after I see him. Thank you for calling."

I waited outside in the freezing cold weather. I took my phone out of my large wool coat waiting for the cab to pull up. The time read 6:10 and as I looked up from the bright screen the cab had magically appeared. I walked into the car and closed the door and buckled up my seatbelt, the distinct smell of cigarettes from earlier passengers wafted up my nose. I was not a fan of the smell of cigarettes but surely France was. "Bonjour, quelle est la direction de votre destination?," the middle-aged man asked. "Rue Muller. Près de la basilique Sacre Coeur," I responded embarrassed. "Should've tried harder in French class back in High School," I whispered under my breath. I looked out the window as the car drove out of the driveway and onto the road. The rest of the ride was spent in silence due to the language barrier. Twenty minutes had passed by and I had finally made it. "Bon nuit!," I shouted running out the cab and into the apartment building. I went up to the concierge and told him I was visiting Adrien Moreau. With the little English he spoke he told me to take the elevator to the third floor and that the apartment number was 11. The elevator door shut behind me and I walked towards the apartment door. Thoughts flooded my head about how he was going to react. The number 11 was in sight and all I needed to do was knock on the old wooden door. I knocked twice and the door opened half way. "Oui?," a blonde girl, a little taller than me and certainly my age greeted me. My heart sank to the ground. Maybe the concierge gave me the wrong room. Maybe he understood incorrectly and got the name mixed up. Or maybe this was a horrible idea and I was stupid for thinking that this would turn out the way I wanted it to. "Est quelqu'un à la porte?," a voice in the background called out to the girl standing in front of me. Before she could reply I quickly said, "Je suis désolé Je pense que J'ai le mauvais apartment," and walked away. It had gotten colder and the sky had gotten dark. After standing alone reminiscing what had just occurred a pair walked out of the building. Adrien. Adrien and that girl. And for the first time in so long a smile appeared on his face. A smile that I had missed so much and a smile I would soon never see again. In a matter of seconds he had confirmed my biggest fear. He kissed her. Before I could walk away Adrien slightly opened his eyes. He stared in my direction but by the time his eyes opened again, I had still not recovered from his intense stare. His stare communicated his former love for me, and his wish for me to let go and to move on. But I could not move on, just as I could not forget those striking eyes that once meant so much. I turned around and ran never looking back until I made it to the top of some stairs. Skinny trees stripped from their leaves surrounded the stairs. Sturdy metal poles were centered in between every railing. The post lights were old and had probably been there for years now. Some were on and some were completely off. It was quiet and no one was around. I started to walk down the stairs. I grabbed onto the freezing railing and every step I took brought back memories. I began to cry the tears leaving frozen track marks on my face. I couldn't continue to walk anymore and I was never going to make it down to the bottom. The biting cold chilled my fingers into numbness, cold seeped into my toes and spread painfully throughout my feet. My lips had turned a more blueish color. I began to lose my sense of time, had I been out here lying on the steps for minutes or hours? Emotional pain flowed out me. So many tears burst forth, spilling down my face. I breathed heavier than I ever had before. I was gasping for air that simply wasn't there. My throat burned forming a silent scream. A part of me was dying inside. Before I knew it I laid in the middle of the steps being cradled by the wind falling asleep in the city of love but now it has become her city of heartbreak.