Paintings Of Him

Chapter 20 - Completeness

"Are you sure you've got everything?" Corbin asked, looking over all of the packed bags before shutting the trunk of the car. 

I smiled at him. "Yeah."

"Are you sure you didn't forget something? Like uh- a toothbrush? I always forget my toothbrush! Or maybe you forgot your phone charger, that would be the worst because then you wouldn't be able to use your phone..maybe we should double check again-"

I stepped closer to him with a soft look in my eyes. "You need to let me go, eventually."

Corbin looked down and his feet, shuffling on the grass awkwardly. His eyes grew sad like the day I told him, always trying to keep the smile on his face. It was always forced and deep down I knew that he was going to miss me as much as I was going to miss him. He had struggled to let go of me all week, metaphorically and physically, constantly wrapping me up in his arms as if I was going to disappear into thin air. 

"I'm sorry" he mumbled, "I-I'm just going to miss you."

I cupped his cheeks, stroking my thumb over his cheekbone. "I'm not leaving you, remember? You're visiting next month, it isn't that long. We have done it before, right?"

His eyes sparkled. "I'm so proud of you."

I looked down with a beaming smile, my cheeks hurting from smiling so much as a redness coated my skin. When I had told Corbin, he was so proud of me and excited until he found out where it was, and how far away I would  be. Not as far away as before, but far enough for him to only visit every couple of weeks. Over the past year, he had always encouraged me to keep painting and the more time that we spent together, the more I wanted to paint or draw him, to capture all of the precious moments in my head forever. It was only during the application period when I got a strange email from one of the top Art Institutions in USA, that Jordan admitted that he had secretly sent them some of my work. I was angry for a while and embarrassed, but after accepting their full scholarship, I had never been happier and felt as if I had made the best decision of my life. 

My parents were content with me going, preferring to tell their prestige friends that I was going to a top school instead of dropping out of college completely. They would never fully understand me, but day by day it bothered me less, knowing that I had the best support system that I could ask for without them. 

"I'm nervous" I admitted breathlessly. 

He smiled, tucking a curl behind my ear before leaning in and pecking me on the lips. "You'll be perfect, you always are." 

My eyes softened further and he reached down, pulling me into another intoxicating kiss. Our lips touched and it felt like everything else faded away to nothing, his arms wrapping around my waist. I would never get over this feeling, the feeling that reassured me that whatever went wrong, I would always have someone there to pick me back up. It didn't matter that life would never be perfect, because he made everything better. 

"You two are adorable" a cheeky sigh came from behind us, "but Corbin, I come first and that is the way that it will always be. She still loves me more."

"Lo..." I warned, pulling away to glare at her playfully. 

Lois stood on the other side of the car, rolling her eyes teasingly as I grinned at her. She was finishing off college and her school was only a short drive away from mine, reassuring me further that I would never truly be alone. Whenever I was low, she would always pick me up with stupid gossip or just by pulling me into a comforting hug. When I told her about Corbin's feelings, she screamed over the phone, unable to form a sentence for minutes, claiming that she won a bet with her college friends. 

"But you do love me more, right?" she raised an eyebrow. 

I squeezed her into a tight hug, whispering into her golden hair. "Of course, just don't tell Corbin that, okay?"

"Weirdo" she winked. 

"Freak" I ruffled her blonde hair.

We spent the afternoon driving to the school together, with Jordan meeting us there to help me unpack. Corbin was working all over town, still trying to figure out what he wanted to do with his life, but he always reminded me that he had all that he could wish for. The sunlight beat down on my face as we drove there, my grin beaming as I looked back at my painting supplies in the back seat next to Lois. I smiled softly, remembering how I got here with Corbin and all of my family, everything put together by a couple of paintings of him. That was always part of the reason why I never stopped painting, because it reminded me of how everything changed. 

After saying a tearful goodbye to them all, as I watched them all wave from the car, one person shouted one sentence, a sentence that he had never uttered before. 

"I love you" Corbin laughed, winking as the car sped away. 

My heart practically stopped, and my eyes widened as he yelled the words carelessly. He had always told me that he wanted to tell me when he was absolutely sure, and although it always hurt that it took him months to tell me, deep down part of me knew how he felt regardless. I shook my head, scoffing playfully as my phone buzzed with a text message. 

Don't kill me, I promised myself I wouldn't say it before you left but I couldn't help myself. I really do love you, Clara.

I shook my head and laughed as I texted him in return. 

You are so dead. But I love you too, idiot. I'm really going to miss you.

His reply made my heart warm, a buzzing feeling of happiness like no other filling up my heart like sunshine. 

This isn't the end, beautiful. It's only just getting started. 

~THE END~

xxx

I have loved writing this book, please leave a comment about why you liked it and what you liked about the last chapter! I just wanted to round everything off so you can see where each character is heading, and how all ends happy as per usual (I don't always do sad endings, okay?)

But as much as I am going to miss this story, I do have a new one out called CRUSHED HOPES and if you liked this, you will love that!! <3

Love you all endlessly

~Jodie