Caresses (Jasper Hale love story)

When You Love Someone

Cheering, smiling faces, square shaped hats flying into the air. It was supposed to be a passing of time. To show that I am of age, an adult.

That is the thing about time. It is measured by events. My 1st birthday was a celebration to show I have been alive for a year. My 10th birthday is to show I am now on the cusp of teenage hood. My 16th was celebrated as I am one step closer to adulthood with a driver's license in my wallet.

And 18, the birthday that declares you are an adult to the world. The age that I expected infamous information to be obtainable and will finally help me navigate the world.

Instead, all I received was my first kiss, first love, and first heartbreak. Along with finding out that the magical power that I am filled with can not only heal others, but heal the land I will be forced to preside in after my mother leaves the world. That time, that moment, will forever be remembered as a 'colorful' experience.

Time is funny in the sense that it goes by quicker than you would like, but also teaches you to savor those important moments. To enjoy the sugary sweet taste of them until all that's left is a memory of it with hazy faces and names long lost.

Standing in the crowd with her class, everyone is celebrating enthusiastically. Screams and happy sounds fly high in the air around me, and yet I stare ahead blankly. Thinking of that someone who should be here with me. Cold fingers wrapped around my own. Breath that smells like tea and honey moving the hair by my ear as gentle words were whispered softly, soaked by that subtle accent as each word passes his pale pink lips...

"El!" A voice sings as his arms wrap around me and I am quick to snap back into the present.

"Connor!" I yelp out as I steady myself when he finally sets me down. I can't help but allow a grin to grace my lips at his bright expression.

"Ready for this most epic road trip?" He grins widely as he waves to his car. We've planned this road trip since we entered high school as freshman. This was a roadtrip I've looked forward to, but now, it was a reminder that I only had so much time to enjoy the world I lived in. Before I would become locked in the gilded cage.

Smiling faintly, I hold closely the journal I've taken to writing in to my chest. The leather edges lightly scraping my skin as I take slow steps to the open passenger door of Connor's  dark blue Subaru Outback.

The cool metal of the seatbelt. The click of the car door closing. The sound of the ignition turning over as a/c begins to blow through the air vents. Looking out the window, I allow my eyes to trace the final figure of the house I've grown up in. The house where I learned so much from, lost so much from, and gained so much in return.

Breathing deeply through my nose, I allow a smile to grace my lips as we finally begin to move. Looking over at my best friend, I sing along with him to the words of our favorite song. Our roadtrip that was just beginning.

...

Dear Jasper,

We just drove through the border between Washington and Idaho. Never thought the state I called home was more than just trees and rain. I saw a desert, and far too many plots of farmland that I grew tired of trying to get them to moo back. I'm seeing so many things I always wished to see. Yet, there is something missing. A space I never knew was unoccupied until you left. Now it's there, like a shadow. Or would it better to describe it as more of a gouge left behind? What I'm trying to say is.
I miss you.