[AustinCarlile] Live Forever

[AustinCarlile] Live Forever [ChapterTwentyTwo]

She smiles up at me, a real smile, genuine, like she’s really happy, I’ve faked smiles enough to know when someone else is doing the same, but whatever I said to her made her happy, and she deserves to be happy, I'm glad that I can do that for her, cause her to smile because she wants to, not because she feels the need to force one upon her lips. “It was really nice meeting you. And don’t forget that I'm here whenever you need me.” I remember what it was like growing up without a father, having Adam to look to for help and advice, my brother was my father figure; I didn’t lose him, not completely, and I couldn’t imagine the pain I would go through if I really had lost him.

At one point, it almost seemed too coincidental to be the truth, that she lost her older brother to a car accident due to a cell phone, that she and her mother were left on their own, that her dad didn’t want to associate himself with her life, all of it, it’s not every day that you meet a person with similar life experiences, not that similar. I don’t know why I told her: maybe because she mentioned how she wanted to commit suicide, maybe because she looked like she needed someone to connect to, maybe because her mother’s face faltered and reminded me of my own mother, maybe because she reminds me of myself when I was in high school – so lost, so depressed, so scared, so alone. I don’t know, but I told her everything in the simplest terms, no details, but she knows.

“Thanks, Devon. It really means a lot.” With that, she walks over to her mom, whispering loudly in excitement, her mom nodding her head as a response, quietly reminding her that I can hear her freaking out, to which the girl’s cheeks turn bright red, and her mother lets out a soft laugh, nodding her head in the direction of one of the stages.

Turning around, running a hand through my hair, surprised that it isn’t either frizzy or gross looking in general, and I come face to face with Austin, whose eyes are wide, like he realized that I didn’t know he was here until now, which I didn’t, I had no idea, I don’t know what he heard and what he didn’t, I don’t know what questions he has running through his head, and I'm not going to say something without him asking me about it first.

Knitting my eyebrows together, so confused, yet somewhat delighted to know that he took the time to find me, to come here and not just wait for me to get back to the bus, it’s sweet. “Hey,” I whisper, only loud enough for him to hear, it’s between the two of us, and I walk over to him, smiling as he timidly wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me into his chest. “How was your day?” I don’t know what Asia told him, what she said to him when I left, and it didn’t occur to me that I left him without saying goodbye, without a real explanation, until now, now that he’s looking at me with his gorgeous brown eyes.

Shrugging his shoulders, he leans down, lowering his head as I tilt my chin upwards, standing on the tips of my toes, pressing my lips against his in an innocent, short kiss. “It’s better now.” Rolling my eyes, I feel a blush wash over my cheeks, my face burning, and I bite down on my lower lip, chewing on it. His father is here, somewhere, probably on his bus, and I feel bad, he should be with his father, not worried about me, I hate it, it’s not fair to him or his father.

“You're extremely cheesy.”

&&.

“That girl you were talking to, she seemed really sweet.” He sounds like he’s holding something back; that something about my conversation with the girl bothers him, and I don’t know what he heard from that conversation, why he would be upset. We didn’t have time to get to know each other, there was no time, between his crazy schedule and my interviews, there was no time in the day to really talk, and that’s what happens in these types of relationships, there’s not a lot of time, but it makes it easier that he’s in the same lifestyle, he knows.