The Love Letter [pencilprize14]

t w o

t w o

            “It wasn’t love at first sight. It took a full five minutes.” –Lucille Ball

            … So this is goodbye, Tyler. Now that I’ve pretty much bared my soul, you can do whatever you wish. Forgive me, forget me, remember me… it’s really all up to you now. The knowledge rests on your shoulders, for I have done my duty and relieved myself of this burden. Thank you. For everything. Although you might not know why I’m doing this, it is for purely selfish reasons, and it was time to own up. You’ll never see me again- at least, not for a good few years. When you’re married with your own children and wife that you love dearly, then shall I return to your life, if not at all…

            Closing up my dorm, and checking multiple times to ensure that I had all my supplies that I would need for the day, I took up my phone and unlocked it, staring at the picture displayed for an unnecessary amount of time. It was a family picture we had taken a few years ago, when we went on one of our rare vacations, to Hawaii no less, all four of us smiling, tan, and looking happy.

            I personally thought that was the best picture of us, and had immediately saved it onto my phone, using it as my lock screen and also my background. I opened up all my social media accounts. For the past couple months, I had not dared to touch the apps, watching them longingly as I wondered what my friends had been doing with their last summer.

            My finger trembled slightly over the lit up screen, where the red button labeled ‘delete account’ was displayed clearly, a flashing warning cutting through the fog in my head. I inhaled deeply, and then let it all out, pressing the screen firmly. The image disappeared, automatically reverting to the homepage, where suggested accounts to follow were listed.

            I dropped my phone.

            I had finally done it. I had cut off all my outer connections to all the people I had previously known, and now I would be able to disappear completely off the charts.

             Leaning back against the wall, I looked over at the sunny skyline of San Diego, my new home. My friends had been exceedingly upset when I told them that I had been accepted to go to UCSD, one of the best colleges in California, and also in the perfect location. I hadn’t confirmed my choice with them, but I had given them a list of colleges that I was accepted in, and I had made sure that they were spread all over the states, some even in other countries.

            This way they couldn’t track me.

            I loved them all to death, but if Tyler told them what my final present to him was, then I would never have the strength nor courage to talk to them, much less see them again.

            Eventually I would have to, especially when it came to winter break, but that was in a few months, and hopefully I would have moved on from Tyler by then. I walked over to a mint green bike that I’d purchased during the summer, and hopped on, smiling as I did so. I had given myself a bit of a makeover, since I figured that this really was my one opportunity to do all the things I never had the chance to. My light blonde hair had been grown out to waist length, with a few brown lowlights weaving through the strands.

            Instead of my customary sneakers, I had traded those in for ankle bracelets and sandals, along with light tank tops and jean shorts. When I first arrived in California, I was astounded by the number of girls running around in crop tops and high-waisted shorts, their tan skin and toned stomachs reflecting the golden sunlight. So I had decided to do the same. Might as well, seeing as I would be here for four years.