Lost Stars | Chaelisa

Chapter 19

I woke up and checked my phone. Still zero replies from Chaeng. I went to the bathroom and washed my face. What a piece of shit, I thought as I looked in the mirror.

A great way to start my day.

I heard a knock on the door. God, I hope it's her. "Coming!"

I opened the door. "Hey there, Lisa."

"Oh hi, Mrs. Choi."

"I brought you some pie. I just baked them this morning. Here, take this," she said as she hands me a plate.

"Smells great. Thanks, Mrs. Choi."

I went to the kitchen and took a tiny bite. Ugh. Still tastes like ass.

I was about to dump the whole thing into the trash when I remembered that Chaeng actually likes this. I went to her room and knocked on her door.

She opened the door.

"Hey, Rosie. Can I come in?"

"Yeah, sure. Come in."

I stepped inside and shut the door behind us. "Here, I got you some pie."

"Thanks." She took the pie and put it on her table.

"Rosie, I wanna say sorry about last night. I got defensive. I shouldn't have said those things."

"But there's truth to what you said. That's really how you felt, right?"

"Can we sit down?"

"Okay."

We sat on her couch. "I'm sorry that I said those things. Maybe I'm sabotaging everything because for the first time in a long time, I actually have something good in my life and I just couldn't wrap my head around it. My brain is wired to think that when something good happens, then it's not real. I was wrong, Rosie. What we have is real."

"Of course, it's real. You idiot."

"Come here, baby," I said as I wrapped her in an embrace. I kissed her temple. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

Everything just feels right. If I could freeze that moment, I would.

"Lisa, there's something I wanted to tell you."

"What is it?"

"A couple of weeks ago, my mom called to tell me that I got accepted to my dream school with a full scholarship."

"So... does this mean you're going back to Australia?"

"I don't know, Lisa... I don't want to leave you."

I was lost for words.

"Will you come with me to Australia?" she asked.

"I wish it was that easy. I would if I could, but there's a lot of unfinished business here."

"I don't know what to do, Lisa."

A part of me selfishly wished she would stay, but a part of me also knows she deserves better.

"Rosie, this is your choice. Not mine. Do what your heart says."