The Way I Loved You.

The Way i Loved You, C17

Chapter 17

Nick stared out from the window into the dark night. The moon was hidden behind the layers of clouds that were slowly growing bigger by every second, anticipating a heavy rain. He stared at the room across his --- the curtains were shut.

He stood up and turned away from it, heading downstairs. Everything that reminded him of Scarlet was painful. Whenever he thought of it, his heart would be filled up with regrets --- he regretted leaving her behind. If only he could turn back. If only he had seen his feelings clearer before everything was too late.

The way it was now.

He drifted past the kitchen and opened the door to the backyard. Closing the door behind him, he sat down on the steps and felt something underneath his bare feet. He bent down to pick it up --- it was a note.

It was neatly folded, with a beautiful cursive writing that said “Dear Nick,” on it. He recognized the writing --- it was Scarlet’s. He quickly unfolded it and caught his breath.

It was a letter. And it said:

“Dear Nick,

Days went by, and you still hadn’t call. At first I hope you’ll show up sometimes, mending the heart you broken like you always do. But you didn’t. Everyday was longer than the day before. Longer, and so much harder.

I missed you so much.

Every time you walk away and look away from me, I felt like my world crashed down right on my heart, breaking it into million of tiny pieces. I thought I’d get used to it, but I didn’t.

I never did.”

He heaved out a sigh of remorse. Long and heavy. Shutting his eyes, he felt something dripping down his face quickly. A single drop of tear dropped from the end of his chin onto the paper like a drop of water into the lake, blurring out the last word slightly.

“But I am tired of waiting on you. I’ve been waiting for such a long time and I wasn’t sure if I can take it anymore. I wanted to stop waiting, but I know a small part of me will always wishing.

Wishing for you to turn back and tell me you made a mistake.

And tell me that you love me.

But wishing is so tiring, Nick. I am exhausted from all the pain, and it needed to be stop.

Goodbye, Nick. But I’ll always remember the days we smile and laugh together, your familiar scent, and how your eyes looked under the stars.

Because that’s the way I loved you.”

Tears came over him for the first time. He felt something inside of him crumbled and a hint of relief washed over him, along with a strong urge.

A strong urge to chase her back. And he knew just what he was going to do.

He was going to prom.

He stood in the room with his jaw dropped, his eyes widened in complete amazement. Silver and glittery fabrics hung down from the ceiling and red carpets covered the floor. The ugly old walls were covered up with tall mirrors, creating an illusion of a much bigger room.

Nothing looked like the smelly old gym he was practicing in yesterday. The bleachers were transformed into the refreshment centre, where they served colorful drinks and fancy food. The basketball nets stick out oddly in the seas of students, with red velvet swirling down their poles.

What amazed him the most, were the people in here. Girls were dressed according to the theme, masquerade in fancy dresses, their faces disguised in just about every type of masks in this world. He felt his heart sinking --- searching for someone here would be harder than he thought.

Reminding himself the purpose of coming to prom, he began weeding through the crowds. He tried to search for the familiar brown hair when the music stopped abruptly. He paused to look around --- everyone seemed to know what was going on. Girls started giggling and whispering while guys started wiping their hands nervously on their tuxes.

What the heck was going on? Nick thought and frowned.

That was when DJ’s voice blared through the speakers above, “Yo peeps, it’s time for the Last Waltz!” He announced loudly and the crowd started to hum in excitement. Last Waltz was a tradition of their school. Basically it was a slow dance, where you dance with the person you love.

In his case, he needed to find the person first.

He looked up and saw Noelle standing few feet away, waving at him hopefully. He pretended to look at somewhere else and turned his back on him, feeling guilty. She hadn’t done anything bad, but he couldn’t lead her on.

The lights went off and dimmed lightings shone on them. Couples began to start moving to the music as Nick looked around franticly, unsure of what to do. He bumped into a couple of people, who groaned in annoyance as he apologized. He felt dizzier and dizzier as people circled around him and bumped into someone else.

“I’m sorry.” He mumbled and reached out to pull the person’s up. But the moment he held those hands, he knew exactly who they belonged to.

Because those were the hands he held so many times that he could have dreamed of its touch in his dream. Before he knew it, he pulled her into his arms and started to move in a rhythmic movement. Dance, that was what it was supposed to be called.

He slipped his hand around her waist and she jerked a little. He smiled when he heard her gasp. She stepped on his feet a few times, but he didn’t mind. She was wearing a red dress that hit mid-thigh, with thin straps and silver details on the hem. The low neckline revealed nearly half of her chest, and her face was hidden behind the gold masks.

A flame ignited inside of him as the hotness crawled up to his chest. He pulled her closer, their chests pressed against each other. He could feel her heart pounding hard like thunder under her chest. Leaning closer, he rested his chin on her neck.

And she didn’t move. She stood still, like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered. Shutting her eyes, she took a deep breath.

He pulled back as she opened her eyes again, this time gazing into his. He stared into them, they weren’t smiling as usual. They were filled with uncertainty and a little bit of… fear. His eyes fell on her red lips, and gave in.

He kissed her hard on the lips. At first it was soft and gentle, but then it grew violent. Every single cell of their bodies was screaming for more, boiling as if someone set them on fire. Their tongues brushing against each other’s and their lips were trembling from intensity. His hands slipped up from her back to her hair that was held up loosely with a clip.

He gave it a slight tug and her hair fell down, hanging loosely on her back. The silver clip dropped soundlessly onto the carpet and crushed by her heels when they stumbled backward.

Scarlet, who had been quiet all these time suddenly started running her fingers through hair in respond, matching the intensity of their kiss. Her breath became heavier and heavier, and soon none of them realized they had stopped dancing at all.

The music stopped. They pulled away from each other and the lights went on again. Nick paused to think about what they had done and breathlessly biting his lips, looking up.

“Scar…” He said, but there was no one standing there.

She was gone.