"Hi", Rose nervously said, as she stopped in front of her.
The crisp wind was blowing into Rose's long straight hair, as it flew in her face. She hadn't been this close to Jade since prom and she was mesmerized. How was this really happening? Jade then let out a small;
"Hi."
As Jade looked into Rose's eyes, she felt herself back inside that high school bathroom. And suddenly, she found herself back in a trance. And so she slowly walked closer to her, not knowing if Rose was feeling what she was feeling too.
But she hesitantly walked closer towards her, until their lips got closer
and closer
to each other.
But before they could touch,
Rose whispered;
"I can't."
Jade then felt herself leave the trance
and pull away, just enough for their eyes to meet again.
Jade then whispered back;
"Why not?"
Rose then stared into Jade's sad eyes and answered;
"Because I'm leaving town-
and I'm not ever coming back."
Nearly an hour had gone by and the girls then found themselves walking around the football field, as Rose explained herself some more- just like they've been doing for a while now. She explained to her how she had been in and out of the foster care system until last summer, when she moved into a stable home- the one she was still staying in. She'd always been forced to change schools because of her unstable past, but for her senior year, she finally didn't have to transfer all school year and that meant a lot to her- to have something consistent in her life. Her whole life had been unpredictable and so she really didn't want to mess up what she had with the current family she was staying with. They were also really rich and so even if Rose had to leave the foster system at 18, which she was turning that summer, they still wanted to pay for her to go to college abroad and give her a chance at becoming something bigger than what the foster system made her feel like.
The only problem was that they were very strict and very religious and if she did bad in school or if she broke the rules, which included dating a girl, they wouldn't want to support her financially anymore- leaving her with nothing. Especially since the foster care system wouldn't be able to help her at that point either. Even sneaking out that late to go and see Jade was risky enough.
Jade then asked;
"But they can't see what you're doing abroad. You could have a ton of girl's over and they would never find out.", Jade replied.
"Yeah but a relationship would distract me and they're expecting me to do great in school. If they think I'm messing around, they could take everything away from me.", Rose replied, getting nervous at the thought of that happening.
"So you're saying your boyfriend won't distract you but a girl would?", Jade replied, feeling confused and rejected.
"He already knows I'm moving away and we already agreed to try long distance. And long distance wouldn't distract me or take up a lot of my time, so it just works.", Rose explained.
"So you're going to do long distance with the same guy that cheated on you at prom and made you cry? You really think he's not going to cheat on you again?", Jade snapped.
"Look. I didn't come here for this. I came because that night left you feeling confused and I wanted to give you the answers you wanted. But what we had was a one night thing and it's better off staying that way.", Rose said, trying to defend herself.
"Come on, don't act like you weren't confused after either. Cause if you didn't feel anything for me, you wouldn't be here right now. And sure, relationships are distracting but distracting you from what? Living your life on a leash to people who only care about you with conditions? Why not let someone care about you no matter what?", Jade asked, making Rose pause for a few seconds.
"Well.. who says my boyfriend doesn't?", Rose replied, not knowing what else to say.
"I'm just saying.. he wouldn't have cheated on you if he cared about your feelings.", Jade said, while raising an eyebrow.
Rose then paused and didn't say anything for a few moments, so Jade continued;
"Just admit it- you're settling. And you're scared to get attached to someone who actually cares about you because you're just used to being loved half way!"
Rose then stared blankly at Jade, as she felt herself get offended.
After a tense pause, Rose replied;
"You don't know me."
Jade then paused for a moment, and answered;
"And you don't know your own worth, so what's worse?"
Rose then looked into Jade's eyes for a few seconds, not knowing how to reply to her.
So she just shook her head in disappointment and started to walk away.
"Wait.", Jade said while grabbing her arm gently.
Rose then turned around in shock and looked down at Jade's hand, that was still on her arm.
Both of the girls then made eye contact again.
That was the first time they had touched since prom, but the sparks were still there- and just as strong. There was just no denying that they had a connection.
Without breaking eye contact, Rose whispered;
"It's getting late.."
Jade then glanced over to her lips and whispered back;
"Or are you just scared?"
Rose then took a shaky deep breath, and finally said;
"Enjoy your summer, Jade. You deserve it."
And she turned around to walked away, and didn't look back.
Jade then stood there, watching her leave, hoping she would turn around just once.
But when she finally left her sight, Jade noticed her eyes were filled up with tears, because her heart
had officially
broke.
