Don't Leave Me

Chapter 2-Broken hearts and new beginnings

I knew he didn't love me, but I adored him.
-Patti Smith, Just Kids

Next morning, I woke up to the smell of cheese and ham muffins. I was in heaven, I thought to myself smiling. I entered the kitchen seeing James very concentrated on cutting the perfect slices of tomatoes. I smiled again, leaning on the door frame just admiring the piece of art in front of me. He was lean and had just enough muscles to make him desired by the whole population of girls and gays from our high school. He was the perfect combination of good looks and brains. And by that, I mean he was a total nerd. But he was hot, so I wasn't complaining.

"Stop staring at me. It is creepy." He looked over at me, smiling a little before he turned around to check on the muffins in the oven. "They'll be done in 10 minutes."

I took a sit on the stool thinking of how the hell I'm going to tell him that I'm leaving. I was lost in thoughts, not hearing a word he just said. He waved his hand in front of my eyes trying to get my attention.

"What's up? You look sad." He knew me too well for me to be able to keep a secret from him.

"Yeah. There's something I need to tell you and I don't really know how." I took a deep breath while he waited patiently. "I'm leaving. My parents are sending me to a boarding school in England."

"What?" He was the sad one now. I let him adjust to the news. He was confused and a cute frown was making him look more masculine.

"I think we should break up." I said out of the blue. I cleared my throat trying to control my shaky voice.

His eyes widened hearing my words. "What? Why? I-" He tried to find his words. "No. No way."

"I read the brochure online. I won't even have my phone, James. There's no way we can keep in touch. You should move one. It'll be easy; you're practically a star in the school. You'll find a new girlfriend in no time." I tried to make him smile but he clearly didn't appreciate it.

"I don't want someone else. If you want to date other guys, that's fine-"

"No! That's not it!" I disagreed.

"Then what?" He sighed.

"I want you to be happy, live your life, and date cute girls..."

He approached me, lifting my head up so I was looking directly into his eyes. He leaned down slowly and kissed me softly. When we finally parted, we were both out of breath and I was trying to control the grin that was threatening to appear on my lips. He was the best kisser and it always made me feel butterflies in my stomach.

"We are not breaking up. But you have my full consent to do whatever and whoever you want. What happens in England stays in England." He winked, emphasizing his British accent.

He moved here from England at a very young age so his accent wasn't as prominent as his mom's or his brother's.

I rolled my eyes at his comment. He kept looking at me the whole time we were eating, like I was going to disappear any moment. I took long breaths trying not to think about the fact that I won't be able to see him until the winter break. I tried to memorize every detail about him, to keep him in my mind forever, to never let go.

"When are you leaving?"

"Two days..." I groaned.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair, obviously taken aback by the short amount of time we had left to spend together.

✧

I

sat down at the table in front of them. We had a lot to talk about but it looked like none of us wanted to begin. I would have liked to ignore everything and pretend nothing happened. But I couldn't.