Broken Promises

55 | noah

We check out of the hotel before noon the next morning, as it's time for the four of us to head back home. Blake and I haul our bags down to my Ford, meeting Thorne and Mia in the parking lot.

"You better call more often," Mia chides as she stands before me, hand on her hips. "And text. And visit. And—" Mia stops short to inhale a shaky breath. Then she starts crying.

I watch as Mia breaks down, shaking her head as she does so. Tears streaming down her cheeks, Mia walks up to me with her arms extended, wordlessly asking me to walk into them. I wrap my arms around her, my heart feeling heavy in my chest as she cries into my chest.

"Don't cry." I run a hand over Mia's dark hair. "It's not like this is goodbye. It's just . . . see you later."

Thorne approaches after his and Mia's bags into the back of Mia's car, green eyes going soft at the sight of his girlfriend in tears. Thorne was going to be coming back to Magnolia Heights to pick up his motorcycle, but in an attempt to save time he had a mutual friend of ours, Wells, drive it home instead. Therefore, Mia and Thorne will be heading back to their town, while Blake and I head back to ours.

Thorne rests his hand on the small of Mia's back and runs his palm in circles along her skin, sharing a knowing look with me as he mouths: She just hit her time of the month. Suddenly, Mia's tears make much more sense. I'm not usually the kind of guy girls tend to cry over—at least, I've never been the kind of guy girls cry over when it comes to goodbye.

Still crying, Mia abruptly pulls away from me and walks over to Blake, wrapping her arms around her. Blake hugs her close, assuring Mia she'll see her soon. Blake is soon making Mia laugh, which helps to make her tears subside. Hugging Blake fiercely before turning back to me, Mia smiles and plants a sweet kiss on my cheek.

"I'm going to wait in the car before I start sobbing again," Mia says with a sniffle. "Bye. I love you guys."

Blake and I say our last goodbyes to Mia, and Thorne kisses her forehead before she disappears into her car.

Thorne then turns to me and offers his signature smirk, extending his hand for a shake. He pulls me into a hug afterward and claps my back before pulling away, as calm as ever.

"Don't disappear on us again, man," Thorne chides with a pointed glance. "We're gonna miss you."

"Back at you," I tease with smile. Goodbyes are hard, but it's easier when I realize that the future will bring along more times with the people I love.

Raising his eyebrows as he looks over at Blake, Thorne says, "You better not let this one go, Reed. I'll kick your ass."

Blake laughs, and I'm inclined to agree with Thorne. I'd be an idiot to let Blake get away. Something tells me she's a girl I'd never quite be able to get over.

Thorne wraps an arm around Blake and pulls her into a hug. "If Reed here ever gives you any trouble, just give me a call and I'll set him straight, all right?"

The three of us exchange a few more words of departure before Thorne climbs into Mia's car. Blake and I wave as Thorne and Mia pull out of the hotel parking lot a few moments later, disappearing down the road until they're out of sight.

I turn to face Blake with a smile. "What do you say? Ready to go home?"

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a/n: okay but the new 5SOS album is actually so good