One Last Time

Chapter 13 | D-Day

I'm meeting Reed for dinner tonight after he sends the final drafts of his novel to his editor. Today's the deadline for everything so I told Reed he should focus on finishing up his personal work instead of coming to the library. As of now, I have the Salvator Library for myself.

I've been recording all the logs of June and updating July's while waiting for Ronnie. The day after Reed and I's date, Ronnie had to go to New York to organize an extravagant anniversary party. She's finally coming back after two weeks of staying there. I got a call from her not too long ago saying she'll be here in an hour or so. I check the time and see that it's almost two in the afternoon. Wow, I forgot to get lunch.

"Maya, right?"

I jumped in my seat startled, "Jade! Hi, how're you doing?" I stand up then walk around the desk so I can talk to Jade properly. She smiles, "I'm good! I'm staying at Thornridge longer than I expected, so I came here hoping if you'd like to hang out?"

I only had a few things left to do so there's no harm in taking a break for now. I ride with Jade in her BMW M6 Convertible to the park. I glanced at her every once in a while, still in awe of her beauty. It only took ten minutes for us to get there, twenty if I count our stop at Benita's for takeout. I got roasted beef sandwich and coke while Jade has an egg salad sandwich and latte macchiato. We sat at a bench in front of the playground and ate our food. Few bites into our sandwiches Jade struck up a conversation, "Thank you again for keeping me company. I don't know anyone else here except you."

Hm, why does that sound familiar?

"If you don't mind me asking, why are you here in Thornridge?"

She coughed shyly, "Someone special to me is staying here for a while. I heard it from a colleague of mine so I thought we'd be able to bump into each other."

"Let me guess, is it the same person I reminded you of?"

She smiled somberly fiddling with her fingers. By this time, we both finished our food and drinks. "You see, the person I'm looking for is my ex-fiancé. I made a grave mistake during our third-year anniversary. That time, I was financially stressed out and the pressure from work made it worst. I was an emotional mess and felt that everything was going too fast. There wad lot of awful things I said to him like I wasn't ready and broke off our engagement. I wanted to apologize saying I regretted it but haven't seen him since then," Jade said crying. Although we don't know each other well, I gave her a hug so she'd feel better. I grab the extra tissues from our takeout bag and hand it to her. She calms down after ten minutes of crying.

Feeling empathetic towards her, I pursed my lips thinking what to say. I clasp her hand, "Naturally, he's hurt by what happened. But, I think deep down inside he still loves you. Three years is a long time and the fact that he proposed proves how much you mean to him. He's probably taking some time to heal right now. I don't know anything about your relationship, but what I do know is that you're an amazing girl. If you meet again and explain yourself, there's a chance he'll forgive you. Then, you can start over from there!"

"I hope you're right," Jade whispers.

~ • + • ~

After our hangout, Jade dropped me off at The Salvator Library before going back to her hotel. We chatted more about ourselves so we won't be entirely strangers to each other. Apparently, she works in a publishing company at California. Ronnie's cheer interrupts my train of thought as she enters the building.

"A miracle has arrived! You may now feel blessed."

I shook my head at her while she sits beside me on the floor. We're currently amongst the bookshelves of the Romance section in the library. She said, "So Ms. Salvator, how are you and Mr. Alaster? Should I prepare a bodybag?" I chuckled at her statement. Memories of what's been happening between us as a couple these past few weeks rush back fresh in my mind. "We're great, really great. Everything feels so.. alive. Like, I'm breathing for the first time. I don't know why or how, but what I feel for him is different. I haven't felt like this for anyone else, especially with Liam," I replied. Ronnie has the most shocked expression on her face, one I haven't seen before. She scoots closer to me, her voice becoming a whisper as her tone serious.

She visibly gulps and deeply exhales, "You know I'm here for you Maya, no matter what happens. But, you don't have to do this. If you want to tap out, it's okay. You don't have to force yourself and I'm only saying this 'cuz I care!"

I groaned, "But that's exactly it, Ronnie! When will I ever get to feel love again? Am I just gonna live like this forever? You said it yourself, I shouldn't have any regrets. Alright? I'm giving it one more chance. I'll make sure I won't fall in too deep unless I'm positively sure he's right for me. If it's worth it, then it's worth it. If it doesn't work out, then I'm done. I'll just have to deal with what's to come."

Ronnie slumps down in surrender. I lay my head on her shoulder as we sit there in the comfort of our presence. The sound of birds tweeting are audibly heard along with the playful shouting of children chasing an ice cream truck. The sunlight streaming from the window wraps us, shadows of leaves falling flutter before us every few minutes.

"I met someone."

I quickly face Ronnie, mouth dropped for a second before squealing with excitement. I hugged her tightly while jumping in place. "When? Where? How?" I hurriedly asked. Ronnie makes fun of my reaction and pretends it's nothing important. She tucks a strand of her hair behind her hair, "It was during my trip in New York. I caved in after five tries of the guy asking me out. We spent a lot of my time there together. I wanted to keep this from you believing it wouldn't last long. but it feels different this time. He's extremely patient with me and makes genuine efforts to work it out. I think he's a keeper. Obviously I can't hide things from you!"

I stopped her handles from fiddling, seeing a turmoil of emotions in her eyes. "I'm so happy for you. Go for it, Ronnie. I'll support you all the way. You shouldn't hold yourself back from this. You deserve it! Don't worry about me," I said. I stared her down to the point she'd have to just accept it. She groaned but hugged it out. I asked her to tell me more about their escapades, causing a laughing fit between us.