Invisible String.

Part III

She was angry at first. She wanted to yell at him and show him how much he had hurt her. But she knew it didn't matter. She knew he had to leave but it broke her heart none the less.

Slowly she moved forward, she graduated second in her class, she moved to the city. She even landed her dream job as a photographer for National Geographic. Rey finally got to see the places she had thought Ben would show her. She started to live her life too the fullest.

And she never forgot Ben.

Sometimes she would see his dark raven hair on the train. She'd think about calling out to him but she never did. It wasn't him.

Once she met a stranger whose eyes were so similar to Ben's that she had to do a double take when the man asked her if he could buy her a drink. She almost said no. But it had been years and she didn't want to pine away for a man she knew in her late teens.

This new man wasn't as sweet or intense as Ben. He told jokes and she forced herself to laugh. He bought her drink after drink and she let him take her home. She almost imagined it was Ben kissing her. But this man was too forceful, he was too rough.

She saw the man a few more times before she finally had enough. He didn't fill the empty void in her heart. If she was honest she didn't know if anyone would.

Rey only had a few lovers. All of them were worse than the last. Liars, cheaters or men who just couldn't commit. She began to think it was her that men didn't want.

Maybe that's why he really left.

Then it happened one day. Someone had seen her photos in Nat Geo and asked her to photograph a new CEO for an article being written. She thought it strange to ask a nature photographer to take a portrait of someone. But the pay was fantastic and she wouldn't have to work as hard. 

This time she thought she saw his jet black hair in the office lobby. In fact she knew it was him by the ears and her mind began racing.

She wanted to run after him but she was whisked away by security to the CEO's office before she could say a word.

The office was cooler than the rest of the building. She shivered slightly as she wandered around looking at the art on the wall. One photo in particular caught her eye. She knew it well, she had taken it.

It was their sanctuary. She had taken it as a part of a piece she did on the dying forests around the city. Her fingers grazed the frame carefully. Whoever this CEO was seemed to like her pictures there were a few on the wall she now noticed. But this one was easily the biggest. It was mounted across from the desk as if they like to look at it all the time.

"I wish I could forget you." She whispered. Her eyes began to tear and she quickly wiped them away, being careful not to smudge her makeup.

"I can't forget you either." Someone whispered behind her and she felt her breathing halt.

She turned slowly, her mind not daring to hope that the familiar voice was his.

But he was there.

His hoodie replaced with an expensive black suit and polished black Oxfords in place of his converse.

"Ben?" She could feel tears coming and she bit her lip in an effort to keep them at bay. "Ben is it really you?"

"Rey...it's me." He stepped forward, his careful guarded eyes watching her, seemingly hoping she would allow him to get closer. "I never should have left." He looked in her eyes as he spoke. She could feel herself drowning in his coffee stained ones, just like she had done so many times.

"You...you just left. You didn't even say goodbye." She felt the tears brim over betraying her in an instant. "You broke my heart Ben."

"Gods, Rey, that's the last thing I wanted." He was standing in front of her now, his hand reaching for her. She wanted to swat him away but her body didn't follow the commands of her head but instead followed the command of her heart. He laced his fingers through hers when she didn't pull away. He pulled her closer and wrapped his arms around her. He was just as she remembered, the perfect missing puzzle piece that was made to be a part of her. He still smelled of vanilla.

"Ben why? Why did you leave?"

"I was afraid. I blamed myself, I thought I killed my father. For years I believed he was dead because of me. We were arguing... he wanted me to move to the city with him and help him run his business...I didn't want to, I wanted to stay with you." He spoke so clearly and Rey could almost believe that he meant it. "Rey it was raining, I was so angry, we were shouting and then we took the corner too fast. I thought we would both be ok but the truck was on the edge of the cliff. He made me get out first. I tried but I couldn't pull him out before it tumbled off the cliff. I couldn't save him and I blamed myself. I couldn't come back to you that way, I was afraid I'd hurt you too. I thought if I left you would move on and be ok, but I've never felt so alone." He had pushed her back, his head resting on her chest, his hands on her shoulders. He was shaking and she realized he was crying.

"Ben...I" she didn't know what to say. He must have been miserable for so long and she had spent so much time being mad at him for no reason. "You were never alone! You were my best friend, we told each other everything, I would have never left you! We had plans. We were going to graduate and travel the world. I would have been there for you no matter what."

"Rey, I'm so sorry." He still wouldn't look at her but she could hear the sorrow his voice. "You were the person I thought about while I was away. It was just you. I wanted to write to you but I thought you hated me. I wanted to reach out so many times but didn't know what to say. I even came back to see you when you graduated. I wanted to tell you how happy I was for you. Then I saw you with that guy and I was so hurt for no reason. I was mad at you. But I realized it was my fault, I was the one who left." That surprised her. She hadn't even seen him and she wasn't even sure what guy he meant. She had hugged several of her school mates. But knowing he had come to see her made her heart flutter.

"You saw me graduate? This time she pushed his back. She wanted to see his eyes. He smiled slightly.

"Of course I did, I was so proud of you. I've followed your career since then. I have all your photos from all your articles. I knew I would never deserve you but I was happy for you and I wanted to keep you close, even if it wasn't really you." She watched his eyes lighten, he was watching after her all these years and she never knew.

Before she knew it her lips were crashing into his. She was pulling him to her and drinking him in. He was frozen for only a second before his arms wrapped around her holding her to him like she was a raft in a raging sea.

She didn't stop and he didn't either, not until they were both breathing so hard their hearts raced in unison.

"After all this time?" He asked his eyes brightening, his flushed cheeks smiling wide as he rested his forehead to her.

"Always." Rey answered. "We're meant to be....tied together with an invisible string."