Photograph- Demi Lovato

5

Demi

It's been two days. Yet, I still stand here staring at this worn out photograph of the two of us. I should be throwing it away along with every memory I have of him. I should be moving to another apartment or buying a new car. I should be dying my hair, to become a new person. But I've done non of that. I want to be the same person. I want to be how he remembers me, if I ever have the gift of looking him in the eyes again.

~*~

I've found myself in the little café again. It hurt, seeing him again, but I embraced the pain. He was my attacker and my healer. A little bell dining as the door opened caught my attention and I held my breath as Wilmer walked in. He didn't notice me at first, but walked up to the counter and ordered his drink I gripped my cup tightly as the barista laughed at something he said. Finally, he turned around and froze, his eyes going wide. I gave him a small smile and he walked over, slowly sitting down across from me.

"I didn't think I'd see you here again."

I sighed, "Neither did I, but I wanted to see you again."

Wilmer's brow furrowed, "Are you okay? Are you in trouble?"

I shrugged, "Those are two different questions."

His eyes softened, "Are you okay?"

I let out a small laugh and wiped a tear from my eye, "Not really."

Wilmer looked down at his hands, "Have you done anything?"

Knowing he was talking about my recovery, I shook my head, "No, but I've wanted to."

He sighed, "What triggered you?"

I shrugged, "Gossip sites usually."

Wilmer made a noise of disgust in the back of his throat, "Demi what they say about you isn't tru-"

I shook my head, "It's not the ones about me. It's the ones about you."

He blinked, "Me?"

I nodded, "They all compare me to your girlfriend. They say she's skinnier and prettier and that you're better off with someone who's not a bipolar crazy ass bitch who can't even think straight. They applaud you, by the way, for having the balls to leave me." I sat back and tried to wipe the tears that were now falling fast down my cheeks.

Wilmer rubbed his face and sighed, "Demi you know none of that is true. Any of it."

I shrugged it, "I don't know, you seemed to be pretty into her, always kissing on her neck with your hand around her waist. Flaunting her perfect body." I spat the words out like they were poison in my mouth.

Wilmer looked around, "Do you wanna go somewhere?"

I arched an eyebrow, "We are somewhere."

He shook his head, "I mean somewhere private. If you're gonna badmouth my ex-girlfriend you might want to do it where there isn't prying ears."

I scowled at him, "I'm not bad-mouthing her, and I didn't know that she's you're ex. I'm just frustrated."

Wilmer smiled and I had to slow my heart rate down, "I know Demi but I'd like to talk to you about things."

I lowered my gaze, "I don't think that's a good idea."

He cocked his head, "Why's that?"

I shrugged, "Because I can't even think of you without crying so I don't know how well I'll do alone with you."

Wilmer's gaze softened, "I promise I'll try to not upset you."

Knowing he wasn't going to let it go, I nodded and followed him out of the coffee shop. We walked in silence until we got to the beach. It was later in the day, so we were practically alone. Just a few dark figures in the distance were our company.

"So what did you want to talk about?" I questioned, as the period of silence grew.

Wilmer sighed and sat on the ground, rolling a rock between his fingers, "You know I never meant to hurt you, right?"

I inahled sharply and sat beside him, trying to ignore the electricity that buzzed through me as our arms brushed against each other's. "I do know that, and Im not angry at you or mad. It was my fault anyway. We both had a lot on our plates and couldn't handle a relationship. I should've made more time, because you quit projects to make us work but I couldn't give anything up. You should be the one that is mad at me."

Wilmer shook his head, "No it's not your fault, and I could never be mad at you. I'm the one who left. I'm the one who walked out." I looked down and bit my lip, "You know, I re-live that night every day."

I looked looked back up at him, "What?"

He nodded, "At night, most of the time, I'll lay in bed and think about what I could've said or done differently. I just left, and never came back."

I nodded and took a shaky break, "I don't think we were honestly ready."

Wilmer sighed, "No, we weren't. We just had to see that instead of fighting all the time. I think we could've waited it out Dems, I think we could've made it.

I sighed, "I just wish I could actually get over you. But then sometimes I don't want that. I'm constantly thinking of you. If you're okay, or if you're sick or stressed. You're always going to be on my mind."

Wilmer half-smiled, "Believe me I felt the same way. I knew you weren't doing good and half the time I was too scared to go online in fear of there being headlines of you in rehab again. I'd hate myself if you were somehow slandered by something I could've controlled. I never meant to hurt you. I didn't have bad intentions. I just wanted to keep us from more heartbreak."

I smiled wryly, "Well you certainly managed to save yourself."

Wilmer shook his head, "Demi don't think for a second that the breakup didn't have an effect on me. I was a miserable wreck for weeks. I didn't do any work just sat on my ass and drank. Ask Ronny."

I closed my eyes and shook my head, "I don't want to hear about you in pain, I believe you. I wasn't saying you weren't hurting. I meant that us breaking up did more harm than good."

He sighed and leaned back on his hands, "So I guess that's the question of the hour, where do we go from here?"

I could feel my heart beating faster but kept my expression neutral, "I don't really know."

He sighed and looked out at the ocean, "Well what do you want?"

I smiled, "I want what I've always wanted, you."

I barely had time to blink before his lips were on mine, and everything was good again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey guys! So this is the last chapter of Photograph!

This was always meant to be a short story, and I'm kind of testing the waters with short stories and one-shots. I've posted a couple one-shots and it would be amazing if you showed them some love and checked them out!

I appreciate all of you, every single read, comment and vote means so much to me so thank you.

Comment and Vote!

Twitter: @Lovatic_Chica

Stay Strong,

-Rachel