Page 73 of From Me to You

“Jay, who is your favorite person in the whole wide world?” I asked because I couldn’t help myself.

He laughed. “You.” As I drifted off to the sound of his heartbeat.

I felt the tie that bound our connection, strong and alive, forever as I lay in his arms.

My best friend.

My soulmate.

My heart.

My lover.

My Jay.

PART II

THE ABANDONMENT

- The act of loving someone so much that you abandon them.

CHAPTER 16

And just like that a year of complete, unadulterated bliss passed away in a haze. Life was good—more than good. I didn’t want to jinx it, but I couldn’t help but grin like a fool when I thought about my life with Jay.

My Jay. My beautiful, beautiful boy. I couldn’t believe that he was mine. I couldn’t believe I had him all to myself. Forever. I truly believed that we were meant to fall in love in this lifetime—maybe we even shared our past lives together.

No one in my life knew me like he did. Or I did him. When we were together, it was like the world around us didn’t exist—it was just the two of us, our souls intertwined as one.

I skipped a step excitedly as I walked through the narrow, cobbled streets to the Bellevue bus terminal. It was a pretty small terminal outside of Rose Hill—mostly buses docked from other cities and towns during their route. It was a good thirty-minute walk from our place, but I needed it.

I was going to be picking up Jay from there. Well, the whole band and Katy, who had tagged along with them. The guys and Katy finished their senior year last summer and have been quite busy promoting the band ever since.

They had no plans to go to college—they knew music was their endgame and getting that record deal was all that they dreamed of. They were just on a month-long tour opening up for the‘Crash Riders’ in California that Katy had landed for them, who was now their full-time band manager.

I ran my fingers through the pendant on my necklace, his initial ‘J’ resting on my heart bringing me comfort all the time. It was like a part of him was always with me.

I sighed. It had been a whole month since I had seen him.

One whole month since I had touched him, smelled him, and felt him against my skin. I missed him so much. He called me every chance he got—sometimes we talked for hours, falling asleep to each other.

I dreaded that it was somehow just going to be the beginning. I don’t know where he might end up, but if I ever got into Yale, I would be halfway across the country from him for four whole years.

I knew that long distance wouldn’t change a thing about how we felt for each other, but it was going to be so hard without him. I don’t even remember what life was like before I met him, but now I couldn’t survive a day without him. I barely made it through this month—only the reassurance of hearing his voice on the phone and seeing his face on video calls kept me sane.

Emily and Liana (Katy’s mom) would be bringing their cars in later to pick up the band—it would be a good ten minutes before they arrived. I came early because I couldn’t wait to see his face.

I was pacing the pavement, feeling jittery, when a white tour van with the Indigo Label logo on the side cruised through the terminal.

My heart pounded in anticipation as I dropped my empty iced coffee cup into the nearby trashcan, and almost tripped as I rushed toward the van.

Jay was the first one to get out, and I jumped into his arms. He lifted me in one smooth move, and I buried my face into his neck, hooking my legs behind his back. The smell of clean wood awakened my senses. It felt like I was finally home.

Jay tightened his grip around me and peppered kisses along the side of my face.

“I missed you so much.” My voice cracked. I hardly cried, but being without him was turning me into an emotional mess.

“Sweetheart, I missed you so fucking much,” Jay whispered.