How I Missed You.

Isabella

Two hours earlier

“Mum, where are we going?” I asked from the backseat of the car. We had been driving for over an hour and so far mum had refused to tell me a single thing about where we were going. I hated not knowing things and I hated surprises and mum kept calling it.

She shook her head from the seat.

“Can’t you at least give me a clue?” I begged.

“You will find out where were going when we get there,” my mother scolded me for asking too many questions.

“And how about why we’re going there? When am I going to find that out?”

I could see my mothers cheeks pull up and knew she was smiling. I rolled my eyes. Before this car ride my day had be great. Mum had pulled me out of school early for this so I missed out on Math’s. But now I’m thinking I’d rather be in Math’s.

~~~~~

I yawned as I unbuckled my seatbelt and stepped out of the car. Two and a half hours of driving really took a lot out of me. I just wanted to go back home and sleep, but I knew that would involve another hour and a half in the car, possible with busier roads.

I stifled another yawn as I looked up to see where we were and possible shed some light on the current situation. Unfortunately, no light was shed. I had never heard of the place before, I couldn’t even pronounce the name of it.

“Mum?” I asked.

All knowingly she said, “You always wanted to eat at a fancy restaurant.”

“Really?” I smiled, “no way. Mitchie is going to be so jealous.” I took out my phone to text her.

“Ah, no,” mum grabbed the phone before I could even slide it open, “no phone tonight thank you.”

“But,” I complained.

“No buts, you’ll get it back later.”

I rolled my eyes and sighed, “Fine. So what’s with the fancy restaurant?”

“Just wait a few more minutes will you? I don’t know how I put up with you all these years.”

I sighed and followed my mother into the restaurant. “Hello,” my mother smiled.

“Hi, how may I help you?” A young man asked us.

“Um yes. We have reservations,” my mother leaned forward and whispered something in the boy’s ear.

“Oh, right this way ma’am,” he winked at her.

“Mum?” I began to say, but she cut me off.

“Shhhh, Isa, they’ll be hear soon.”

“Who will be?” But she wouldn’t answer. For almost five minutes I attempted to get the truth out of my stubborn mother, but budge she would not.

I started twiddling my thumbs when all of a sudden my mother gasped, “what?” I looked up.

“Sharon,” my mother beamed. Sharon? That can’t be.

I looked up, “Julie,” Sharon took her hand.

It was, but it couldn’t be. But it was. “James?” I gasped like all the air had been sucked out of me.

“Holy mother of...”

“James! Don’t swear!” Sharon snapped.

“Isabella,” he said.

“No.”

“Way.”

“Aah!” I squealed and leaped up to hug him. It was, but it couldn’t be, but it was. My bestest friend in the whole entire world. “I never thought I’d see you again.”

He was just as shocked as I was maybe in more so at my behaviour but he smiled just the same. “Neither did I.”

I looked around and saw our mothers smiling at us; they both had tears in their eyes at our reunion. “You did this?!” I accused, half angry that my mother hadn’t told me, half over the moon with joy that I was seeing James again.

“Oh sit down everyone, we have so much to catch up on,” my mother said pulling Sharon down next to her.

Both slightly flustered James and I took our seats opposite them.

“I suppose you’re wondering,” my mother started, “why we decided to this?

“Well duh!” We both cried at the same time, and then laughed at remembering how we use to speak in unison back when we were little.

I looked at James, he hadn’t changed, he looked more grown up of course, his face was harder somehow and his skin darker. I saw him looking at me in the same way and blushed before looking down at the table.

“We knew you hadn’t forgotten each other, that you were still the best of friends,” Sharon continued, “and when you moved away I could see how heartbroken James was and Julie the same in you Bella. You were never the same after that, making friends was hard. You only ever had each other. But then you both started to grow up and we knew it was time. The past is in the past and there’s nothing we can do to change that, but you both know as well as we do that you need each other. We’re so sorry for splitting you up.” By now Sharon was in tears and my eyes were beginning to water. I saw my mother hold a hanky up to her face and James was looking down at the table, expressionless.

“If you knew, why did you split us up?” I asked, the tears beginning to fall.

My mother sniffed, “we had no choice.” Then she got up and left the table in the direction of where I assumed the bathrooms to be. Not long after Sharon followed her.

I quickly dried my eyes with the edge of my sleeve and looked over to James. His head was still down and he appeared to be in thought.

“James?”

“I never forgot you,” he said suddenly, “I never stopped missing you. Even after I got new friends and started acting normal I still hurt on the inside. I haven’t cried once since the day you left.”

This put me off guard, “I missed you to. Oh how I missed you, I’ll never know myself. But all these years I’ve been holding it in. Pretending I never knew you just so I didn’t have to hurt.”

Once it started it didn’t stop for several minutes. I started sobbing uncontrollably and James pulled my head onto his chest and allowed me to stain his shirt with tears. After a while I heard him start sniffing and a tear drop landed on my cheek. I looked up.

“Sorry,” he said wiping away the tears, “I don’t know what came over me, I just-”

I stopped him before he could finish, holding my finger up to his lips. “James,” I said, “what would I do without you?” Then I touched my lips to his in one quick, fluid motion before sitting up.