Crash Land.

It had been weeks.

It had been weeks since that night on the hill. Weeks since John and Liliana said their farewells yet they were nowhere near forgotten to each other. Liliana couldn’t keep her thoughts in one place. Her thoughts were at a constant and that constant was John. She tried to put her all into her school and even taking extra shifts at the dinner but nothing helped. She desperately wanted to call or text him but neither were an option. They both agreed to cut their ties. Communication only made things harder and they didn’t want to make it harder on themselves.
John was back in LA. He desperately wanted to go see her. See her smile one last time. Hear her sweet laugh and raspy moan. But he made an agreement and he was trying his best to abide by it. He stood there with a warm beer in hand watching as his friends and band mates sang along to their new album playing around them. John wanted to be happy but he couldn’t. He placed his beer on the table as he ran his fingers through his greasy hair.

“What are you doing here?”

John looked up at Eric in confusion. “Um this is kind of my party,” he said with a laugh. “If you haven’t noticed that’s my band playing,” he said with a chuckle.

“You’re an idiot.”

“Why are you being a dick?”

“You should be with Liliana,” he said and as soon as that name left his lips, he felt a pinch of pain. “Go get her.”

“I can’t we agreed.”

“We agreed?” he asked with a laugh. “Are you an idiot?”

“I like to think that I’m not.”

“I’ve never seen you so happy with someone like the way you’re with her. She handles your mood swings and drunken rants. She calms you down and riles you up at the same time. She’s kind of perfect for you John.”

“I know.”

“Then what exactly is stopping you from making your way to that girl’s apartment and giving her that whole cliché moving ending?”

“The lack of transportation,” he said with a soft chuckle.

Eric let out a laugh before reaching into his pockets and pulling out his car keys. “I know what a shitty driver you are, so you treat Sasha with nothing but respect. She likes to go nice and slow, don’t force her into anything quickly.”

“Thanks man.”

“Bring her home to papi before we leave tomorrow.”

John nodded his head before turning around and leaving. Liliana was sitting at her apartment looking down at the package in her hand. She saw John’s neat handwriting at the top and she couldn’t help but to smile. She pulled out the CD from the packaging and smiled as she looked at the cover.

Black & White.

She opened the thing up as she walked to her speakers placing the circular disk into the player. With a smile she pressed down on the play button. With a sigh she leaned her body into the couch. She closed her eyes hearing his familiar raspy voice. She felt her body tingle as her lips to the familiar song playing.

“Baby don’t stop now,” she said with a soft smirk thinking about the day John played her the song, the day she realized that her feelings towards John were something that should have been stopped a long time ago.

She felt her eyes watering; she hated the feeling of vulnerability. At the sound of her front door opening she whipped away the evidence as she walked to the door. When she pulled the door open, her body tensed up at the sight of the boy behind the door. He was the last thing she expected and ironically enough he was the only thing she wished it was.

“John?”

John placed his hand out and grabbed the girl by her waist and pressed his lips tightly against hers. It didn’t take long before Liliana found the rhythm. When they pulled away breathless, forehead pressed tightly against each other.

“John,” she said with a shake of her head biting down on her lip.

“Before you say anything, hear me out,” he said feeling his body tense up as he took a step back from her intoxicating body. “I love you Liliana,” he said with eyes closed tight afraid to see her reaction. “I’m fucking crazy in love with you. I can’t sleep, eat or even fucking drink without thinking about you. You’re all I think about, your beautiful eyes, your smile, the way you laugh at your own jokes,” he said hearing a slight chuckle leave her eyes. “I can’t just stop this feeling, Liliana. I can’t just pretend like I don’t feel this way. I can’t just forget you. I can’t just leave you, this, behind and pretend like nothing happened. Because something did happen, I fell in love with you.”

“This can’t happen.”

“We can make this work, I know we can.”

“Let’s be real here John, long distance relationships never work. You’re rarely home as it is. You’re always touring and off doing amazing things. And I’m here, it won’t work. We have something beautiful John, why would we want to fuck it up? We will fight and that love that we feel for each other will turn into jealously, paranoia and then hate. By starting a relationship it will ruin all the beauty that we once had, the mystery.”

“I don’t want to lose you,” he said leaning in and grabbing her hands.

“We have to just let it go, let us go.”

“I can’t.”

“For me?” she asked looking deep into his eyes. “Do it for me,” she said pleading with the boy. “Let’s enjoy this time now,” she said pulling him in close. “Let’s stay in bed all night,” she said grabbing him into a hug. “I want you to make love to me until we’re both dead from exhaustion,” she said pressing her lips against his neck. “I want you to hold me one last time,” she said holding back her own tears. “But when morning comes, I need you to be gone.”

John pulled away and looked directly into her eyes. He nodded his head and with a swift movement he pressed his lips against hers. He was kissing her like it was the last time he ever will, because in his mind it was. He picked her small body into his arms and moved their bodies to the bedroom. John did exactly what he was asked to do. When John was inside her looking deep into her eyes, it was different. Their bodies moved in a beautiful wave of pleasure. They were making love. They made love just like Liliana wanted, until there were dead from exhaustion. Out of breath and drenched in each other’s sweat, John wrapped his arms around her body holding her close and tight where he found himself falling asleep.

But Liliana was wide awake. She watched John sleep. Her eyes taking it in, almost like she was engraving the memory into her brain; the way his lips pursed when he slept, the way his hair was a complete mess. The way her body felt against his thin body. She was trying to remember every tattoo, freckle and mole on his body. She was trying to remember it all.

And when morning came, she was met with nothing but a note. The once warm side of the bed nothing but cold with a piece of paper with John’s neat handwriting scrawled across.