Wait for Tomorrow

4 Years Later

Leigh walked into the bright sunlight, pulling her aviators over her eyes. The bright sunlight brought a flood of memories she thought she had completely forgotten. Never again, she told herself. She's wasted too many tears over the last three years to start thinking about it again now. Shaking all thoughts of her high school graduation out of her head, Leigh continued her walk to WaWa.

Huntington Beach High School Graduation

Leigh paced the room, wringing her hands nervously. High school graduation had finally arrived and she was not the least bit excited. Of course she wanted to hurry up and get out of this hell hole, but graduating also meant College and College meant money which she had little of. Leigh could feel herself getting light-headed with her worrying. But something else was tugging at her mind.

"Leigh," her boyfriend whispered in her ear. Matt wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her tight. "Stop worrying, babe. It'll be okay."

"No, no it won't. It will be a big disaster! I can feel it. Something bad is going to happen. I knew it, I knew it. . ." Leigh's feelings of horror couldn't be contained: An over-powering sense of dread filled her body.

Matt took Leigh's face in his hands and forced her to look at him. "Leigh, look at me. Everything will be alright. Nothing is going to happen. We are going to walk down that stage, take our diplomas and walk away from this," he gestured around the room, "forever. I promise."

Leigh looked up into his eyes and she couldn't doubt him. She closed her eyes and nodded, feeling Matt place a kiss on her forehead. "Now, stop worrying and get in line. The ceremony is about to start."

Leigh grabbed the handle and walked into her favorite convenient store. The smell of bread, coffee and sweets swept past her and she smiled. Leigh walked directly over to the coffee grabbing the biggest cup she could order. The bold, hot coffee steamed into her cup, just as someone slid into her. Hot coffee spilled from the faucet, burning her hand.

Leigh let out a whimper of pain, and dropped her coffee. She could hear the person beside her apologize profusely, but she was in too much pain to actually hear them. Grabbing some napkins, Leigh rushed over to the soda fountain, getting ice from the dispenser; cold relief flooded her body as the ice soothed her burns.

Finally able to concentrate, she turned to the person who knocked into her, ready to scold. "Excuse me," she fumed. "It might do some good to watch what you are doing." Her sharp tone caught the man's attention.

The man who was cleaning the mess stood up and turned to face her. He had a good 7 inches on her and a muscular build. But his intimidating stature wasn't what rendered her speechless.

The ceremony took a good two hours. With their valedictorian's four page speech about the end being a new beginning and their principals endless ranting, Leigh could feel herself slipping further into a state of unconsciousness. Finally the principal ended her lecture and called the names. And suddenly, as if someone hit the fast-forward button, Leigh's name was called and she took the stage, receiving her diploma. The ceremony ended with a small speech from the principal again, and the graduating class throwing their hats in the air.

Deciding she wasn't ready to celebrate with everyone else, Leigh rushed away from the crowd and threw her gown off the second she was inside the school building. She made her way to the bathroom, dry heaving into the toilet. She really did feel sick to her stomach. Suddenly, Leigh cried. She cried harder than she ever had before.

She was vaguely aware that someone walked in, but she didn't care. She curled into her knees and cried, even after someone wrapped her in their arms. Leigh could feel the soft touch of hands threading through her hair, hear the whispers around her. But she was only hyper-aware of the one voice that calmed her through everything.

"Leigh. Leigh, you're scaring me. What's wrong?" Matt's voice drifted to her. Instinctively, Leigh curled into his chest, trying to calm herself down. "Leigh, are you okay? Talk to me, please." She could hear the urgency in his voice, but she couldn't find the strength to say anything.

Leigh stared at Matt. It had been four years since she'd last seen him. And four years since they had last spoke. She could still see the twinge of regret in his eyes as he stared back. But she couldn't stay. She couldn't let him back into her life. She knew that if she let that happen, he would break down the walls she'd spent years building.

"Leigh. . ." Matt took a small step towards her.

"Matt. . ." She replied, taking a step back.

A small, sad smile appeared on Matt's face. "I'm really sorry." His eyes reflected the same sad look.

Leigh could feel her defenses falling; slowly crumbling, opening her torn heart. She felt vulnerable and weak, and in the recent years, she hated both of those feelings. "No."

The smile was wiped from Matt's face. His face revealed everything that he had felt since the last time he'd seen her. All of the rage, hurt, regret and bitterness showed and he couldn't help it. His rage at himself for doing what he did. Hurting from Leigh leaving. His regret for letting Andi convince him it was okay. And his bitterness toward Leigh for leaving him. "Why'd you leave?" His voice was so child-like it almost broke Leigh's heart.

"I think you know damn well why I left, Matt."

Leigh wandered through the house, her drink in her hand. For the past hour she'd been searching the house, trying to find Matt. She hadn't been drinking much, so she was still fairly sober. That bad feeling was starting to bubble in the pit of her stomach again, churning and mixing almost to the point of nausea. She walked up the stairs, not at all prepared for what she was about to see.

She saw Brian passed out on the stairs and Johnny rocking precariously on the edge of passing out. Rushing past both of them Leigh opened the first door. Leigh made a face and closed it, moving onto the next door. All she found was the same stuff. Finally she came to the last door, and stepped inside, almost frozen with shock.

Everything around her seemed to freeze. She could no longer feel the bass from the music pulsing through the floors. She could no longer hear the screams of the rest of the graduating class, and Johnny, around her. All she could feel was hurt and rage. On the bed, half naked, were her best friend and Matt. Leigh could feel the bile rise in her throat. She slammed the door shut and dropped her drink.

All she could think about was getting out of the house: Getting out and getting away. She knew that Matt had saw her. She could see the look of surprise of on his face, and then try his hardest to shove Andi off of him. The thing that hurt the most about this wasn't the fact that he was with some girl, it was the fact that that "some girl" was her supposed best friend.

Leigh could hear Matt calling for her as she escaped to the fresh night air. A breeze blew in from the ocean, wrapping it's cold arms around her. The wind whipped her hair as she stalked away in the direction of her house.

Matt caught up with Leigh, spinning her around. His shirt was still off and his pants sliding off of his hips. Leigh's name and a herd of 'sorry's and 'i love you's and 'it wasn't my idea's rushed out of Matt's mouth.

"Save it, Matthew." Leigh spat. "Get away from me." Tears cascaded down her face and she tried to turn away.

"Leigh, please." He held her arms tight. "Don't leave. Please. I'm sorry. I really am."

"Matthew Charles," she hissed. "Let go of me."

"Leigh," Matt said. "Leigh. . ."

"Save it, Matthew."

That struck Matt hard in the chest. He really wanted to make up for what he did. He knew that she would never trust him again, but he could try. Ever since that night he locked himself in his room. He called her night after night, day after day. Eventually she changed her number and moved away. He was heartbroken that he was the one that caused it. But he knew that now was the time to make it up to her.