All Too Well

I opened my eyes to see the darkness that engulfed my bedroom. I sighed; I was thinking about him again. I was hoping I'd start to forget, but that hasn't been going so well. I turned my bedside lamp on. Light flooded the room, and it made my eyes hurt. I squinted as I noticed the picture that was on my nightstand. It was the picture of me and him. Tears started welling up in my eyes as I remembered all the memories.

He wrapped his arm around my shoulders in the cold winter air. It had to have been about 30 degrees out; I was freezing. Once the door opened, the warmth that came out of the house hit me like a ton of bricks. We walked inside into his house. There were a few people I knew, like Cam, Mikey, and Nate. We took out jackets off and headed into the living room with everyone.

I realized just now that I had left the scarf I was wearing there. Oh well, it didn't matter anymore. I'll let him have it. I turned the light back off as I drifted into a deep sleep.

The next day, I was grocery shopping when I saw his familiar brown hair in the same aisle as me. I tried my hardest to avoid him, but he saw me and stopped me.

"Hi, Charlotte," he said. I could hardly look at him without wanting to sob.

I held back tears and said, "Hi, Zach."

He looked at the ground. I awkwardly did the same.

"How have you been?"

"I've been good. You?"

"Good."

We stood there in silence for a minute, just staring at each other. He broke the awkwardness by saying, "Want to get some coffee or something?"

I reluctantly replied, "Sure. I'll meet you at Holy Ground in about an hour?"

"Sounds good. I'll be there, I promise."

We went separate ways and I quickly got the rest of my groceries. I was kind of excited about meeting him; I missed him. I shouldn't say that, because he was the one that broke my heart.

I laughed as he sped down the street, telling me one of his infamous jokes. Zach was the funniest man I have ever met. The leaves, orange from the October weather, were falling off trees. All The Way came on the radio, we both started singing. This was my favorite song of his, even if it was about sex.

"I love you," he said. I smiled and looked at him. He did the same.

"I love you too," I said. We stared at each other for a minute before I looked away and saw the red light Zach was going to run. I pointed at it and he slammed on the brakes.

I went home quickly and put away everything. When it was the right timing, I got back in my car and headed to Holy Ground, the cafe that Zach and I met at. Inside there, I noticed he wasn't there. I got us a table and waited for him to arrive.

His mom and I looked through the pictures. There was one of him and his brother, Vic, at the beach when they were little. They both had pails on their heads and stood behind a sand castle. It was adorable. The blush on him covered his face. His mother flipped the page and there was a picture of him playing t-ball. He was so cute when he was little.

I waited for about half an hour for him. He never showed up. My cell phone rang; It was him. I sighed and answered it.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Hey, it's me," he said, "I can't make it. Got something to do."

I hung up the phone and rolled my eyes. This was Zach being Zach. I wasn't mad at him for not showing up, I just wanted to see him again.

I don't know how long I sat at that table. When I finally got up, it was dark out. I got to my car at perfect timing. The rain started pouring down hard. I got inside and started crying.

We lay on his bed, staring at his ceiling. It was couple's day at our college, we both dressed in plaid shirts. He held me in his arms and kissed me forehead. We had been dating five years, and this was the first time we had spent the night together. I had never spent the night with anyone, neither had Zach.

The next day I got a package in the mail from him. It was all my stuff from when we lived together that I didn't take back. My copy of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, my Taylor Swift album, and my laptop case. There was one thing missing; my scarf.

I was innocent when I bought that scarf. I was still a virgin. Whenever I wore it I sprayed my favorite perfume on it.

I went into the living room and sat down on the couch. I sat straight up and folded my hands in my lap. I took three deep breaths and broke down. I wanted him back, I wanted to make more memories with him. I stopped crying slowly and took my phone out of my pocket and went at his contact, staring at the 'Call' button.