Written Words

Tegan sat in the small coffee shop, the over powering scent of coffee and cinnamon and fresh baked muffins seeping into her skin and up her nose. Why Daniel always felt the need to meet in this cramped place was unbeknownst to her. Straightening out her beanie, she sipped her hot chocolate, smiling when the jingle of the bell alerted her to the arrival of her boyfriend.

"You're..." She began before he pressed his lips to hers in a good morning kiss and pulled away slightly, smiling.

"Late, i know." He finished, sliding into the booth in front of her. "And I can explain."

"You better." She smirked and licked her lips, holding her hot chocolate out to him. He gladly accepted and sipped on the hot liquid. "What was so important that you had to get me up at seven for?"

"I did it." He whispered, leaning forward and reaching for her hands from across the table. "I got the internship in Los Angeles, at that law firm I was telling you about." Tegan felt her heart fall, crumple to the bottom of her rib cage and wither into a thousand pieces but she didn't let it show, instead she forced the biggest grin across her face and leaned forward, gripping his face in her hands.

"I knew you could do it." She replied, pressing her lips against his. She could barely contain the tears, the quivering of her lips as they moved with his but if he felt it, he didn't say a word. "I'm so proud of you."

He brushed the hair from her face and pressed his forehead against hers. "I love you so much, you know that. You're way too good for me."

"Yeah, maybe." She smirked and he kissed her once more before pushing himself up from the booth.

"I need to call my parents, let them know the good news but tonight, me, you, take away chinese food."

"It's a date." She replied, feeling his lips breeze over her hair while she began searching for her journal in her bag. Her fingers traced over the leather flap and she was reminded of three years ago, her first Christmas with Daniel, when he had presented her with the most beautiful gift she had ever received.

Pulling the book out, she placed it on table and stared down at the peeling leather, the small hearts scribbled into the corner, her name lightly inked upon the straps wrapped around to keep the book
closed.

Sighing, she clicked her pen, which was hooked under the straps and flipped open to the most recent page of her thoughts. He's leaving. She stared down at the words and quickly closed the book, tucking it underneath her arm and dashing out of the coffee shop as quick as she could.

She couldn't stop them this time, couldn't stop the reddening of her eyes or the leaking of her tears. And she didn't want to. Daniel was the best thing that had ever happened to her; he picked her up when she was broken, glued her back together when she didn't want to be fixed and now he was leaving, across the country for two years.

She was so focused on Daniel that the boy in front of her had become nothing but a blurred wall, a blurred brick wall to be exact. From the boy's arms fell cups of hot coffee and a bag of Starbucks treats, along with a few books. Whereas Tegan stumbled backwards and landed straight on her butt, her journal shooting out from underneath her arm.

"Of course." Tegan sighed, shaking off the pain and scrambling to her knees to gather his books into her shaking hands. "I'm sorry." She apologized quickly, pushing off the concrete and shoving the books into his arms before grabbing her journal and the Starbucks bag.

"It's no problem. Coffee's replaceable, love but I don't think humans are. You alright?" She nodded, glancing up to finally look at the man, startled by his shockingly bright eyes and quiffed up hair.

"Um, yeah, fine." With one hand, she shuffled her journal into her bag while the other held out his food, his long arm reaching out for it. "I just, I guess my mind was somewhere else." She shrugged and stepped around the boy, "I'm really sorry about your coffee." She pulled her fingers through her tangled hair and forced her legs to carry her forward, a new heaviness present in her bag.



"Honey, I'm home and I bring egg rolls." Daniel chimed, the slamming of the front door shaking Tegan out of her sadness. Pushing up from the couch, she walked over and wrapped her arms around him from behind, burying her nose into the middle of his back. "Well, hello to you too." She laughed, a rumble from deep in his stomach. Dragging her along to the kitchen, he set the food on the counter and turned around, looking down at her. "You okay?"

"I missed you." She smiled, kissing what was now his chest and pushing him away. "Also, i'm hungry."

"For a second there, I could've sworn you liked me for me and not for the food I come along with." He joked, watching as she flipped open the styrofoam containers and began picking at the coconut shrimp.

"It's a two for one deal." She smiled, dropping the shrimp into her mouth and bounding into his arms. With his six foot frame and broad shoulders and muscled biceps, he could easily lift the small girl like she was a child. Daniel leaned forward, one arm wrapped around her back while his free hand guided her face to his. "You taste like lemonade." Tegan mumbled, pulling away.

"And you taste like seafood but i'm not complaining." He retorted, putting her back on her feet and exiting the kitchen. "Quick bathroom break and then we'll continue where we left off."

"Grab my glasses while you're back there, please." Tegan called after him, already shoveling another piece of shrimp into her mouth. A few minutes and 4 pieces of shrimp later, Daniel's voice echoed out for her.

"Babe, what's this?"

"What's what?" She replied, wiping her hands on a paper towel and skipping back to her room. When she walked in, Daniel was holding her journal in one hand and her glasses in the other. "It's my journal, obviously."

"This isn't yours." He argued, holding out the leather book to her. "I thought your's had hearts in the corner, not stars."

Narrowing her eyes, she reached out for the book, "It does have hearts, right here." she pressed her fingers to where the hearts usually sat but instead was met with four awfully drawn stars, two big, two small. And for the second time that day, her heart sank. "Fuck."