The Meeting

The Text

Harriet❤️
I thought you'd go away and realise you still wanted to make it work with her, thank you for reassuring me. I miss you so much. Goodnight Le x

My heart fell to my feet faster than the tears fell from my cheeks. Of all the things I thought could be causing Leah's distance from me, the last thing I thought of was someone else. I had even started to worry that she was sick or something. I couldn't take it, I couldn't be here with her any longer. I took out my own phone and began looking for flights back to England but the closest I could get was 2 days away. I searched for accommodation on the island and found another villa that was available through Airbnb. It was expensive and only a few footsteps away but it meant I didn't have to see Leah until I could get a flight home. I gathered up my belongings that were lying about the living room and headed to the bedroom to pack the rest of my stuff. 

"What are you doing, Al?" Leah said, half asleep and I could sense the annoyance in her voice that I was fumbling around at this time of night.
"Getting my stuff together, I've booked a separate villa for myself. It's an Airbnb so I'm heading there now." I said, as sternly as I could whilst trying to fight the cracks in my voice.
"God, you are being so dramatic! I'm just tired, why do you overthink every little thing I do?" She said, stretching out in the bed to make herself more comfortable.
"Harriet text you." I said, not turning around to see her face but seeing her shoot up in the bed in my peripheral vision.
"Al -" she began but I didn't let her finish. Nothing she could say would make this any better.
"Don't bother, Leah. I get it. I get that you found happiness somewhere else. I'm not going to beg you to stay or tell you I hate you. If you're happy then be happy." I could barely get the last sentence out before I was blinded with tears, they weren't even rolling down my cheeks anymore. Just dropping from my eyes into my suitcase.
"I never wanted to hurt you. We just grew apart, long distance is hard." She said, trying to justify her actions but just putting more daggers into my heart.
"Please, Leah. Just stop. I don't want you to explain yourself. Just go to sleep, I'll be gone when you wake up."

As I spoke these words, I walked to the edge of the bed placing one final kiss on the forehead of the girl who still had my heart. The girl who would always have my heart. She put her arms around my waist and tried to pull me onto the bed beside her, tears now forming in her eyes as she realised the impact of her actions.

"No, you can't leave me. I made a mistake, it's you I love Alex, it's always been you."

Every part of my heart wanted to let myself fall back into her, let her hold me and choose me. But as much as I wanted to, I knew in my head that I had to let her go. I took her hand and wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"Leah, I love you. More than I ever possibly thought I could. I would have loved you forever but this isn't something that we can work through or something that will be okay in the end. To be able to fall for someone else, so much so that you have wanted to talk to them every day whilst I was right here begging you to spend time with me, there has to be huge problems within our relationship. You will always be my Leah, no matter who else manages to make your heart explode, a part of it will always be mine and a part of mine will always be yours. Goodbye Le."

And with that, I kissed her lips once more, tasting the tears that had fell from her eyes during my speech. I lifted the handle of my suitcase and wheeled it out of the villa, heading to the Airbnb that I had booked, feeling like my world was falling apart. I kept repeating that text in my head. Torturing myself but knowing I needed a reason to stay strong, to not run back into the arms of the girl who had found comfort in someone else's.

I thought you'd go away and realise you still wanted to make it work with her, thank you for reassuring me. I miss you so much. Goodnight Le x