Leaving (Lauren Cimorelli Fanfic)

The Countdown

1 month later (nearly 6 months of dating)

Jaiden's POV

Last week I found out about football scholarships. I have two offers that will pay for all of my schooling, all I will have to do is buy books. Those schools are the University of Texas and Michigan State. I had another offer from a local Tennessee state school but it wasn't offering nearly as much. There is no way I would be able to afford to go through school there.

I have to commit to a school today. I know what I have to do in order to have a successful future. Lauren knows that I have an offer for Tennessee state, and I also think she knows that I can't go there. As much as I would like to stay in Tennessee, I can't. So it's down to two school; Texas and Michigan.

I picked up the phone to call the Athletic Department. Both coaches gave me the number to their direct line so that I could call them once I have made my decision; and I have.

The phone was only ringing for a few seconds before there was an answer.

Coach Taylor- "Hello?"
Jaiden- "Hey Coach Taylor, it's Jaiden Beckham."
Coach- "Hey! I was wondering if I would be getting a call from you. Are you calling to give a verbal commitment, I hope."
Jaiden- "I am. This is the school for me."
Coach- "I'm so glad to hear that. Now that you've given a verbal commitment we just need to have you sign a letter of intent which is basically a signed version of a verbal commitment. We just need it on paper and we can get that to you within these next 2 weeks. Then from there we will have you move down in the dorms on June 2nd for summer training. Texas will be glad to have you."

We finished up our call and it finally hit me. I've been in Tennessee my whole life and now I'm going to be moving to Texas in 4 months. I have 4 months to be here.
I'm not scared about leaving Nashville. There's not a ton of people here that I'm leaving behind but the whole time I was on the phone with the coach, I was thinking about Lauren.
I have 4 months with her. And in these 4 months I want to show her how much I love her so that when I leave she knows I won't stray from that.
Distance only changes a relationships that have doubts or fears. I don't want there to be either when I leave.

I heard a knock at the door and ran down the stairs, knowing it was Lauren. I opened it to see her smiling face. She crashed her lips into mine.

Lauren's POV

I pulled away and smiled widely at him.

Lauren- "So?! Tell me! How did it go?!"
Jaiden- "It's Texas!" He said smiling and I wrapped my arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.
Lauren- "You did it! You are going off to college on a scholarship! I'm so happy for you!" I said looking up into his hazel eyes. He smiled down at me with a happily shocked look in his eyes.
Lauren- "What?" I said letting out a small laugh.
Jaiden- "You're just the first person to say that. No one in my family has even said anything about it, it's kind of been radio silence." I pecked his lips and smiled at him.
Lauren- "Well, I'm really proud of you. You deserve this."
Jaiden- "You are the best."
He said smiling at me and grabbing my hand as we walked into his room.
I went and jumped on his bed.
Lauren- "So when do you have to leave?" He looked over at me and then down at his hands.
Jaiden- "4 months. I move into the dorms on June 2nd and the coach said we start training that weekend."
Lauren- "So you are going to be pretty busy huh?"
Jaiden- "I'm going to be busy but the season is only a few months long. And I will be back visiting. And maybe you can come visit me?" He said flirtatiously smirking and kissing my cheek.
Lauren- "Maybe.." I said flashing a flirtatious smirk back at him.

Jaiden's phone buzzed and he looked down at it, opening up a text. I was leaning my head on his shoulder and I looked down at his phone. It was a text from Lexi. Before I even read what it said I lifted my head and looked up at him.

Lauren- "Why is your ex texting you?" I said it calmly but with a hint of annoyance in my voice.
Jaiden- "I don't know." He said looking down confused and reading the text. It was a long text so he scrolled as we both looked at his phone. I didn't care if I looked like the overly jealous girlfriend for reading his texts. I wanted to know why she was texting him. I read something that caught my attention.
Lauren- "Why did she say 'when I came over'? Did she come over recently?"
Jaiden- "Yeah I mean she did but I didn't let her in. I only talked to her for like 2 minutes before slamming the door in her face."
Lauren- "Why didn't you tell me about that? Why did you make it a secret?"
Jaiden- "I didn't make it a secret I just didn't want to talk about it. She's the reason me and my mom have barely said 2 words to each other in this past month."
Lauren- "Why wouldn't you just tell me that?"
Jaiden- "Because she always somehow manages to cause problems with people in my life and I didn't want her to start problems between us too."
Lauren- "But now she isn't the one causing problems. You not telling me is the problem." I said more annoyed.
Jaiden- "Why are you so mad? I'm not trying to make you mad, I don't even want to talk to her."
I wouldn't normally get frustrated over something like this but I couldn't help it. I looked at him trying to explain why I was upset.
Lauren- "I'm not mad at you because I know you wouldn't do anything that would mess up our relationship. But I am upset because when you leave I want to know have open communication. I want to tell you everything and you tell me everything."
Jaiden looked at me confused.
Jaiden- "You want to know about everything?"
Lauren- "Of course I do. We've been dating for almost 6 months. I love you and I want to know everything about you. Even if it's about how your ex is starting arguments, I don't care. I want to know the good and the bad." I paused for a second before speaking again.
Lauren- "Do you remember the night when you told me not to act so surprised when you wanted to listen to me talk?"
Jaiden- "Yeah."
Lauren- "Well now it's your turn. Don't be surprised, I want to know you. You deserve to be known and heard."
Jaiden- "I'm just not that good at this. I've never seen a healthy relationship between two people so I don't really know all the rules about what you're supposed to do and what you're not supposed to do."
Lauren- "Well then I guess we will figure it out together."
Jaiden- "I'm sorry. I know that I'm not perfect at this and I suck when it comes to some things but I will tell you whatever you want to know. I'm not trying to shut you out, I just don't know how to be the best person I can be for you yet. But I promise I will figure it out." I smiled at him and pecked his lips. A small smile grew on his face.

I was frustrated but I knew that I had to let it go. He is trying and that's all I can ask of him. I'm not perfect either. We are both going to screw up. The choice we have to make is what we are going to do to move past those times.

We have 4 months. It's a countdown that I'm dreading. I put on a smile for him but selfishly I wanted him to stay. But this is his dream; I can't be the one to ask him to stay.

A/N
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