I will swallow my pride. You're the one that I love. And I'm saying good bye.
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"Demi can you please just stop?" Joe asked his wife as she continued to pack all his stuff. As she had done for the last hour, Demi stayed quiet.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there. You needed me and I couldn't be there." Demi stopped the packing and turned towards him with an angered glare. Joe's heart raced slightly with happiness hoping he'd get to hear her soft, majestic voice. Instead she gave him the look that said 'you know what you did.'
"Babe she means nothing to me. I love you." He sighed. Demi simply shrugged her shoulders and slammed his suitcase shut. She had been giving him the silent treatment since his return home and she wasn't willing to give in now.
"So that's it? Years down the trash in two seconds?" He questioned but the young girl stayed quiet and she turned to not look at him as tears rushed to her eyes.
Joe could see the pain he was causing her. He didn't like to see her in pain. He wrapped his arms around her as he felt his own eyes becoming teary. He wasn't ready to lose her yet but he knew he only had himself to blame.
"Please say something Demi." He begged her as her frail arms loosely wrapped around him. She couldn't bare to see him cry but she couldn't let him stay around anymore. She had let herself be played for the last three years and the whole time she was faithful to an unfaithful man. She was ready to love herself and it started with setting boundaries. As much as it hurt she knew she owed herself this.
"I can't say goodbye." His voice was nearly inaudible. Demi still not being able to form words just stood there holding the man she loved so dearly.
Joe finally let go of his love. He looked deeply into her eyes, only able to see hurt and sorrow. He knew he had to let her go. He had to let her find a man that could love her better than he had. He knew this but he still loved her too much.
"I'm sorry." He whispered as he grabbed his suitcase.
He began walking to the front door of the house he and Demi once shared. He looked around one last time as he remembered every detail. Remembered every event that ever happened. Every moment between him and Demi was here. A tear slipping his eye as he looked at their bedroom where Demi stayed. He hitched his bag up on his shoulder as he opened the door and said goodbye to the life he lived and the love he and Demi shared. He would never have her back. That he knew. But he also knew she'd fine an amazing guy that could love her right. A man that was faithful to her. A man worthy of her kind of love.
That night Joe had lost something so dear to him. But he learned to put his pride away and to love the next girl that loved him as much as Demi did. Years had passed since their split and even now he still cherished the love they had. If he was honest with himself, he had been looking for her in everyone else he had dated. To say it was futile was an understatement. But he had grown into a better man. One more mature and respectable. As much as he tried to pretend it wasn't true, he knew it was all thanks to the woman that had gotten away.
He pulled into the restaurant he had agreed to meet this mysterious blind date that his friends had set up for him. He wasn't excited for this as he was sure it would end in another bit of wasted time, but he was willing to try. He couldn't spend the rest of his life looking for a woman that he'd never have again. As much as she stood on his mind he knew he had to move on.
After handing his keys to the valet, he readjusted his coat to ensure he was looking sharp. He ran his fingers through his hair quickly before entering the restaurant and awaiting his turn to speak with the hostess. "I have a reservation under Jonas." He explained and the woman happily smiled and looked up his table.
"Follow me." She happily encouraged and Joe obliged. The woman escorted him to a table in the empty patio area, at least he thought it was empty. But when the hostess stepped aside to return back to her position, Joe's breath caught in his throat.
"Hi Joseph." The beautiful brunette smile sheepishly up at him. She stood from her chair and approached the still shocked man. He fell transient in her deep brown eyes like he had done many times before. She reached for his hand and he instinctively locked their fingers together and pulled her slightly closer to him. He couldn't be sure this was real, that his brain wasn't playing a sick game on him.
"Say something." She whispered her voice sounding a bit pleading. Hearing the tone in her voice he instinctively pulled her in and wrapped her up in his arms, hugging her as if she'd disappear if he let go.
"I've missed you." He quietly admitted and finally let a sigh of relief escape his lips as they began to pull apart.
"So have I." Demi admitted as she lightly caressed his cheek. She had become even more beautiful over the years, her eyes brighter than he remembered and her smooth skin even more glowing.
"You look beautiful." He smiled down at her. She thanked him and the two sat down at their table.
"Why did-"
"I asked him to set it up. I've grown a lot in the past years and yet you've been on my mind constantly. I've realized that we were both young, I deserved more than you gave me but I also didn't give you a chance to prove that you could." She interrupted already knowing what he was going to ask.
"I didn't treat you fairly. I wasn't the man you deserved and I'm happy you did what was best for you. I can't promise you that I may never hurt you again but I've changed and I promise I've learned to be a better man because of you."
"Let's leave the past where it is. I'd like to get to know the new man that's here now, if that's okay." She shyly smiled and happily let Joe hold her hand across the table.
"I've been waiting for this chance for years." He admitted and brought her hand to his lips, gently placing a small kiss against her knuckles. The two spent the night catching up on their new lives and filling in the air with laughter and their hearts swelling with love again. It felt like everything had changed and yet their connection was still there. This was what they had been waiting for, for so long. A chance to start over to be better than they were before and to get past the mistakes that had been made.
