Cross my heart, hope to die //Tanner Braungardt//

Chapter 23

POV Kenzie

"Thank you guys for making my day absolutely amazing", I say to my group of friends. "No problem Kenzie", John says smiling his sweet smile. "My mom texted and she says she wants me home", Madi says frowning. "It's okay", I say stepping forward and hugging her. "It's been amazing seeing you. It's not the same without you here", she whispers. "I'll see you soon" I whisper back as she walks away towards her car. "Shit", Hunter mumbles. "What?", I ask. "Our dad texted me. It's almost dinner" he says rolling his eyes. "God. You're my ride home too" Bella groans.

I give the twins and Bella a hug before watching them walk away too. Johns phone dings "please tell me you don't have to leave too", I whine looking up at my tall friend. "Nope. Just my brother", he says smiling. I clap my hands together like a little kid and he laughs. "What should we do now?", I ask looking at Grace and Abby. "Oo! Let's go to the photo booth!"Grace says happily. "Yeah, let's go" John says tugging me back into the mall.

Once we find one, me, John and Grace get in with me in the middle. We put the money in slot and for the first picture, we made serious faces. For the second one they kiss my cheek, an the next one, John said something funny and we started laughing. And the last one. We all hugged each other. Well actually Grace and John are only hugging me but one of my arms is around Johns neck and the other one is around Graces.

Once we get out, I'm teary eyed and John wraps an arm around me. "Don't cry Kenzie", he says as I wrap and arm around his waist. "I just realized how damn hard it's going to be leaving you guys a second time", I say giving him a sad smile. "We can still hangout before you leave though" he says cupping my face with his hands. "I know", I say pressing my forehead into his chest. He chuckles and I inhale. "You always smell so good", I say pulling away.

He laughs and grabs my hand. "I have always liked that you just say things without thinking", he says as Grace grabs the pictures and hands us one of each. "Oh my god I love them", I whisper holding mine. "Yeah. There amazing", Grace says smiling. "How about just me and you", John says smiling. "Okay", I say smiling back. We get into the booth and he puts in the money. First we, hug each other and smile. Then we make a funny face at the camera. For the third one we turn to each other and just look into each other's eyes. We didn't plan it but, I put my forehead against his and place my hands on either side on his face. My eyes are closed and his hands are on the back of my neck.

Once the pictures are done taking, we just sit there. "I'm going to miss you so much", I say wrapping my arms around him. "I'm going to miss you too", he says pulling me closer to him. Soon, we get out of the booth and grab the pictures. I smile and trace the last one with my fingers. I love it.

We walk back out of the mall and Graces phone beeps. "My mom texted me and we gotta get home" Grace says frowning. "Okay. Can you give me a minute to say goodbye?" I say. "Can I see your camera?" Grace asks and I nod then give her my camera. She walks away and I turn to John, tears filling my eyes. I can tell his eyes are a little glossy. "I find it harder to say goodbye to you than anyone else", I say, my voice cracking. "We are a little closer then your other friends Kenzie" he says pushing hair behind my ear. I nod and place my hands on his face and he puts his hands on my waist.

"You are going to be fine Kenzie. You are to good for him. He doesn't deserve you. And I am here for you every step of the way. Call me when you have trouble. I don't want you getting hurt. You're like a sister to me. Or more. You're my best friend. And I love you like that. I'll miss you so much", he says, tears streaming down his face. "I love you too. And I'll miss you", I say as tears overflow over my eyes.

He reaches up and wipes my tears away with his thumbs before embracing me in a hug. "God I didn't think it would be this hard to say goodbye", he says into my hair. "Same. I thought we would just hug and be like 'see ya around' then I would walk away before I would get a chance to cry", I say laughing a little. He chuckles and pulls away. I reach up and wipe away his fallen tears with my sleeve before standing on my toes to put our foreheads together.

"I'll miss you John", I say kissing his cheek. "I'll miss you too", he says stroking my cheek. I smile before pulling away. He's holding my hand and I start to walk away then let it go as I walk. "Don't have to much fun without me!", he calls. "That would be impossible", i yell back. He smiles before turning around and walking to his car. I do the same.

***

Back at Graces house, it's about 1 in the morning and I'm editing a video for today. I recorded a bit when I was at the mall. It was mostly just me and my friends doing stupid things and John holding my hand. Before you ask, no. I do not like him. Yes, everyone says 'omg you guys would be so cut together' but we're just close friends. He's like my brother and best friend combined. We used to hang out over the summers with Grace. It was really fun.

A smile spreads across my lips when I get to the part where me and John are saying goodbye. I look over at Grace, who's on her phone, and my smile gets even bigger. "You recorded me and John saying goodbye?", I ask taking out a earbud. "Yeah, I thought it was really cute and you could maybe put some music over it", she says smiling. I nod and get back to editing.

By the time I finish, it's 2 in the morning and Grace looks like she's about to fall asleep. "I'm done", I say closing my MacBook. "Okay good. Now we can talk", she says sitting up and yawning. "Are you sure you don't want to go to bed?", I ask raising an eyebrow and plugging in my phone. "No. Tomorrow is Sunday and then I have school. And we haven't really talked about what happened and I want to", she says moving closer to me.

I nod. "Where do I even start", I say looking at her. "Wherever you want", she says taking my hand. So I started from the beginning. I told her how we met, and how he made me feel. I told her I was so happy with him. But i was scared that if I told him, I would loose him. And I was right. But he made me feel so good about myself. He told me I was beautiful and smart and amazing. He took it slow when we had sex, and I loved him for that. When he would call me babe, it made me feel special. And when I spent the night, i absolutely loved laying my head on his chest just to hear his heart beat while he slept.

I also told her that I had never felt heartbreak like I did that day. When he said I was disgusting, when he told me that Josh can have me. I don't even care that he said those things. He made me feel special and that was ripped away like a band aid. The way he looked at me shattered my heart. I can't even begin to explain the look I saw in his eyes.

"I hate him", I say, tears stinging my eyes. "And I hate myself even more for still loving him" I say choking on my words. "He broke my heart. And I don't know why I still love him" I take a break before continuing "what he did, made me want to kill myself". Graces eyes widen and she snatches my phone from me.

"You're not getting this back till you leave", she says. "Please don't do that", she says as tears gloss her eyes over. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if that happened. Hell, I would probably kill myself", she says wrapping her arms around me. We cry into each other for what seems like forever. Soon enough, her sobs quite, and she starts to softly snore. A little while after her, I fall asleep, wrapped in my best friends embrace, wishing it was Tanner who is holding me.

(A/N) hey guys! So I got this chapter done earlier than expected so here's another one for you. Jeez, two in a week. I'm on a roll. But enough about me. WE GOT TO 3K OMG!! IM SO EXITED IM LITERALLY ABOUT TO FAINT. Okay so as a gift back to you guys, I was thinking that I'm going to let one lucky person write the next chapter with me. So if you want to have a change to be that lucky person, I want you to write a short story about anything you want then direct message it to me. But keep one goal In mind, I want you to try to make me smile or laugh. Okay that's all, bye for now my loves!💜