Noah's P.O.V
I've been planning this for just under a year now. On our 2 year anniversary, I bought the ring. A few months later, I figured out how I was going to propose. About a month before our 3 year anniversary, I talked to her parents to make sure I had the okay. Now we're here, sitting in the same restaurant we used to go to as kids for our 3 three anniversary. We had decided to keep it lowkey because it was just a simple diner.
I made sure to get there before her to get the correct table, the same table we would sit at all those years back. It was about 15 minutes before she came through the doors. She was on time, like usual, and shocked to see me here before her because usually I'm the late one. She smiled and walked over to me. She's so gorgeous.
Her hair was draped over her shoulders and she had a hoodie and jeans on. She looked like she just woke up and I loved it. I stood to give her a hug and a kiss before sitting back down. We smiled at each other for a few seconds before I spoke.
"I feel like we're 17 again." I don't know why but I awkwardly scratched the back of my head. She laughed and I felt my heart flip. It feels like the first time I realized I loved her. Whenever I see her, I always feel like I'm taken back to the day we first met. I somehow love her more than I did each passing day.
"This place definitely brings back some memories." She cheered, her laugh turning into a bright smile.
Before I could speak, the waiter brought over some food that I already ordered before she got here.
"Fries and a chocolate shake. How did you remember?" I don't know why she even had to ask that, of course I remember.
"How could I forget your favourite meal for the past 10 years?" I chuckled and dug in.
We ate in silence for a while. Not a super long while but a while nonetheless. It's weird, we never normally have an awkward silence moment. I can't remember having one of those for the whole duration of the time we've known each other. I swallowed hard and pulled the box out of my pocket, smiling at it in my lap.
"So, I have something I've been meaning to ask you-" I began but she cut me off.
"Wait, I have to tell you something first." Her voice was shaky and I didn't realize it at first but she was crying. I didn't say anything so she would continue.
"I-I want to break up."
It felt like her words smacked me in the face, that's how much it hurt. I don't know how to explain it. The pain I felt in my chest seemed to move throughout my whole body as if it was trying to make my hurt more tolerable. It didn't. I put the ring back in my pocket and played with my fingers in my lap. I couldn't bring myself to look at her.
Once again, silence. It was so quiet, so fucking quiet, that I could hear a fork hitting someone's plate from across the room. I exhaled deeply and forced myself to look up at her. She looked really upset and for the first time in the 10 years we've known each other, I really didn't care.
"I was gonna propose." I whispered, worried that if I tried to speak any louder, my voice would give away.
"I know." She whispered back. I nodded my head and looked back down, more tears freely flowing down my face.
I was speechless, what was I supposed to say? I was ready to spend the rest of my life with this girl and she didn't want the same thing with me. Love is a funny thing, huh? It wraps you around it's finger so you're vulnerable in its grasp and without any warning, it crushes you, breaking your heart in a million different pieces. I heard her whisper an "I'm sorry" but it was so quiet I barely heard it. I wish I didn't.
I wiped my eyes and stood up, placing the money on the table and walking out of the diner. I went to my car and drove to no specific place. I just needed to get away. I drove in silence, painful, empty silence. I've been living in silence for a while now. That's okay. Sometimes the quiet can be loud, deafening even.
