Pretend // Brandon Arreaga

22- Goodbye My Love

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As much as Brandon had enjoyed staying with Caroline and Kelsey, he knew it was time for him to go back home. He was happy with how things had went with Caroline for the week he had stayed. He was excited to go back home and tell the guys they were trying the whole long distance thing out.

"Well here is the last bag." Caroline chimed in, breaking his train of thought. He looked up at her, he could see the sadness in her eyes even though she was smiling. She had decided to skip her class to tell him goodbye, much to his dismay. He had told her school was way more than telling him goodbye.

"You going to be okay?" He asked, closing the trunk of her car. She nodded silently. Her eyes were glazed over, but she refused to cry this time.

"I'll be okay. We only have a few more weeks until I can see you in person, until then FaceTime will have to do." Caroline replied, leaning against the car.

"Only three weeks and then winter break." Brandon reiterated.

He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. She would miss his hugs most of all. Of course, she'd also miss him singing to her and giggling at everything. He pulled away slightly, but she clung to him tighter.

"You know you have to let go of me for me to leave right?" Brandon chuckled.

"Yeah, I know. I just wish we had more time together." She whispered, her arms dropping to her sides.

"Oh! Before I go." Brandon smiled sadly at her and made a few odd sounds before digging into his carryon bag. He pulled out a wrapped box and handed it to her.

"What is this?" She asked, perking up at the gift in her hands.

"A little something I got for you. I even sprayed my cologne on it." He smirked, tapping the box.

She giggled and ripped the bow off carefully, trying to not seem too excited. She opened the box and saw the folding up shirt. She took the shirt out and dropped the box on the ground. She read the words on the shirt and looked at the intricate butterfly design on it.

"Brandon, I love it!" She cooed, holding the shirt close to her. She took a deep inhale of the shirt, getting a strong whiff of Brandon. She made a mental note to never wash or wear the shirt. She knew it would become like a security blanket by the time she got to go to LA again.

"Did you seriously not know I had got it?" Brandon chuckled before continuing. "Or were you too busy trying to watch a butterfly hatch?"

Caroline let her bottom lip kit out playfully. She would be the first to admit the butterflies held something over her. She completely entered a different state of mind when she went in that place. She felt bad she hadn't even noticed him leaving and going into the shop.

"I'm sorry." She stated.

"Don't be! It was cute seeing you like that." He replied, smiling down at her.

He picked up his bags and hesitated. He wasn't ready to leave her yet. She still had a smile plastered on her face with glazed over eyes. He bit his lip and turned around. He told himself not to look back at her as he walked into the airport, but he couldn't help himself. With the quietness and growing distance between them, Caroline ran up to him and wrapped her arms around him again.

"Call me when you can okay? Don't stay up all night either, it's not good for you." Caroline said, finally letting herself cry. She clung to him even though he had a plane to catch. She cried into his shoulder knowing he'd let her hear about it later.

"I'll try to, Care. I promise I will try." Brandon said, patting her back.

"Okay, okay. I love you and goodbye...for real this time." Caroline said, letting go of him. She placed her lips on his and let them linger for a second, before pulling away. He smiled and pecked her lips again before walking away.

She stood and waved to him as he started to walk away again. When he was completely out of sight, she returned back to her car. She missed him already and it hadn't even been five minutes. She was hopelessly in love with him and they were barely dating.

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