Sugar

53

chapter fifty three
florence thompson
song: 17 - julia michaels

When I first met Vincent De Bellis, I had immediately decided that I would not allow myself to get attached to him. I even made it clear to him, that it was not allowed.

I had built up these walls as high as I could, until I simply couldn't build anymore, and then in a few small kisses or sweet words, the wall effectively crumbled. They had come crashing down much faster than I'd expected.

Along the way, I had repeatedly denied my feels and insisted that I was just fine. Then, better yet, I acknowledged them and decided I could simply rid myself of them. I wish I would've known then what an impossible feat that would be.

But I hadn't, and I still don't think I do, and so I knew for my own sanity, I had to make a choice. I had to choose whether I should stand by Vincent and get hurt over and over, or if I would leave.

And this weekend was the perfect opportunity to do so.

Within half an hour I pulled up to my apartment complex where the parking lot was mostly empty, Vincent trailing behind me in his own car. I thought back to the day when he'd picked me up for our day of hanging out on a budget, the thought was both bitter and sweet.

We put our cars into park before shutting them off and hopping out of the vehicles, both meeting each other in the middle.

When we finally arrived at my door, I slid my keys into the handle and jangled it a little bit before pushing the door open and walking in, shutting the door behind Vincent. He hadn't ever been into my apartment, so this was a little odd for me.

He waltzed in, hands deep in his pockets as he looked around and took in every detail. His interest was surely peaked for some reason unknown to me.

I surprisingly wasn't embarrassed, especially since Vincent knew what situation I was in given the circumstances of our relationship.

"Uh, make yourself at home. I'm going to go pack. How long do I need to pack for?" I asked, glancing up at him as I shoved my hands into the pockets of my uniform.

"And lose out on seeing Florence Thompson's bedroom? I don't think so," he grinned childishly, following me as I started towards my room. I rolled my eyes at him. "Just for tomorrow, and a bathing suit."

I scrunched my face at that even though he couldn't see me since he was walking behind me.

I pushed open the door to my room which was thankfully fairly tidy since I'd been making a habit to make my bed when I got up in the morning and clean up everything before I go to sleep. Other than my pajama shirt from last night thrown on my bed, it was spotless.

Vincent let out a low whistle from behind me as I opened my closet door to yank my pink overnight bag out and begin shoving clothes into it. I glanced over my shoulder at him as he leaned against the door frame, looking around my room and seemingly inspecting it thoroughly.

I shook my head, grabbing my favorite yellow sundress and shoving it into the bag along with a clean pair of underwear and a bra. I quickly shoved in my red bikini, deciding it was good enough before grabbing my dad's Ramones shirt and a pair of shorts to change into from my work uniform and quickly running into the bathroom and changing before tossing my uniform into my hamper and collecting all the stuff I needed from the bathroom like toothpaste, deodorant and such.

I quickly exited the bathroom, toiletries in hand before I slipped back into my bedroom and dumped them into my bag.

"Okay," I huffed. "I think I'm ready." I zipped up my bag and tosses it onto my bed before finding socks and slipping on my converse.

I glanced up to find Vincent smirking at me from his spot on the bed.

"Good, I'm finished raiding your panty drawer anyway," he smirked devilishly, causing my face to immediately flush.

I stared at him for a long while, blinking every so often.

He let out a boisterous laugh, throwing his head back before slapping his leg once.

"You should've seen your face. Jesus, Flo," he came down, still chuckling as he stood up, grabbing my bag for me, a playful smile still on his face.

I released a big breath of air that I hadn't realized I'd been holding, releasing a jesus christ while I was at it.

"C'mon, before you die of heart failure." He smirked, grabbing my hand in his free one and dragging me towards the front door.

I stayed quiet, holding his hand until we exited the apartment and I had to lock my door. After that we were bounding down the stairs and making our way to his car.

I looked up at him as we walked, drinking in the sight of him in the broad daylight. This could be the last time I saw him in such a manner, and I hoped to imprint it into my mind.

He tossed my bag in back just like before and opened my door, allowing me to slide in. We followed the same routine as we had earlier until he was peeling out of the parking lot, speeding down the open roadway again, heading for the nearest highway in his bright red classic convertible.

After about half an hour into our journey, he decided to blare the music, looking over to grin broadly at me. I smiled at him, shaking my head.

He looked ridiculously beautiful, his hair waving around in the wind as it pushed past us, his arm up on the side of his door as his hand rested on the the edge of the windshield where it came up. His eyes were such a bright blue in the sunlight, the dark brown patch seeming more of a light brown as well.

We drove like that, the sun beating down on us, the bright blue sky up ahead, wind blowing through our hair, music blasting, with silly grins on our faces for the entirety of the ride. I decided in that moment that when I looked back on Vincent in years to come, I would always remember he and I like this.

• • •

q: what pets do you have??

I have one dog :-)