I Promise

I told him.

~Ivy~ 

-Three days until graduation-

I sat on my bed wondering how I was gonna admit to Gabriel that I was going to NYU in August and that I waited till the last minute because I was an asshole. 

I pulled out my phone and unlocked it. I continued to stare at his contact name. I should tap it and call him to come over but my brain couldn't seem to make my fingers work to do the task at hand.

I brought myself to call him and waited for him to answer. 

"Hey Princess," He said happily after the second ring.

He sounded so happy, I was about to ruin all of that.

"H-hey, can you come over? I need to talk to you about something." I said slowly.

"Yeah, ill be right over. Is everything okay?" He said worriedly.

"Yes, I'll see you soon," I said as I hung up.

After ten minutes, I watched my door open slowly and Gabriel walked in. 

"Hey your mom let me in, is everything okay?" He said as he sat next to me on the bed.

"Yeah," I said looking down.

"Ivy, baby tell me what's going on." He said sternly.

I stood up and walked over to the other side of the room. I picked up the NYU acceptance letter from my desk and handed it to him.

"I'm leaving in August, I'm sorry," I said as I sat at my desk.

He held the letter for a second before he started to open it and read the letter. He unfolded the letter and began reading. He stood up and paced around as he read. Abruptly, he stopped pacing.

"W-what.." He said as he stared at me from the other side of the room.

I looked down at my hands, unable to handle the sadness that was pooling into his eyes like a wave crashing on the shore.

"I should've told you a while ago, and I'm sorry that I didn't, but this will be so good for me Gabe!" I said in hopes that he would be happy for me.

He looked at me and then looked down at the rings on his fingers. He slowly pulled off his cap and set it on the nightstand next to him.  He leaned against the wall behind him and played with his rings.

"I know..." he said sadly.

He slowly slid down the wall and buried his head in his hands. I watched him intently until I saw him start to shake his head and a sob escaped from his lips. I quickly went to him and held him close.

"Don't cry, please don't cry," I said running my fingers through his hair in an attempt to calm him down. I felt like I was drowning in my own guilt.

I told him. I told him I was leaving in early August for NYU. I told him that I would be majoring in art. I told him this was my dream. I told him.

"I-I'm just gonna miss you." He said as he wiped his tears and looked up at me.

I didn't think about you. I was being selfish. I held him close and apologized continuously. I didn't know what else to do. 

He cried. He bawled his eyes out. I've never seen him this broken since his mom passed away. It hurt that it was all my fault. I loved him and seeing him this broken hurt so much. 

We had been sitting like this for two hours now until I felt his breathing become shallow and I realized he had fallen asleep with his head in my lap as I stroked his hair. I stared down and watched as his chest rose and fell with each breath he took. I glanced at his face and saw how his curly hair fell upon his face in a messy frenzy but he looked authentic. I was so lucky. He was a work of art.