| Complete | REWRITING + ROUGH DRAFT | Riley Greene was all set for her summer vacation with her college boyfriend, Kevin. With her bags packed and passport ready, she was excited to go sight-seeing through Hawaii. All her plans came crashing down w...
I watched Joey appear from the side of my house, landing his eyes on my face. I almost felt everything at once and almost felt like I wanted to pass out again, or throw up. My eyes scanned the very face I missed so much and the face that hurt me so bad. Since my hormones hate me, I cupped my face and breathed out to cry. I didn't really know how to respond to this situation. I let it all out, too. Once the first tear fell, I knew a steady stream came to follow. I already knew I looked like shit, but I know they're probably looking at me crazy.
I breathed in trying to catch my breath and wipe my wet eyes. Before I knew it, Joey pressed his body into mine and gripped me into a hug. I melted into his arms and pushed my right arm around his neck and planted my face on the bridge of his shoulder blade. I let my emotions get the best of me as he wrapped around my back and rubbed his hand in a circular motion. My heart throbbed in my chest and inhaled his strong scent. I tangled my hands in the single black shirt he wore and held him so tight. "Hey, it's okay," he whispered softly in my ear with a gentle, comforting tone. I felt Joey lightly stop rubbing my back and stroked through my hair.
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"I really don't like when you cry, please stop." He begged. I honestly didn't want to remove my hands from around him. It's almost been two and a half weeks and I've missed this, I missed him.
I mumbled, "Then...why did you leave me?"
He still held onto me tightly and whispered, "I regret every second of it. I realized a few things."
I sniffed, wiping my eyes as I slowly pulled away. I stood helplessly in front of him and met his gaze. I couldn't help but notice his glossy, watery eyes. "What did you realize?" I asked. Every second we broke away from the hug, I craved his touch. I wanted his body heat to warm up all of the places that hurt the most, my heart. I can feel he needs me just as I need him.
He swallowed and inhaled before saying, "I couldn't understand what I was feeling because I never felt it before. This is all new to me and I tried doing the right thing. I tried telling you, you deserve so much better than me. I hated myself for even letting that come out of my mouth. And I hated myself more for trying to force myself to believe that. What we did was wrong, and it wasn't fair to Sam." He lost my gaze to glance everywhere but at me. "No one can give me the feeling you gave me and trust me, I've tried to find it. I've a lot of growing up to do and you have to understand that I'm trying. I don't want to be someone that makes you cry. If your last couple weeks were like mine, I couldn't forgive myself. I never in my life felt more alone than I did without you." He waited for me to speak, but I was speechless.
I had to take a second to process everything he just said. I couldn't believe this was happening. I can't believe two things crumbled my life and just like that, it's better. These two people made my heart feel something it's lost. Of course, I still had one more problem, but I'm not wasting any second of this moment. Again, I couldn't think of the words to say, so, I gripped Joey by the face and smashed my lips into his. I quickly wrapped both arms around his neck and stood on my tip-toes. Not shortly after, Joey picked me up off my feet and spun me around. I couldn't help but smile against his lips and it felt...good. Everything was so overwhelming!
