LOVING TWO

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Time Heals

Days..Weeks..Months..passed by since the last time I had seen James. He left town without saying goodbye. He left me broken and alone with no explanation to his absence. I wanted to hate him so bad but every time I tried I only failed. No matter where I went in town everything reminded me of him. It was difficult in the first couple of days to recover from the heartache. The deep open wound he had left in my heart started to slowly heal over time. I had to constantly remind myself any memory I had of him was only just a dream. Though it still hurt I was able to smile again.

I learned to keep on living without him in my life. It wasn't the first time someone I loved with all my heart walked away from my life. I picked myself up and dusted off every single kiss he gave me. Every single I love you he told me. Every single face gesture he made when he was mad or happy and every single electrifying sensation he triggered through my body with just a single touch.

I managed to throw all that into the deepest part of my mind. Somewhere hidden inside. It was the only way. Jake had been a key to my healing also. He never left my side even though I had once taken his love for granted. He did the opposite with me. Those nights that were the hardest on me, I got through them because of him. He made me laugh and distracted my mind from everything. I began to see Jake with eyes of love again. How was I so blind and stupid to have left him? He was such a catch. So I made up my mind to make him the happiest also. After all we both deserved it.

Jake had become the light at the end of a dark tunnel for me. I found myself caring deeply for him. Although it wasn't as strong as what I felt for James. I noticed as the time passed by us I would sometimes find myself missing Jake when he wasn't around. Every time he came around my house he would bring my mother and I flowers with treats. He was such a sweetheart. Gave me more reasons to care for him and even feel love towards him again.

At school we would spend our time together laughing and joking with Ashanti and Amy. It took both of my girls some time to actually accept my decision of being with Jake. They thought it was a bad idea and I was just doing it out of spite. They were wrong. So at first hanging out with all of them felt a bit awkward for me and Jake. However both Ashanti and Amy soon fell in love with his charms and sweet sense of humor. So they eventually made friends with him also. Lina however was not happy with seeing us together. She stopped at nothing to try and get us to break-up. After so many failed attempts she finally gave up or at least it seemed like it.

Jake asked me to be his prom date in such a romantic way at school. He lined up several of the football players excluding James buddies that didn't seem to like Jake at all. They all held a sign that read (Will You Be My Prom Date?) each word in separate signs. Lina didn't hesitate to make me look like a fool in front of everyone by announcing she had slept with him. It didn't take too long for her evil plan to back-fire. People started to slut shame her and suddenly she stopped showing up to school. Rumors went around that her parents locked her up after finding out how badly she had embarrassed her family's reputation. Her two minions Alison and Alisa kept the secret of Lina's whereabouts to themselves. I would see them around school here and there but they were usually quite since their leader left..I guess they felt lost.

Before I knew it Jake and I had become inseparable. We went almost everywhere together. We had a couple arguments on the long run. All led to him not wanting to introduce me to his family. I had asked him about the night at the hospital when a nurse addressed him by Jake Kingsley and not Berkeley. He told me that was his Fathers last name but he used Berkeley to honor his Mothers last name. I thought it was a bit weird how jumpy and nervous he would get when I would ask him about his family. Then again I knew that was a touchy subject to him ever since I first met him. Still I knew little about Jakes background and that bothered me. So I decided to do a special picnic for him by a pond nearby.