The Boy Who Cared For My Bruises And Scars

Epilogue <3

After tossing our hats in the air, because of the pure exileration of ending high school, I ended up going to college in New York. Rachel and I roomed together for 4 years and are still best friends. Dana visited once a month, and I went home once a month as well. She got lonely at times, but not after she met an interesting man named John. And I only visited my father when I was home. Teddy and I continued dating but lost touch after the first few years of college. It didn't hit me until Christmas, my junior year. 

I was at Dana's house. That night, we went to visit my father in prison. The night seemed so cold. For that reason, and because Teddy hadn't even called me on Christmas. We weren't even together. I hadn't called him either, but I had been so busy. Then I realized that we needed to be together to be... together. So I called him. Our conversation was short.

He picked up after many rings with a raspy: "Hello?"

"Hey, it's me." 

"Hey." Silence. His voice was still and emotionless. The snow seemed loud as if fell from the sky in that dark moment.

"Merry Christmas."

"Yeah," he said blankly. "Merry Christmas."

Silence. Again. The tears raced down my cheeks when I heard the silent breaking of our hearts. We didn't know what to say. We both knew that we should be together right now, but we had gotten so busy with our lives apart from each other.

"Listen Sky," he interupted my thoughts. "do you realize what has happened?"

I thought about this question. Do I realize that I'm not with the person I love on a day where we celebrate family and friends and love itself? Do I realize that our phone calls were getting less lovely in a sense that sometimes we didn't really talk, we just listened and spoke simple words? Do I realize that we hadn't seen each other in 3 months and we had done nothing to see each other again? Do I realize that we forgot to make time and slow down in life for each other?

Yeah.

"Yes," I whispered into the phone. If my voice went louder than a whisper, I just knew I would lose it all right there.

"Okay."

"Okay."

"Goodbye Sky."

"...bye."

"Wait Sky," my heart jumped. To be, or.. "just know that I love you."

..not to be. 

"I love you too Teddy. And I'm sorry."

Click.

~

It took me a year to stop crying over Teddy. That didn't mean I still didn't think about him every hour of my day. It was over. The guy who saved my life, and who loved me more than anything, was just a thing of the past. It never sunk in. I never fully accepted the fact.

Teddy was my best friend. Rachel knew that. Dana knew that. My father knew that. Whenver I'd go visit him, he'd say something about Teddy.

"You still love him." he said one day. I looked into his eyes and started to sob. It hurt that he was behind a glass wall. He wasn't aloud to really be with me until he was released. And how badly did I want to be in my daddy's arms.

"Yes," I sobbed. "yes I do."

"At least we both know, he loves you too." I looked into his sad eyes and saw that he was right. Teddy did love me. And he always would. Thats what I had to remember. I had to remember his last words he said that Christmas night.

I finished college and started working at a high school as the new school counselor. I realized this was my place to be. It was only an hour away from Dana, so I saw her a few times a week. I visited my dad every weekend that I could. And Rachel and I called each other everyday, with the ocassional get together weekends. She would come into town and we would go out for some beers and talk about high school, boys, and our boring love lives now. Somehow, it all made me think of him.