Capturing Memories

°•°Chapter 5°•°

"True pain cannot be concealed."

(Serbian Proverb)

Chloe's POV.

Putting my camera down after the last photograph, I notice Zach missing and sneak out to the sit-out area for some fresh air. I didn't know what I was feeling anymore, is it hurt or anger? As much as I tried to show him how mad I was with what he did, it took me everything to not pull him into a hug.

I just didn't have it in me to end up being hurt once again if he disappeared on me again. Sitting down on one of the chairs, I rest my elbows on my knees and then my face on my palms. His small gesture of giving me my coffee the way I liked it was enough to know he didn't just come back here to start this restaurant.

Those fucking empanadas should've been a sign but I chose to ignore it. "Hey,"

I look up as my heart skips a beat to find Zach in front me, kneeling down and extremely close to me. His blue eyes showed vulnerability while he lifts his hand to tuck a strand of my hair behind my ear. I sit there completely paralyzed while my eyes stayed glued to his noticing the light stubble that made him look like a greek god.

"Stop that," I breath out holding his hand in an attempt to push it away from my face. If he keeps doing this, I'm going to end up in his arms as a sobbing mess.

"Did you ever open the letter?" he questions with his eyes pleading me to not let go of his as he held onto it. I shake my head, looking away and blink away the tears that are threatening to fall, "Why? You wouldn't hate me as much if you-"

I cut him off by pressing my hand against his mouth, "You chose to leave Zach. What did you write in the letter? Is it that you're sorry? You chose to walk away on me, not me, and despite all that shit you pulled, I still tried contacting you. You fucked up big time and I do not fucking trust you, not even the tiniest bit,"

A tear slips down my face and Zach wipes it off while I could see his eyes brimming with tears as well, "I started getting better at living life without you and I think I'd like that to continue the same way."

I finish off standing not believing a single word I said, I never got better at living without him, "Chloe...just give me another chance, please?"

His hand holds onto mine as I stand facing away from him while he's still on his knees and I just muster up the last bit of strength I had to shake my head 'no'. Before I could turn back and wipe away the tears that were surely streaming down his face, I release my hand from his hold, before leaving him there.

I run away feeling sobs escaping my lips and head to the nearest restroom before I finally broke down, "I miss you, idiot," I whisper as Zach's face crosses my mind followed by my endless series of sobs. Once I made sure there wasn't anyone in the two cubicles, I let myself sit down on the floor holding my thighs close to my chest as my tears never found an ending.

I needed him but it will anyway end up in heartbreak when he decides I'm not good enough for him. If it was just friendship, I'd have probably forgiven him by now but my feelings didn't stop there, I fucking fell in love with the biggest jerk of all time. My own best friend.

~•~•~•

"I'm fine!" I shout at Blake who's been walking into my room every five minutes to check on me. Instead of walking out this time, I hear his footsteps get closer and pull the duvet over my head, "I brought ice-cream,"

He sits down on the bed next to me and removes the duvet from my face, "I told you, I could kick his ass but you didn't let me,"

He accuses me making me roll my eyes, "He's still my best friend,"

"Oh right," he responds sarcastically making me chuckle, "He sure is a jerk but he is a sweetheart, you know that,"

"Sweetheart? What are you warming up to him now?" he raises his eyebrows and I sigh, sitting up on the bed before grabbing the pint of ice cream from his hand.

I close my eyes after stuffing a spoonful of the sea salted caramel ice cream, "This is good," I point out making Blake chuckle before nudging me to give him space to sit down next to me.

"Well, I got a call from work today though I'm technically on holiday. They need me back for the next two weeks at least, there's this huge lawsuit that we need to represent and it seems like a two-person job," he explains making me feel the disappointment wash over.

"I'm sorry, I know you were counting on spending time with me but I promise I'll be back in two weeks and with Hailey this time around," I rest my head on his shoulder and sigh before finding my voice.

"Hey don't worry too much about me, work is work and I'm sure we'll meet up as soon as we can again," reassuring him, I smile as Snowy climbs onto the bed and settles his head on my lap.

"I've even got this guy to keep me company," I say flashing a grin while I ruffle Snowy's hair. "So when do you need to head back?"

"Tomorrow morning, first flight,"

"That's too soon!" I whine and he nods with a sad smile. I'm going to miss having him around, we already barely get to meet each other with our work schedules. He wraps his arm around my shoulder before taking a spoonful of the ice-cream.

I guess I'll just have to busy myself with extra work before I go too crazy with Zach around, "Do you think you'll be fine with Zach around?"

Damn, he was thinking about the same thing as well, "Yes Blake, I don't plan on crossing paths with him once this whole deal ends. It's just probably two more meetings with him and then, we'll probably never meet again,"

Are you sure about that Chloe?

Blake doesn't seem convinced but decides to sit out the argument that would start if he voiced out his opinion. Honestly, after looking at Zach so vulnerable today, I wanted nothing more than to know how he's doing.

Pathetic Chloe.

But even if he doesn't love me back, he's still my best friend. The person I looked up to the most and the person I had the best memories with. Am I guilty about the way I left him back at the restaurant? I'm not sure anymore, I just wanted to have him in my arms to make whatever pain he's going through go away.

~•~•~•

"Bye brother," I say in my muffled voice as Blake holds me in his tight embrace.

"I'll miss you, little sis," he says kissing my temple before releasing me from the hug. "Take care of yourself okay?"

"I will and you take care of yourself, don't let work stress you out too much," I tell him smiling before he nods and walks away. We never said goodbyes, its just our thing.

Once he was out of my cone of vision, I walk out of the airport and head towards the parking lot. I rub my hands together to make my freezing hands warm and press the unlock button on my car keys. I scurry into my Jaguar F-Pace and shut the door before welcoming the warmth of my car. Damn seven in the morning is fucking freezing here especially when it is raining non-stop and the weird part is that it is raining in September.

I turn on the heater and calm my breathing down as my cold cheeks now warm-up, I finally start driving out humming Sam Smith's – Dancing with a stranger as it played low in the background. The drive on the empty roads felt so peaceful but I sure needed some coffee and breakfast before I starve to death. Okay, that's me exaggerating but duh, I need to sound interesting to myself at least.

A smile makes its way onto my face as I notice my favorite breakfast bar open and park in front of it making sure I'm still in the parking zone and take off my seat belt. I turn off the engine before quickly stepping out into the small drizzle of rain and run into the café.

The smell of coffee hits my nostrils making me realize the lack of sleep last night, actually, I couldn't sleep. Ordering my usual, I walk over to realize a seat of the table I usually sat at taken and sigh before walking past the table. I halt dead in my steps as I notice who the person actually was, "Zach,"

~•~•~•