Ocean Waves | Loubbie Short Stories

04 | Maybe This Time

Lou Miller

"Lou!"

I looked back and saw Debbie running towards me. My mouth hung open with the whole happening. Yet I stood there, waiting for her. In a flash second, she was already hugging me.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, breaking the hug.

"I'm here to watch you!" She exclaimed and showed me a folded tarpaulin with me and my bike on it.

"Debbie, we both know that's not good. Your brother wants you at home, not here." I spoke, looking around. " You're damn grounded and you'll be in a big trouble when he knows you escape."

"If that's it, it's okay at least, I get to see your competition." She replied and sighed. "Look, don't make me go home because Catherine Louise Miller, I won't. I fucking won't." She crossed her arms. "I want to be here; I want to see you and I want you to know that I'm supporting you. I don't care if I'll be grounded for another week. Just let me be here."

I sighed and placed my helmet on my big bike. "I just don't want you to be in trouble."

"And I just want to support you." She chimed in, pouting.

I smiled. This woman never failed to amuse me in any way. I pulled her closer and trapped her with my hug. I could feel her smiling against my shoulder blades.

"Come on, hug me back, Deb." I muttered.

"I won't."

"Hug me back."

"I don't like it. I'm mad."

"Debbie, you're not mad. Hug me back."

"Fine."

I laughed when she hugged me back. We didn't break the hug, not until we heard my name was being called. It was Debbie who first broke the hug. She then fixed the collar of my leather jacket.

"I'm always rooting for you, baby. Win or lose, I'll always be the proudest. Now go."

I smiled and kissed her cheek. "I love you."

She looked at me, squinting. "I love you even more."

"You wait here and I'll go back with a trophy."

"I'll always be here. I won't go anywhere, not without you."

Didn't we all become a victim of those honey-laced promises - the ones that swept us off our feet? Those kind of words that led a whole damn circus in our stomach, something that we once thought enchanting? Guess what, it's nothing, but a tragic catastrophe cladded in everything made to please us. Those were spoken to make us fall, but in reality, it concealed a hundred of bullets bound to penetrate our chest, ruining each piece of hope we built to believe in romance and sparks fly lingering around it. But in a swift motion, we still believed it was all true.