forever and always |DREAM X FEMALE OC|

19

*Trish's perspective*

They played games until they tired themselves out.

Mark had to leave, so the whole family went over to see him go.

"Bye Mark!" Trish said, hugging him. She realized with a pang of sadness that she may not see him again. For a very long time, at least.

"Bye Trish! It was so great getting to know you. I hope I can see you again someday soon."

"Me too. Goodbye!"

Addy and Drista gave Mark hugs too. Once he left, the pair went back up to their room, followed shortly by Kate and Faith.

"That was fun!" Trish said to Clay.

"Yeah, it was."

Trish started to pull her shoes on when Clay stopped her.

"Wait, Trish. I wanted to . . . uh, I wanted to give you something."

Clay looked nervous, which only made Trish nervous too.

"What is it?" She asked hesitantly.

Clay left the room and returned shortly with a folded note.

"If I say it, I know I'm gonna mess something up, so I wrote everything down instead. Everything I want to say to you is written in that note."

With shaky hands, Trish took the note from him.

It was a regular folded up piece of paper, yet Trish had a feeling it meant much more. She slowly unfolded the letter and began to read.

Dear Trish,

         Hey. It's been a while. A very . . . very long while. 10 years to be exact. What we had went away much too quickly. 12 years of our lives devoted to our relationship, gone after just one day. Well, not really. It wasn't gone after that. It lingered in my heart for a long time afterwards, and maybe it never truly left. The thought of you, the thought of what we had, was never far away; like I could tap into that world at any moment. You weren't just my best friend Trish, you were so much more than that. You were my twin, my soulmate; like our parents used to say, remember? Well it's true. I've never had this level of closeness or understanding or love with anybody else. And to be honest, I don't think I ever will. I don't want to let you out of my life again, Trish. 10 years is much too long to be apart. It is rare to find someone like you. Letting you go again would be stupid. I want to make things work. I want to go back to what we had before, only stronger. I want to be more than just friends. I want to love you endlessly. I want to be the one you hold at night, your shoulder to cry on, your forever and always.

Clay

To say Trish was speechless would be an understatement.

She stared down at the note, which now seemed to weigh a hundred pounds.

When she finally met Clay's eyes, he was looking at her expectantly. She knew she had to say something.

This note was what she had been dreaming about, waiting for. Hearing him say these words was a dream come true.

He loved her back.

But there was a problem. A problem that she knew existed but didn't want to address.

She lived in Edmonton, he lived in Florida.

And at the same time, a dark thought was nestled in her mind. Did he really like her? Or did he like the thought of her? They went such a long time without seeing each other, so maybe he's confusing his feelings of friendship with love.

She couldn't be sure.

"Clay, I . . ." She started, but couldn't finish.

Clay's expression changed. A look of sadness and disappointment took over.

"I'm sorry, I guess I misread things . . ."

"No, Clay. That's not it at all. I- I do like you, Clay. I like you a lot, actually. It's just . . . I don't think this will work . . ." Her heart broke even at her own words.

Trish didn't know it, but she was slowly shattering him piece by piece.

The two stood in front of each other in silence. Trish felt guilty. And sad. She longed desperately to be with him. But it just wouldn't work.

"Clay, every single word of this note means so much more to me than you'll ever realize. Okay? I want you to understand that. And I want to be with you, I really do, but . . . I just can't see a way that this'll work out."

She could see the thoughts swirling around in his brain. He was trying to understand, but he couldn't. He wanted her so bad, but now she'd be gone again.

With nothing else to say, she said: "I should probably go . . ."

Clay nodded. "Bye Trish. I'm sorry . . ."

"You have nothing to apologize for."

Closing the door behind her, tears started to stream down her face. This wasn't at all how she had envisioned she'd be leaving him. The last month had been amazing for Trish. She enjoyed every second she spent with Clay. Now she didn't even know the next time she'd be seeing him, and this was how she left?

Their lives finally reconnected again, only to be torn apart like this. And it was all her fault.

She could've taken the easy route, say yes and have a long distance relationship for a short amount of time, only to drift apart again.

But she couldn't do that to him. She knew that what was best for him was another girl. A girl who lived closer to him. A girl who was prettier and funnier and better. A girl perfect for Clay.

*Clay's perspective*

He didn't want anyone else.

He wanted her, and only her.

But he couldn't have her.

She had made it very clear that she wasn't interested. Clay cursed himself, he knew he shouldn't have said anything. He completely ruined any chance they had of salvaging their lost friendship. He misread her actions, her words. He looked into them too much and made assumptions. This was his fault.

But it wasn't like he could force her to like him. So he let her go for the second time in his life.

*Trish's perspective*

Maybe they'd meet again some day.

She thought about their time spent together the past month.

Seeing each other again for the first time in years.

Riding roller coasters together.

Getting ice cream.

Seeing a movie together, listening to music.

Spending time with each other's families.

Just like that, Clay was living in her memories again. The aching in her heart was endless. It was her fault anyways. Still, she only wanted what was best for him.