Remembrance

Chapter 16: Seven O'Clock

Chapter Sixteen: Seven O'Clock

"Yes, I did..." Garroth said softly.

The way he said it made me even more nervous. "You sound like you're just saying that..." I softly added, looking up at him.

"No! I really did." He bent his leg up to lean his elbow on it, his head leaning into the palm of his hand, "Truth be told, I had missed you since you left O'Khasis. I couldn't wait to read the next letters you would send and when I got them, I would try to write back as soon as I could."

I looked up at him before his head turned to me. "The day I sent my last letter and never received one back within a couple months was when I thought you were disappeared or you lost interest... Honestly? When the second year hit and you said you didn't know when you'd return, I started to think that I-." He sat up and fully faced me.

I looked away, looking over at my bag, quiver, and bow.

"I thought I'd never see my best friend again..." He said softly.

As soon as I turned my head, he was a few inches away. I didn't gasp, my eyes immediately looking at his. I didn't want to talk as we sat so close, it almost felt like he and I could talk without saying a word. My heart began to beat in my ears as he moved his head next to mine onto my right shoulder.

"I wish I just told you everything that was going on when I could have... I just wanted you in front of me so I could explain it all and not sound like an idiot." He said softly.

My head gently leaned against his as my eyes closed. I pulled my arms up, gently wrapping them around him and pulling him into a hug. I moved to my knees and fully faced him, loosely holding onto him.

His arms came up around me as he softly sighed into my shoulder, my head gently resting against his again.

"Did you just not want to write back?" He asked softly, pulling his head back to look up at me.

I looked at him softly before shaking my head, "I wanted to send you another letter to tell you what was going on. But my parents couldn't find someone to take them, I guess. W-Wait-"

He gently tilted his head in confusion before I realized something. I looked back before letting go of him, pulling away and grabbing the bag and pulling my journal out.

"The letters..."

I flipped to the back with all the loose papers stuck in-between the pages.

Garroth moved over to look with me. I pulled out the three I had written and turned to him, holding them for him to take.

"These were for you." I said softly, "I must have tucked them in because I was travelling at the time... I guess I couldn't get back to give them to you or find someone who could take them to O'Khasis."

He looked at me before he nodded. He took a moment before he started to read through the letters. He drew quiet as he read the last one. I sat down beside him waiting. His eyes started to move faster, going back and forth across the parchment. His lips parted before he bit his lip, his eyes stopping in one place in the middle of the paper. I rose a brow as I looked at him, confused. His head gently turned to me as he set the paper down in front of him, a breathless expression over his face.

"Are you okay?" I asked with a light smile, "What has you so confused, Garroth? What did I write-"

He didn't respond before his body completely shifted as his hands came up to both sides of my face. His thumbs gently rubbed my cheeks as he looked at me before he bit his lip and pulled them away to hug me instead. I laughed as I hugged him back, confused.