𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐀 ||The Sequel||

CHAPTER 50

Ariana

It's been a good two hours since he last read my text, and now I'm pretty sure he's not coming. Abby promised she'd talk him into meeting me here, but I've been waiting for twenty minutes, and he's nowhere in sight.

This is stupid. He's not gonna show.

What was I even thinking? I texted him to meet at the school's swimming pool, thinking it'd be a good spot to talk since it's empty today. 

But clearly, he's busy preparing for his move to another country, and he's not gonna waste time coming to see me.

Why did I even agree to this?

I sighed and settled onto the bleachers. I pulled out my phone and scrolled through my gallery, smiling as I looked at our pictures together.

I have a whole album just for photos of us, each holding a special place in my heart. Like this selfie from Joanna's crazy pool party last year, moments before the cops showed up.

Another with his parents, Josh, and Joanna during that family fishing trip before Christmas.

A selfie in my room after we made up because I got frustrated learning chess, and he was frustrated because I just didn't get it. 

In my defense, chess is pretty hard to learn, okay? It'll take time for me to get the hang of it.

And then there's the one from my birthday party this year, making me smile. These pictures capture precious moments with him that I'll always remember.

I miss being around him. Scratch that, I miss him A LOT.

It's strange to think he's leaving soon, and I won't see him again. I don't want to accept it yet.

I loved him, and I still do. Is this really how it's supposed to end?

A distant door slammed, making me jump from my spot on the bleachers. Slowly getting up, I glanced around to see who it might be.

It's late, school was over a long time ago, I figured it was probably just me and maybe the janitor lingering around. Stepping down from the bleachers, I turned around and froze. A pair of familiar brown eyes locked onto mine, standing just a few feet away.

He came

"Sorry for keeping you waiting," he began, his voice echoing in the empty hall. "Had some stuff to take care of, and it took forever."

I mustered a smile and watched as he approached.

"It's alright."

Stopping a couple of feet away, he let out a sigh.

"No I'm sorry, that's actually a lie." I stared at him in surprise.

"Well, technically it's not a lie. I had a few things to handle today that took longer than expected. But the real reason I took so long to show up was that I was outside debating whether I should see you or not."

"Oh." Wait, what?

He took a small step forward, and I held my breath, meeting his gaze.

"I thought this was going to be easy, but I was wrong. Then I remembered how you showed up unexpectedly at my birthday party last week. It took a lot of courage from you to do that. So, I figured I'd do the same by coming here."

Oh, wow. I did not see that coming.

He sat down on the first-row bleachers and motioned for me to join. Hesitant, I sat next to him, my knee unintentionally brushing against his and heat immediately rushed all over my neck to my face.

"I'm leaving for Australia, Ari," he said, casting a glance my way. "Next week,"

My heart sank, reminiscent of when I first heard the news from Abby. I looked down, locking my gaze on my interlocked fingers.

"I didn't want to see you before I leave because I know it'll be harder for me to face you. So, I thought it'd be easier to just leave without a goodbye and never see you again. That way, I wouldn't have to miss you so much and not want to leave."

I clenched my jaw to hold back the tears, but they were already welling up. His words triggered the profound pain I've been carrying around for so long.

He slouched, glancing at me with red-rimmed eyes. 

"Ending things like that wouldn't be fair, right? We had something good, and I didn't want to leave everything behind on a sour note. So, I thought I should come and say a proper goodbye."

A shaky breath escaped me as I turned away, focusing on the pool. Tears streamed down my face, and the idea of diving into the water and never resurfacing crossed my mind.

His hand closed around mine, forcing me to look at him as he gently lifted my chin. 

"You've made my time here so much better. Every moment with you was worth it. I won't forget that."

"Please, don't," I pleaded, my voice trembling.

"You know I'll always love you, right?" His question shattered my heart. "I never stopped."

I never stopped either, so please don't do this.

"There's a lot ahead for us, beyond high school. After graduation, we'll move on with our lives, and all of this will just be a good memory."

His hand lightly squeezed mine, and he looked down, adding, "One we'll always remember."

I fought back tears and scooted closer to him, clutching his hands tightly and locking eyes with him.

"Stay," I pleaded. His surprised gaze met mine.

"Stay until graduation. Go to college here. You can do your training at your Dad's company here too. Just stay please... with me." His jaw tightened, and he looked away.

 "You don't have to go. You can stay here and also do whatever you want, I just need you to stay. We can start all over again. We'll both be going to college anyway, a-a-and maybe we can go to the same one. We'll figure it out later and make things work. We can-"

"Ari." The mention of my name with his serious tone halted me.

His eyes bore into mine, his expression turning cold. 

"I'm not staying."

My chest tightened, and I struggled to breathe. Leaning back, I blinked away the tears threatening to spill.

"Is there nothing I can do to change your mind?"

"No," he replied firmly. "I've made my decision."

I slowly withdrew my hands, turning my body to face forward. I was scared that facing him again might trigger an emotional breakdown, so I didn't look at him.

"I'm sorry," he uttered one last time before standing up, placing a kiss at the top of my head before he left. 

I watched his retreating figure, each step widening the gap and shattering the remaining pieces of my heart, with no intention of healing over time.