UNBREAKABLE ↠ BRANDON ARREAGA

THIRTY-SIX - THE ONES WHO SAID GOODBYE

"Well, he obviously loves you if he came all this way to try to win you back," he starts. "Why aren't you taking him back?" He asked, which is valid because I never really got around to saying why.

"I don't want to get my heart broken again," I mumbled.

"That's part of love, kiddo," he said gently.

"I don't want to get my heart broken again by him," I clarified.

"Why? Is that so wrong?"

"Don't you think that's a bit pathetic?" I inquired, but it might as well be like I cried it out.

"You can't go through love and be afraid to do something because you're scared of how it'll look. You should do what makes you happy and what feels right to you." He paused before continuing. "Does he make you happy? Is he right for you?"

"I've never been as happy as I've been when I'm with him," I said truthfully, thinking back to all the moments he made me smile. "It feels like he was made to be with me."

He catches something in my eyes when I spoke because he looks at me curiously before asking, "But?"

"But I don't know if I make HIM the happiest. I don't know if I'm right for him."

"If he came back, he must believe that you fit into his life somewhere," he points out. "It's not like I know your relationship, but can I say something?" I nodded. "I left your mom because I was afraid, and it was the biggest mistake of my life, you know that. It sounds like he, Brandon, was scared too, in a sense." He paused at looked to the side as if trying to gather up his views and plan what he was going to say next. "Sometimes love is confusing and scary, so people run away. I'm not saying that it's okay, but I'm just saying that's the truth of it. I'm also not saying that he deserves your forgiveness because I know that I didn't deserve your mother's forgiveness. I'm saying that you need to see things from his perspective and decide what is best for you. Make sure that you don't leave with any regrets either." He states one more thing before he leaves. "For what it's worth, Brandon seemed to have loved you very much when I met him. I don't think he could have ever loved that girl as much as he loved you. I was kind of worried he'd propose to you." Actually two. "It's okay to still love someone so much, but having to let them go. It'll hurt, but if you think it'll hurt less than that's what you need to do."

"I love him. I don't think I can ever stop loving him," I whispered.

What I didn't say was that I couldn't see past his betrayal to get to my love for him because it'd be too real, because I'd have to say goodbye to him again. I wasn't strong enough to walk away from him twice. Not yet.

❅ ❅ ❅

Brandon came back around and knocked on my door again. For the past few days, he's been coming around like clockwork. After each day, his visits became less frequent and shorter. Each time, it was the same. He knocked, said he was sorry, then left. This time, I was waiting for him.

"Hi," I greeted him with a shy smile.

He looked surprised. His eyes were wide, and his hand was still in the position to knock. He let it fall to his side awkwardly. "H-hello," he said after stumbling on his words quite a bit.

"What's our adventure today?" I asked him softly. I just wanted this to work out. I wanted this to work out so bad.

His face broke out into a bright grin, and it made everything better, even if it was just for a short moment. I guess I just had to hold onto that a while longer.

After a car ride, we arrived at the destination he had in mind. It looked familiar. When I got out of the car and looked around, everything hit me on at once. I stumbled backward a bit, taken back by what I saw.