Somebody to Love - A Joe Mazzello FanFiction

Chapter 26 - Saying Goodbye

I pulled the box off my lap and gestured it toward him. He let go of the box behind his back and took mine. It was a thin black box with no decorative marking at all. He opened it to reveal a guitar pick with a red and black stained glass feel to it. He looked up at me with a smile and I knew I needed to explain it.

"It's the first pick I ever got," I explained. "I don't really use it anymore because I have better ones, but it's still the first one. And I want you to have it. Maybe you can keep it in your wallet or something and every time you look at it, it'll remind you of me. It's not much, but-"

"I love it," He whispered. "Are you sure you want me to have this?" He asked. He was now holding the box like it contained something extremely fragile.

"Yes," I exclaimed. "It's something to have with you. A little piece of me." I smiled wide and couldn't stop. The look on his face from such a small gift made my heart melt. It was a small gift, but it was something real and physical for him to look at in the 6 weeks to remind him of me when he missed me the most.

"Ok, your turn," He said placing the box down on the bed gingerly. He twisted around and grabbed the square blue box behind him. It was wrapped in a small white bow. I smiled at the sight. It was such a cute box that I couldn't help but smile. I grabbed it lightly and I looked at Joe's face. It was beaming with excitement. I opened the box and I gasped at the sight, throwing my hand over my mouth. It was a beautiful silver ring in the shape of a tiara. The center had a clear jewel with a heart shape around it and the bottom was lined with small dots. Joe threw his hands up as soon as I gasped. "Now, I'm not asking you to marry me or anything. That's not what I meant by giving you this." He was talking really fast, hoping that I didn't pick up on the word 'marry' in the sentence. "I just saw it in a window when I was walking in the mall and it made me think of you. Plus, when I went in to buy it, apparently it's called the 'My Princess' ring. Which was just perfect." His hands lowered as he talked until he began talking at a normal pace again.

"Really?" I chuckled with a big smile on my face.

"Yeah, it's great because you're my princess." I began to blush.

"That's super cheesy," I laughed, my face turning pinker in the process.

"I know." He replied with a smile. "But, I mean it." I leaned in and hugged him. His hair was still somewhat wet and I could smell the freshness on him. He hugged me back and when we pulled away, I pulled the ring out of the box.

"I love it," I whispered. I put the ring on my middle finger of my right hand. I admired it, holding my hand out in front of me.

"Every time you look at it, I hope you think of me," I looked at him and chuckled.

"Man, great minds really do think alike, don't they?" I joked. Both of our gifts had the same purpose. He hit my arm and got off the bed. He moved back over to the drawer and I collapsed on the bed, still looking at the ring.

"Don't get too comfortable, you still have to drive me to the airport, remember?" He pointed a finger at me.

"Ugh, I know," I groaned. "I guess I better get dressed too." We both got dressed, me in the bedroom and Joe in the bathroom. We took turns getting ready in the bathroom, and before we knew it, it was noon. Joe and I scrambled out of my apartment and down to my car. We needed to drive to Joe's house first and then to the airport, which wasn't that far away from there. As we drove to Joe's house, we listened to the radio. I sang along softly as Joe just listened to my voice. When we got to his house, he jumped out of the car and turned back to me.

"I'll be just a sec," he said as he closed the door behind him. He ran up to his front door, unlocked it, and went inside. I got out of the car and opened my trunk, letting the radio play loud enough to hear it outside of the car. Joe came out about a minute later holding two big suitcases, a big backpack over his shoulders, and tickets in his hand. He locked the door behind him and made his way to my trunk. We worked on getting the extremely heavy bags in the back and we got back into the car. Joe struggled a bit with his backpack, but eventually, we were ready to head to the airport.

I began driving down the road and the silence between us was palpable. No one wanted to talk. It felt like one word would push either one of us over the edge and start crying. I reached over and, without a word, slipped my hand into his. It was dangerous to drive with one hand, but it didn't matter to me. I wanted to feel his presence as much as I could before he left. His thumb began rubbing against the back of my hand and then against the ring and I almost lost it. Thankfully, a very happy song came on the radio and I was able to keep it together.

When we came upon the international terminal of the airport, there was an area where I could park and we could say our goodbyes. I pulled into a spot a little ways away from the door and we both got out of the car. I helped him get his bags out of the trunk as I left the car and radio running. We moved over by the passenger side door and stopped. Joe looked at the terminal and then back at me.

"This is it," he said, dripping in sadness.

"Mm-hmm," I nodded.

"I'll call you as soon as I get there, okay?" Joe made sure I knew. He didn't care what time it would be here, and neither did I. I could feel the tears welling up. I nodded again. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too," I released. I breathed out all the air I didn't know I was holding in. "God, this is so much harder than I thought it was going to be." I chuckled. "But, it's work. And it's an amazing job. And it's something you need to do." I tried to reassure myself. "I'll be there in no time." I chuckled again. Joe just gave me a weak smile. He knew how much I was hurting behind the laughter.

Just then, the song on the radio changed. The very familiar guitar chords started as Crazy Little Thing Called Love started playing softly in the background. We both laughed hard at the coincidence. I licked my lips as I felt a tear fall from my eye. I clenched my lips together to keep from crying any harder. Joe wiped away my tear.

"Aw, Jule," I could see tears welling up in his eyes as well. He didn't like to see me cry. He pulled me in for the biggest hug we had ever given. It was tight and loving. We never wanted to let go. Eventually, though, we did. I don't remember who released first, but all of a sudden we weren't hugging anymore. Tears were streaming down Joe's face now. I wiped them away with my thumbs while my hands rested on his cheeks. I took a deep breath in.

"I think this is only going to get harder the longer you stand here," I chuckled. He pulled me in for a loving kiss. Holding my head and waist, trying to remember my taste one more time. I did the same. He pulled away. "Bye," I said with a breath.

"Bye," He whispered back. He turned away and walked into the doors. The song had ended and another one had begun, but I didn't pay attention to it. As I saw him disappear into the mass of people of LAX, I got back into my car. I turned off the radio and drove in silence. A silence that seemed so loud.

I felt the tears start to stream down my face, but in my heart, I knew Joe wouldn't want me to cry. I stayed strong and wiped the tears away from my face with my sleeve as I watched all the buildings of LA pass by.

This was going to be a long six weeks.