flashback - ten months ago
jamie felt happy. like, really happy. just two days ago, on valetines's day, chris had given her a purple heart-shaped photoframe that held a two month old picture of the two of them kissing in a photobooth. she was in an insanely good mood. there was nothing that could bring her down.
jamie hummed along to 'kiss you' by one direction as she tried to pick out an outfit for the evening. chris had called her earlier and asked if she could come over to just watch movies and hang out. as she rummaged through her closet, she got a text from chris.
chris owen
hi james
when will u be here
j belle
hey!
im ab to leave in like 20
chris owen
okay perfect
what do you want to watch?
j belle
ummmm
u can choose :)
chris owen
jamie stop you know im indecisive
j belle
have fun! see u soon!
chris owen
see you soon
i love you
j belle
love you more!
jamie put her phone back on her bed and changed into a white tank top and green cargo pants. she grabbed her purse, phone, and wallet before heading downstairs.
"mom! dad! i'm going to the triplets'!" she called out. "taking the car."
"okay, honey!" her mom called from the kitchen. "have fun and be safe!"
"tell jimmy i say hello." her dad replied as he walked down the stairs. jamie gave him a thumbs up before opening the door. the sky was littered with grey rain clouds, but it didn't look like it would rain for at least a couple hours. jamie started the car, plugging her phone in and starting 'folklore' by taylor swift, her absolute favorite album.
as the song 'exile' played through the speakers, jamie sang along as she drove just three houses down to the triplets. she could have walked, but she wasn't sure if they would spontaneously plan a taco bell run or something. as she pulled into the driveway, jamie spotted chris sitting on the porch, waiting for her. his eyes lit up when he saw her.
"jamie!" chris stood and walked over just as she was getting out of the car. she met him halfway and the two kissed. "i missed you." he whispered as he pulled away. jamie smiled.
"you saw me yesterday."
"seventeen hours too long." chris shook his head. "also, i found a movie!" he took her by the hand and led her into the house. "guys, jamie's over!" he yelled out. matt walked outside from the kitchen. his eyes softened when he saw the girl.
"hi james." matt greeted her. jamie couldn't help but notice a twinge of sadness in his eyes.
"you alright?" she asked him. matt faked a smile and nodded.
"i'm okay. you two have fun." he said before heading upstairs. jamie noticed chris looking after him with a concerned expression.
"he's been off for the past couple days." chris told her. "i tried asking him what was wrong earlier, but he didn't give me a straight answer. something about the girl he likes dating someone else."
"oh." jamie nodded. she saw chris shift uncomfortably, as if he knew exactly what was making matt upset. "so, what movie did you choose?" she asked, attempting to break the silence. chris grinned at her.
"let's go." he leads her upstairs, toward his room. when he led her inside, jamie gasped. a tray of popcorn, chocolates, and cans of pepsi lay on the bed.
"chris, oh my god." she looked at her boyfriend. "this is so cute."
"just wait 'till you see the movie." he pointed to the tv in the corner of his room. jamie's jaw dropped when she saw the movie waiting to be played.
"tangled." she said, her voice full of excitement. chris beamed.
"it's your all time favorite movie." he explained. "i figured that since we both couldn't choose, we'll just watch one we both like."
"i'm going to start crying." jamie said as she sat down on the bed, facing the tv. "chris, this is perfect."
"what can i say? i'm just that great." chris sat down next to her. jamie laughed and shook her head.
"shut up."
"kiss me and maybe i will." chris replied, slyly. jamie rolled her eyes.
"you're so corny." she said before leaning in and pecking the boy on the lips. "is that better?"
"much better, thanks." chris smiled at her again. "are you ready to start?"
"oh, i'm always ready for 'tangled.'" jamie said, snuggling up against chris as he pressed play on the remote. the two watched the movie, with jamie singing along to the songs while chris watched her with a smile. halfway through the movie, just before rapunzel wakes up on her eighteenth birthday, chris gets up to refill the popcorn.
"i'll be right back." he says, giving jamie a kiss before leaving the room. jamie looked after him, a small smile making it's way to her lips. she couldn't believe she scored a guy this amazing. dating him had been the best four years of her life and she honestly could not have it any other way. jamie was scrolling through pictures on her phone when she heard voices coming from the room across from chris'.
"chris, i swear to god i'll kill you." she heard matt say. "don't put yourself through that on my account."
"matt, you can't just sit there and tell me that after what you told me earlier." chris replied, his voice slightly raised. "you're my brother. i have to do whatever it takes not to hurt you."
"but don't do this, chris. is it really worth it? you love her more than anyone."
"shut the fuck up, matt. she's literally in the other room."
jamie stopped listening. she didn't want to know what they were arguing about, but it was scary that she was even mentioned. what did chris want to do? and why was matt saying it wasn't worth it? so many questions were racing through her head, but she ignored them. it's not good to eavesdrop, she told herself.
"hey." chris' voice startled her out of her thoughts. "i brought the popcorn, plus some other snacks." he said, putting on a fake smile that jamie saw right through.
"you okay?" she asked. chris nodded his head as he sat down next to her and put the popcorn and bags of snacks in between them.
"just an argument with matt. i'll be fine." he assured her before leaning over and kissing her lips again. "thank you for asking, though."
"of course." jamie replied, softly. "wanna finish the movie?"
"yeah." chris said, but once the movie started playing, jamie noticed that chris wasn't as into it as he was before. she had to admit that the sight made her nervous. what could he and matt have argued about that made him so upset and distant? and why was she brought up in the conversation? before she knew it, however, jamie was asleep, with her head on chris' shoulder. she didn't even realize she fell asleep until chris woke her up.
"hey, james." he brushed her shoulder gently. "the movie's done. do you want to stay the night?"
"um..." jamie hesitated. she did want to stay the night, but she couldn't help but feel the tiniest bit of uncomfort with the tension between chris and matt. she hated that chris was upset and she couldn't seem to do anything about it.
"jamie? everything alright?"
"yeah." jamie nodded. "i think i'll, um, head out. you and matt should sort out whatever you have going on."
"j..." chris started. "matt and i are fine. we'll get through it. you can stay if you want." he said, his eyes pleading her, silently. jamie sighed, looking toward the bedroom door and then down at her phone.
"it's getting late, chris." she said, getting up from the bed. she didn't want to leave, but something told her that she should. "i have dad's car."
"at least let me walk you out." chris said, also getting up.
"okay." jamie replied. the two left the room and head downstairs, toward the front door. jamie could hear rain starting to pour outside.
"it's pouring rain." chris said. "jamie, you hate driving in the rain."
"chris, i'm not going to stay here if you're going to be upset the whole time." jamie said, finally. chris furrowed his eyebrows.
"what do you mean?" he asked.
"something is bothering you and i know it has something to do with your argument with matt. you're obviously really upset about it and you're not telling me what's going on."
"jamie i really wish i could tell you." chris said. "but matt..."
"i get it. and i want you guys to sort it out. but i can't stay here if you're not going to talk to me."
"i'm sorry." chris whispered. "jamie i really don't want to do this, but—"
"no. no, we're not doing this now." jamie cut him off, suddenly realizing what chris was about to do. "chris, i swear—"
"jamie, listen." chris pleaded. "i love you. i really do. but i..."
"chris." jamie's eyes were starting to water. she hated to cry. she didn't want to cry tonight. not when she had left the house in such a good mood earlier today. "please don't."
"i have to." chris said, his voice cracking. "i...i have to break up with you."
"no." jamie shook her head. "no you don't. tell me what's wrong, chris. i can help you. i can fix us. i can fix whatever is wrong."
"no. oh my god, james, no. it's not you. it will never be you. you're perfect. you've been the perfect girlfriend. the best friend in the world. but i can't keep doing this. i can't..." he trailed off, his breath shaky.
"you can't what?" jamie's voice was also shaky.
"i can't tell you." chris whispered, a single tear falling from his eyes. "i'm sorry." he opened the front door and jamie stared outside, at the pouring rain.
"i love you, chris." she said before wiping her tears and walking out of the house. chris looked after her, longingly.
"goodbye, jamie." he said. jamie didn't dare look back at him as she ran back to her car. the rain was still coming down hard. if her house wasn't just three doors down, she would not be fit to drive right now. jamie got into the driver's seat, starting the car almost immediately. as soon as she backed out of the driveway, she saw a figure run out toward her, but stop once they saw she was already driving. jamie let out a sob before driving away in the direction of her house.
when she arrived back at her house, jamie got out of the car, taking one last look in the way of the sturniolo household.
"fuck you for making me fall in love with you." she whispered into the wind. she couldn't tell if she was actually crying now or if it was just the rain. shaking her head, jamie ran toward her front door, wiping her eyes before quietly opening the door.
"jamie?" a voice asked when jamie entered the house. "what happened? i assumed you would be staying the night." her mother kiley said. this was jamie's breaking point. as soon as she heard her mother's voice, she started sobbing.
"mom..." jamie cried. "i don't think i'll be staying over there again."
"oh my god." kiley rushed over to give her daughter a hug. "i'm so sorry, james. do you want to talk about it?"
"not really. i kind of just want to sleep." jamie said. kiley nodded in understanding.
"okay, honey. just head on upstairs. i'll come to check on you in the morning."
"i love you, mom."
"i love you too, jamie."
once in bed, jamie was staring at the ceiling. she didn't dare look in the direction of her desk, where the picture of them in the purple heart frame still stood. she couldn't care to look at the walls, where pictures and cards were hung up on her bulletin board. jamie was still in shock. she couldn't sleep. she put in her headphones and searched spotify for one specific song. it wasn't hard to find; the song was the first in her 'chris' playlist.
waking up to kiss you and nobody's there
the voice of niall horan filled her ears. jamie put the song on repeat and turned her phone off. she continued to stare at the ceiling as 'this town' played and the reality of what had just happened had begun to sink in.
jamie's life without chris had started to play. she imagined what would happen in their senior year: the classes they signed up for and the perfect prom that they'd talked about since middle school. and suddenly, jamie found herself drifting to sleep again. and when she opened her eyes, it wasn't chris next to her. it was the wall of the bathroom stall.
her flashback was over.
maha speaks :)
i feel like that ending was really bad
do we have any ideas as for why chris broke up with her?