They say it only takes 21 days.
One drive by, two tragic memories, three awful nights alone, four long days in that room, five medications, six visitors, seven stupid magazines to read over and over again, eight voicemails, nine calls, ten evaluations, eleven questions, twelve different rumors, thirteen news channels, fourteen minutes, fifteen hours unstable, sixteen letters, seventeen bouquets, eighteen gifts, nineteen 'because I care' messages, twenty hard physical therapy sessions, twenty-one psych sessions.
Each day is another number.
They say it only takes 21 days to break a habit.
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11:57pm
"Aria! I found you thank god!" Madison shrieked.
"Everyone's getting ready for the drop come on!"
"Yes Maddy, in a minute." I stated with every last bit of calm in my body.
"Hey," Evan says as he tilts my chin to meet his gaze, "we don't have to do this now, we can discuss the year we lost each other later, now let's watch that ball drop and welcome in 2016."
"Hell yeah." Is all I managed to say with our faces so close together.
The temptation is strong.
He takes me by the hand and leads me to the perfectly decorated living room where the projector screen is showing the ball in Times Square.
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
Everyone begins to cheer and I can't help but smile at all the unfamiliar faces that are some how so welcoming.
"Hey man, are you gonna kiss that beautiful girl or what?" Asks a stranger who seems more familiar than I thought.
"You read my mind" Evan replies.
Just as he leans close I notice Maddy watching me as she does to make sure I'm okay.
I sneak her a small wave with my hand by my side and let myself catch up in the moment.
Our faces so close now that we can almost taste each other's lips.
The kiss is so sweet and I feel like that year between us never occurred, Evan and I may not have lost as much of our connection as we had originally thought.
"'Now like I said earlier, would you like to get out of here?" He says with a confident smirk.
"I wouldn't be more glad to leave this hell of a party." I laughed.