"julie—"
I turn around and it's sam, looking more
serious than usual in a black suit.
"where are you going?" he asks.
" home."
"in the rain?"
i don't know what to say. i feel like an
idiot. so i forced a smile. "it's just a little
mist. I'm from Seattle remember?"
"i can give you a ride if you want."
that's okay. i dont mind walking." my
cheeks are warm.
"are you sure?"
"yeah, dont worry." i want to get out of
here. but sam doesn't move. i try again.
"your date is probably waiting for you in
there."
"what?" he stutters a little. "taylor isnt
my date. we're just friends"
there's so much i want to say, but the knots
in my stomach keep me from speaking.
I shouldn't feel this way. Sam and I aren't
even together.
"why are you leaving so early?"
I remember him under the colored lights,
his arms around taylor, but there's no way
i can tell him the truth. "school dances
aren't really my thing. that's all."
Sam nods and slides his hands into his
pockets. "yeah, i know what you mean. they
can be pretty lame."
"does anyone have a good time at these
things?"
"well, maybe you haven't gone with the right person."
my breath catches as i take this in. even
from outside the gym, we can hear the
music through the walls, melting into
another slow song.
sam stands at the door, rocking back and
forth on the heels of his dress shoes.
"do you not like...to dance?"
" i don't know...im just not very good at it.
And i don't like people watching me."
Sam looks around us. after a moment, he
smiles a little, and holds out a hand.
" well, no one's watching us now..."
"Sam—" I start.
His familiar smirk appears.
"just one dance."
i hold my breath at sam steps forward and
takes my hand, pulling me close to him.
I never imagined my first dance would be
like this, the two of us swaying outside in
the school parking lot. his faceis slightly
dewy from the mist, and i inhale his
familiar sweet scent, resting my cheek
against his chest. as i move my hands
onto his shoulders, he notices something.
"what's this?"
the paper cherry blossom. it's tied around
my wrist with a ribbon. My cheeks feel
warm again. "I didn't get a corsage. so i
made one myself."
"i give this to you"
"i know you did"
Sam smiles at this. "you know i wanted to
ask you to dance tonight, but i was worried
you'd say no."
"what made you think that?"
" because you never texted me. that day
we met at the bookstore." I squint at him,
thinking back. "but you never gave me your
number"
Sam drops his head, chuckling to himself.
"what's so funny?" i ask slightly annoyed, as
he takes my hand. He plucks the cherry
blossom from my wrist, and begins unfolding it. I start to protest, but fall silent
when it's just a sheet of paper in his hands.
inside is a note with sam's name and
number.
"i never thought to open it....." i say.
"i guess that's my fault."
we both laugh at this. then my smile fades.
"what's wrong?" sam asks.
" it ruined now."
the paper is torn and wet from the mist.
"Don't worry," sam says. "I can make you anlther one. I can make you a thousand
more."
I put my arm around his as we continue
our slow dance in the parking lot, listening
to the music through the gym wall, as the mist swells around us like clouds before it shifts and fades into a clear night sky, and the memory change again.
clothes fly out the second floor window as i run onto the lawn that's covered with my father's things. my parents have been shouting for the past hour, and i can't stand to be in the house anymore. I always knew things would end eventually, but I never expected it to happen so soon. 'where else can I go?' I ask sam to come pick me up, but he isn't here yet. I feel the neighbors watching me from their windows. I can't wait around any longer. I turn down the block and start running until everything disappear behind me.
I don't even know where I'm going. I keep running until nothing looks familiar. it isn't until I reach the edge of town, where the farm grass streaches towards the mountains, that i realize I forgot my phone. A pair of headlights shine down the empty road. As i move out of the way, the car
slows to a stop in front of me and I realize it's sam.
"Are you okay?" he asks as i climb into
the passenger seat. "I showed up at your house but you weren't there."
if i remember my phone, I would have sent him my location. "How did you even know where to find me?"
"I didn't.....I just keep looking"
We sit in his car with the engine humming for a long time.
"Do you want me to take you home?"
Sam asks eventually.
"No."
"So where do you want to go?"
"Anywhere else."
Sam start driving. we circle through town until we lose track of time. shop lights turn off one by one as the road begins to darknen. with nowhere else to go, Sam
turns into a parking space of a twenty four hour minimart, and shuts of the car. He doesn't ask me anything about what happened. He just lets me rest my head
againts the window glass and close my eyes for a moment. Before i drift off, the last thing i remember is the florescent light
of the minimart sign, and sam laying his denim jacket over me as i fall asleep.
I wake up on the grass at golden hour.
sunlight warms my cheeks as I push myself up look around. the trees are full of hand folded blossoms, hundreds of them, tied up with long strings, swaying in the breeze like willow. Once im on my feet, I notice a trail of petals leading towards the sound of a guitar playing in the distance. I follow the sound passing through a curtain of paper blossom, and remember where i am. our secret spot at the lake. The place we've met a hundred times before. The moment i break through the trees, and catch the sunlight shimmer across the water, I find him there waiting for me.
"julie—" Sam calls my name as he sets his guitar down. "I wasn't sure if you were coming...."
"I wasn't sure if you'd still be here," I say
He takes my hands. "I'll always be here for you jules."
I don't question this. At least, not right now.
We sit near the lake and stare out at the water. clouds move slowly across a pink sky. sometimes, I wish the sun would never set, so we could stay here, enjoying each other company, talking like we always do. laughing at inside jokes, pretending like nothing could ever go wrong. I look at sam, and take his face, his beautiful smile, his black hair that sweeps across his forehead, his tan skin, and wish I could freeze this moment and hold on to it forever. But i can't. Even in a dream, I can't seem to stop time. The clouds are thickening above us, and there's a strange tremble beneath the earth. Sam must have notice this, too, because he rises to his feet.
I grab his hand. "Don't go yet."
Sam looks at me. "julie...if i could stay with you, I'd never leave"
"but you did leave."
"i know.... im sorry."
"you never said goodbye..."
"that's because i never thought I had to."
out of nowhere, a wind sweeps in from behind us, as if it's come to take him away from me. behind the trees, the sun starts to fall, casting shadows across the water. It isn't supposed to end like this. This was just the beginning. our story has barely started. My heart pounds inside my chest. I squeeze Sam's hand harder to keep him from leaving.
"This isn't fai sam—" I start, but my throat catches, as i feel tears forming behind my eyes.
Sam kisses me one last time. "I know this wasn't part of our plan, Julie. But at least we had this time together, right? I want you to know... if i could do it all over again, I would. Every second of it."
'If the ending is this painful, i dont know if this was worth it all.'
My grip loosens as i think about this. "im sorry sam..."I say, stepping back. "but i dont think I can say the same..."
sam stares at me as if he's waiting for me to take back my words. but there's no time left. Sam starts to disappear before me, dissolving into cherry blossom petals. I stand watching as the winds picks up and pulls them through the air. before he's completely gone, I reach out to grab a single petal and hold it tight against my chest. But somehow it slips through my fingers and vanishes into the sky. Just like the rest of him.
A/N- enjoy reading and kindly support me this is my first story thank you ❤️