“Keep rocking on, Trin,” Elijah mumbles into my shoulder when he pulls me into a tight embrace.
I smile sadly and pat him on the back. “Love you, goof.”
Amelia is next. Our arms wrap tightly around each other.
Putting my lips near her ear, I whisper, “Watch him for me.”
She nods, saying nothing.
“You take care of yourself. I’ll call you,” she says sternly.
The two siblings blow me a kiss with sad eyes as they disappear into the car.
Athena is next. She kisses me on the cheek with a smile. “Thank you,” she whispers to me.
When she clasps my hands in hers, I glance at her in confusion.
“Thank you for bringing my son back.”
I nearly break down in a sob. As she walks away from me, I watch as she joins her children in the car. My breath increases rapidly as I turn toward the one person I’m dreading to let go of.
Please don’t leave me …
Tears stream down my face as he strides over toward me.
Gripping my cheeks in his hands, he looks down at me passionately. “Never forget, I love you. Nothing will change. I’ll never stop loving you.”
He pulls my lips into his roughly. All the pain we feel is in this one kiss that I’ll feel on my lips until I see him again.
Forcing his lips apart from mine, he staggers back. Leonidas’s face frowns in pain as he kisses his matching bracelet.
“It’s not good-bye, rock star. It’ssee you later,” he croaks out.
Grasping the door handle of the car, he pulls it open.
I take in every detail of him before he leaves my vision. I take in the way his body’s hunched down in pain and how his fists are clenched at his sides.
My body shakes in a sob as the door closes behind him. As he drives off, I feel incomplete.
Half of my soul is in that car, driving away.
FORTY-NINE
TRINITY
Every day feels the same without him.
I wake up and immediately think of him. He consumes my thoughts. Nothing I do can take him off my mind.
No amount of FaceTime calls and text messages will repair the bleeding gash in my heart. I notice the way he tries to cheer me up, but seeing the sadness in his eyes that he tries to hide from me betrays him.
The 2,500 miles between us feels like a lifetime. Not to mention, the time difference. Everything will change when he goes on tour. Multiple time differences will cause our relationship to tear apart slowly. I know he said it wouldn’t, but the pain inside me isn’t normal.
Mom tries to make me smile. But no one will unless it’s a certain rock star. Sometimes, I catch myself thinking he’ll walk through the door with his signature smirk on his face. Disappointment fills me entirely when I realize he’s miles away.
He’s not coming back soon. I keep telling that to myself, and every time, my frown deepens. Yet I have to move on with my life. I’m focusing on my mental health right now.
The love we share is still as strong as ever. It might get even stronger now, hopefully.
