Page 133 of Gabriel's Album

“It was lovely meeting you again, Charlotte.” I smile and wave at her as we leave the cubicle.

Once we’re out of the office building, we make our way in relative silence to a park nearby and walk along the path by a lake.

“So,” I say.

“So,” she replies.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” I tell her honestly.

It’s totally bizarre that after two years, I’m having a conversation with Ariana again.

“You and me both. It’s…odd. How do you know where I work?”

“Charlotte told me on Friday. She doesn’t have your address, or I would’ve gone there. Why did you leave, Ari?”

The question that has plagued my mind for two years falls from my lips sooner than I intended to ask it in this conversation.

“I’m sorry for doing that. I was in shock, I hadn’t seen anyone for two years, and suddenly there you all were,” Ariana shrugs.

I’m surprised that she’s misunderstood the question so badly. That’s not even close to being what I need to know. “Not on Friday. Why did you leaveme?”

“Oh. It’s so hard to say, Gabe.” Ariana takes her time before responding, and it reminds me of the way Hayden thinks things through before committing to anything. “I guess, at the core of it, I was overwhelmed by everything. It all just seemed too much, and I was spiraling, and it felt like I was dragging you down with me.”

“You do know that I never would’ve chosen that option, right?” I breathe.

“Me leaving?” she clarifies.

“Yeah. There were so many other ways that we could’ve handled it. So many other options, but you chose to leave, and I had no say in the matter. That hurt, Ari. So badly.” The familiar pang of hurt strikes me in the chest, and I watch her as we walk.

She looks out across the lake, a frown marring her brow, but she’s still as captivating as ever for me.

“I know that now. I do. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wished I had done it all differently.”

“Did you even get any of the messages I sent you?” I ask.

She sighs and nods. “I did, eventually. The day you left the last message. I almost called you back, but then you said that you were going to let me go, and I thought it was better for everyone that I just let you move on.”

I stop walking and turn to look at her.

“You thought that I could forget about you that easily?” I frown at her and stare at her intensely, trying desperately to understand her thought process behind breaking my heart.

“Yes, well, no, but I thought it would be easier for you if I didn’t contact you again.”

I sigh, then take her hand in mine and walk over to a nearby bench before sitting down. She sits down next to me. Our hands are still linked. It feels so natural, and so right, to hold her hand again.

“I counted the days, Ari. I counted the days for a long, long time. Every day that we were apart, it was like a prison sentence.”

It’s the truth, and as I watch her take this in, I can see the guilt that she feels over doing what she did to me.

She sighs and says, “But you didn’t count them forever, did you, Gabe?”

“No,” I admit. “Not forever, but for long enough.”

I lift our intertwined hands and study them, taking in the sight of linked together, the way they should be. I rub up and down her hand with the pad of my thumb, feeling her soft skin against it.

“I’ve missed this. Being with you. Nothing has ever felt as right as that,” I tell her.

“I’ve missed it, too,” she confesses.

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