Chapter 9

Deciding to take a shortcut back home, Zac walked dazily through an alley, keeping his forearm over his head to shield his eyes from the bright midday sunshine, wishing he had brought sunglasses. Near the middle of the alley, he heard a noise that sounded like someone crying; he looked around and realized that it was Aurora's street. Taking a few steps toward the sound, he peeked through a tall bit of foliage into Aurora's backyard.

She sat on an extra-wide swing that hung from a treebranch. It had been built when she was younger, so now she was able to swing slightly without taking her feet from the ground. She was doing so now, her head leaning against her right hand that grasped the rope, staring nonchalantly at the ground as a few tears rolled down her cheeks, pausing now and then to sniffle loudly.

Zac remembered the day he met her, well found her lying on the side of the road. He remembered how her blue eyes open to his worried face as he sat beside her in the hospital. He remembered how her father had abused her, and all she had been through. He remembered how amazing she was to make love to, how she made him feel a way that no one else could make him feel. He remembered how she shook with fear at the abortion clinic, how he held her hand and promised he'd always be there for her.

And he remembered how he had forgotten her.

Aurora looked up then, and saw his eyes through the thin branches of the bush he stood behind. "Zac?" She quickly wiped the tears off her face.

Zac stepped into the yard. "Sorry," he said softly, "I didn't mean to startle you."

"Oh," she shrugged her shoulders, "you didn't."

Her eyes followed him as he approached. He hesitated a moment before he asked, "can I sit here?"

She looked at the empty space on the swing beside her. "Yeah, I guess."

Zac squeezed in next to her, then began to wonder why he hadn't just walked by her house without stopping. But he knew why. It was her. He had tried to diminish his feelings for her by going with sluts like Ruby, or telling himself that he never really loved her anyway. He wished he hadn't lied to himself like that.

"Sorry I kicked you in the balls last night, I was just really mad...not just at you, at everything. I know Ruby's easy, she does it to make herself feel better about herself..I know you never felt anything real for her, I suppose I was just jealous. Oh, and we should probably work some things out between us Zac," she added, "because I'm not moving, my family has decided to stay."

Zac smiled and attempted to conceal his happiness...he hadn't wanted her to go. "It's okay about before..." Zac told her, "I'm healing."

Aurora made a noise that was meant to be a laugh but sounded more like a small cry.

"I'm..." Zac didn't know where to begin. "I'm sorry I wasn't with you, when you were..when you were sad. I guess..losing the baby affected you more than it affected me. And I wasn't there for you like I said I would be."

"It's okay Zac..I'm..okay too now, I guess," Aurora said, absentmindedly smoothing her hair with her fingertips, "I just didn't like being left like that. You came back from the tour and it was like the past had never happened, like we had never been together and I had never been hurt."

He noticed for the first time how truly beautiful she was. In the most natural way possible...no make-up, no overly-revealing clothing..just simply beautiful, her honest words pouring out of her gentle blue eyes.

"It was just hard," she said.

"What was?"

"The...abortion," she said the word softly, like it was too profane to be said aloud.

"Oh," Zac did't know what to say.

She dug her toe into the dirt beneath the swing, then lifted her foot to brush it off. "I'll never forget about it, even if it was for the best. Even if we were too young. I'll never forget."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, both mentally listing the reasons why it had been done, the secret between them.

The night, so full and gentle
Let's you ride upon its wings
Don't feel the shadows right beside you
Or hear the songs it never sings.
With his arm around your shoulders
In the warmth where you like to curl
Dream of the days before you loved him
Just a boy, and just a girl.
The flame of the room's single candle
Has long since blown away
Carried out by a gentle breeze
Yielding unto day.
Face the truth that lies before you
And the choice you carried through
Don't turn away from the memory
Of the body they took from you.
You know it was for the best
But yet a part of you still dies
You find yourself in wonder
If it had its father's eyes.
The night has revolved to day
Now the sun, it makes you cry
You find that wishes have no meaning
So kiss the stars goodbye.*

"I thought I could leave you behind," Zac began, "and never think of you again. I thought I could move on, and let the past stay in the past. I closed the door to us, and I thought I was strong enough to keep it shut." Zac leaned over and kissed her softly on the cheek. "Let me tell you," he whispered, "those were the most foolish thoughts I've ever allowed to cross my mind."

Aurora laid her head on his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her as they swayed to and fro. "The biggest mistake I've ever made," he said, dropping a kiss on her forehead, "is thinking that love was a mistake."

"Love is never a mistake," she sighed, tracing the smooth grooves of his hand. "It's never a mistake to have lips to kiss and a hand to hold. It's never a mistake to look into someone else's eyes and feel the love showing in your own flow back over you."

She lifted her head and met his gaze. At that moment, he knew exactly what she meant, because he felt it wash over him; his own love reflected in her eyes, like the warm tide that washed over his feet the first time he saw the ocean.

Like the first time he had lain on his back in the grass to admire the stars that illustrated the night sky.

Like the first time he had looked into her eyes, just like he did now.

It flowed into him and spread warmth throughout his body, like the first time he had loved.

Not a day went by when he didn't think of Jenn, even though he knew it was over, and she was gone.

Still, he wanted to move on with his life. She was the one that had left. Left him behind, leaving him to always wonder where she was, not allowed to search for her. She didn't want to be found, so he wasn't about to look.

Now, there was something about Camille. The way she played hard-to-get. Pretending she didn't like him one moment, then flirting incessantly the next. Eventually, she came around. He found that she gave him the same feeling Jenn had given him. He couldn't stand being away from her, and he loved her.

With each kiss he laid upon her body, the day when wedding bells would join them drew closer.

Maybe he'd find Jenn one day, and they could talk about old times, but for now, this was what he wanted...Camille.

Taylor climbed the stairs to his room after breaking it off with Quinn. Now the only thing occupying his mind was Alexandra. Now he could stop missing her.

He opened the door to his room to find her with her back to him, standing in front of the mirror, putting her hair up. She saw his reflection in the mirror and smiled. He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She noticed how much taller he felt, how much stronger, but that he still smelled the same. The same familiar cologne scent that always seemed to to tickle her nose everytime he stood close to her. Somehow, she felt comfort in that.

He began kissing her neck, then reached up to let down her hair, sending a flow of strawberry blonde waves cascading down past her shoulders. "Hey," she said, "I just put it up."

"Well, I like it down," Tay said in a muffled voice, as he inhaled the scent of her lavender shampoo. "I love your hair."

The pink crept up Alexandra's neck and into her cheeks. She was amazed that even after all that time, he could still make her blush.

Alexandra sighed. "I'm sorry I was so messed up these past months, I was just...afraid of guys, in general."

He lovingly ran the back of his hand across her cheek, looking at the beautiful picture they made in the mirror. "I'm not like them. I would never hurt you. I'd die a thousand times before I'd hurt you, Alex. You're everything to me."

"Oh..no one ever talks to me the way you do," she said with a smile, "that's why I'm here in your arms..I'm not afraid anymore. You made me want to come back. You know," she spoke with a thought, "you saved me, Tay."

Then she shut her eyes, savoring the moment and the feeling, wanting to remember them as a sensation, not just a sight. She knew his eyes were on her, she felt them wash over her figure, and she loved it. No one else's eyes could make her feel that way when her own were closed to the world, and no one's were as beautiful as his.

She turned around abruptly. "Taylor," she said suddenly, "do you believe in soulmates?"

He looked into her cornflower blue eyes with his own, and simply leaned in to kiss her softly on the lips.

"I believe," he said, encircling her in a gentle embrace and drawing her closer to him, "that the day that we first met, the angels whispered, 'Perfect.'"

Alexandra smiled fondly. "Do you really think so?"

"Yes," Taylor replied, "I heard it."

Alexandra nestled her head in the crook of his neck. "Then I guess it's meant to be," she stated matter-of-factly.

"And how do you know that?" Taylor asked, laughing softly.

Alexandra lifted his hand to delicately kiss his fingertips. "I know because I heard it too."