"Are you okay?"

River asked it quietly, as if he was afraid, even though there was nothing he could be afraid of. He didn't have to take the plane in the morning to be greeted by his not-so-amused mother, to say it lightly. She wondered if he even cared that she was leaving tomorrow already.

"Just my mom," she said, averting her face and avoiding to look him in the eyes. "She's... not so pleased I left." She'd called three times yesterday, demanding her to take the plane back home, and Emily hadn't even checked her phone for any text messages her mother could've sent. Knowing her, it would be at least a hundred. Her mother was someone that tended to exaggerate things. Emily was just gone for three days. That her mother didn't like it because she'd been gone for three years before that, was understandable, but she needed this break - that was a concept that was hard to grasp for her mother, who always had her way.

"Why?" River asked her.

She took a deep breath. Could she even answer that question? "Because..." she started. "She's of the opinion that I should be with family right now."

He nodded slowly. As if he understood. Could anyone ever understand what she was going through? Jason came the closest, but he didn't seem to be bothered by the trauma they'd both gone through.

"It's a hard time for the family?" he asked.

'Hard' didn't even begin to describe it. "Yes." Both she and her parents suffered from what she'd been through, the memories haunting her dreams and her parents becoming overprotective of her, not wanting to lose her again. The second time could be for good.

"I hope you're okay," he said, and something in his voice spoke caring and lovingly, something that caused her to break. No one had ever told her that. They always asked her about what happened or how it was then—as if, now that she was out of her imprisonment, everything was alright.

Nothing about this was alright.

And even though he didn't know anything about her story, he understood more than anyone else. He asked her how she was and it was all she wished for.

"I will be." Hopefully. Not a day went by where she wished this all came to an end, or that she could forget about it. It would make everything much easier if she could just move on.

She picked her bag up, cleaned it of sand and put it on her arm again, ready to continue the walk in silence. It was what she needed; after a hectic and tense time, she wanted a break. That was what she was here for, and she wasn't about to let anyone, not her mother nor River, take that away from her.

"What time is it?" she asked.

He glanced at his watch. "Nine. Do you want to go already?"

She nodded. "I'm sorry..." She hated to disappoint him.

"That's okay," he smiled.

"I'm boring, I know," she said. "But it was nice meeting you." And it wasn't until she said those words, that she realized this was goodbye. Not only did they split up after this, she'd never see him again. Ever. What were the chances of her going back to Miami and bumping into him again?

She eyed him and saw there was a saddening look on his face as he said, "It was." And it was this sorrow that made her wonder if he felt the same thing she did.

*

It wasn't until she was at the airport that the realization came through to her. This really was the end, and she couldn't stop thinking about how she didn't want it to be. It was too sudden and she still wanted to tell him about so many things.

She didn't want this to be just a chapter of her life, moving onto the next without thinking about the previous one ever again. She wanted this to be the story. She wanted him and her to be the complete book.

But alas, here she was, dragging her luggage behind her in the big gray halls of the airport, the tiny wheels squeaking with every movement.

And this was how it ended.

The big clock on the wall reminded her that it was 9.15 a.m. She was late and didn't have much time, so she orientated herself and spotted where she had to check in quickly.

And she was surprised to see a familiar face there, holding up a big bouquet of yellow and orange flowers.

"You're late," he said.

"You're here."

"I know." He grinned and that look was much too familiar to her. "I couldn't just let it end this way."

She smiled softly, thinking the same thing. There was a part of her that hoped she'd see him again someday, but it was hope that led to disappointment. It wouldn't happen, no matter how much she wished it would.

"It has to end," she whispered. Then, "My plane leaves in an hour."

"We can't just put an end to this," he said.

She shrugged her shoulders as if she didn't care, but she did. "Nothing I can do about it."

"Give me your number then," he said.

She froze in place. She hadn't thought about the possibility of exchanging numbers and keeping contact. Wouldn't it make everything worse? They could text each other, but they'd never see each other.

"Please."

And it was the pain in the look he gave her that convinced her.

"Quick, please," she said, "I'm late already." She didn't mean to sound snobby or cranky, but it was early in the morning and she was about to miss her plane if she waited here too long - and she could only imagine what the reaction of her mother would be.

He took his phone out of his pocket and she quickly called out a series of numbers, which he then repeated back to her.

"That's it," she said, and there was a sense of finality in there that once again made her realize that this was it. This was the end.

But still, it didn't feel right. It was too sudden. They'd just met each other yesterday and spent a few hours together, but it felt like more than that. And to have it end here already? It was like stopping to read a book halfway in; not an option.

But she needed to go back to her family, hold her sisters in her arms and see her parents again. She couldn't keep putting this off forever, because as she'd said before: it had to end somewhere.

"Wait," he said, stopping her in her tracks. "These are for you."

He held out the bouquet of yellow and orange flowers and she hesitantly took it from him.

"I can't promise they'll let me take this on the plane," she said.

"Tell them they have to."

The corners of her mouth curled up and her cheeks colored red. "Thank you." It was then that she noticed he was wearing the same shirt as he had yesterday, the light blue velour with white Adidas stripes on the side. Had he done that on purpose?

Somehow, it was that little thing that brought her to do the following, because she felt a connection with him in a weird way—as if the shirt meant more to the both of them than any other shirt, and him wearing it told her he'd keep it to remember her.

So, she took a step closer to him and came in for a hug.

"Whoa," River said, jumping back. "What are you doing?"

She felt blood flowing to her cheeks. "I..." she began, not even knowing what to say. What was she about to do? It was stupid, she realized; she didn't do hugs. She was not that person.

But she tried to laugh it off. "Isn't that supposed to be my reaction?" she said, thinking back to the day before.

"It's just..." he said. "I hadn't seen it coming."

She hadn't either.

"It's not about you, or anything," he stuttered. "I just thought... Because, yesterday -"

"I know," she said, freeing him of his embarrassment. His face had a rosy tint too.

Then he slowly took a step forward again, bridging the distance that he'd created between them. "May I?"

She chuckled at his formal request, but opened up her arms for him too and enclosed them around him.

They were hugging.

And she didn't even feel fear or feel frightened by it. Whereas normally she'd want to let go and avoid any physical contact, his warm embrace calmed her down. It was in his arms that she felt safe; there was a feeling of belonging.

But, as she reminded herself again, this was goodbye.

* * *

The last chapter of part one! Who's crying?