Jessypt Week 90: Tucked Away

Jessypt
Monday

Picture 1


Picture 2


Jessypt's Choice: Picture 2

Title: Storm Brewing

Charlotte, or Lottie, as her friends lovingly called her, stared at the wall of photos in front of her. Once the symbol of love and happiness, they’d become nothing more than a reminder of what she’d lost.

She reached up and pulled down one of her favorites. Her finger slid across the glossy surface as she touched the face of the girl in the picture, loving how simple and beautiful she looked. How happy. She and Dave had been at the beach, lounging around with friends, when out of nowhere he’d leaned over and brushed his lips against her temple. Her best friend, Keely, camera always at the ready, had captured the moment, and Lottie treasured it, because it was also the night they’d finally gone all the way.

She snorted. Gone all the way. It sounded so intense, so big, and at the time it had been. He was her first, and she had willingly given him everything. By the time he’d dropped her off at her house that night, her skin still warm and tingly, she had their whole lives planned.

Things were great for a while. Perfect, even. They spent all their free time that summer together and with friends. Laughed. Talked. About everything and nothing and all the stuff in between. They explored each other, learning and loving the way they just seemed to fit. Thinking about it made her skin prickle in remembrance.

But in the end, it wasn’t enough. He left for college, and she stayed behind to finish her senior year of high school. They’d talked, tried to make it work, but the distance became too much. When he’d called to say he couldn’t do it anymore, she had been devastated. Hurt didn’t even begin to touch what she felt, but after some soul-searching and some much needed love from Keely, she’d found her path again.

She put the picture on the bed and turned back to the wall that chronicled their entire short-lived relationship. It was time to move on, to follow her heart, and do what she had planned all along. One by one she removed the pictures, put them in the shoebox she’d pulled from her closet, the one she always put treasured memories, and closed that chapter of her life.