Over Again

She refused to talk. I even had Doniya bake cookies, and I sent them to her house. She sent them back.

I walked to our place, knowing she would be there. she sat on the middle of the pond, on a rock, throwing stones into the water rushing past her. I sat on the edge of the pond.

"You know I've only got a few weeks left before I have to go back, Gracie," I reminded her. She sighed.

"Go then," she murmured. "Go to your girlfriend and boy band buddies and the rich life." She looked at me, dead in the eyes. "You can't break a heart twice." I sighed.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have wrote that in the song, and I shouldn't have told you the day before I was leaving. I was young and stupid." She chuckled, coldly, looking at her reflection in the water.

"You're saying that kiss was stupid, then, Zayn. If that's what you're saying, I agree," she says, staring into the water.

"No, I-"

"I don't even recognize myself anymore," she says. "In the water, that's not me!" She forcefully made contact with the water, and her reflection was jumbled. She put her head in her hands, shaking her body slightly.

Gracie got up, stepping carefully from rock to rock, then sat in my lap. She starts to cry softly, and I wrap my arms around her.

"Shh," I whisper, "it's okay." She shakes her head.

"It's not okay, I'm a failure! I don't even have a real job!" I lie the top of her head, rocking us slightly.

"It's my fault, not yours," I say. "But I'm gonna fix this."

Notes

Happy Memorial Day!