A New Beginning

My entire body seemed to be trembling. I could barely breathe over the nervous wave of nausea that swept over me. I wasn't quite sure if Harlow noticed my nervousness or not, so I just stayed quiet and stared at my lap. Apparently not. She pulled out of the parking stall and drove torward the exit of the parking lot. I peeked up and out the window to see if he was still there, but he was gone. I sighed and stared at the cars passing by us as we drove. I knew I needed to ask about Matt and Brian and all them soon... So I figured now could be a good time since it was just me and her alone.

"Hey... Harlow?" I started.

"Yeah?" She replied to me.

I opened and closed my mouth a few times, trying to come up with the words I wanted to say. Eventually I just straight out asked her. "Did Brian ever ask about me?" I sighed. I was afraid to hear her answer, but I knew it had to be asked.

She hesitated before speaking to me. "Yes," She started. "He did. Multiple times. He was so torn up about everything he ever said to you... But he was afraid to try to talk to you because he thought you hated him. He's asked about you at least twice every week since you left. He misses you a lot, believe it or not. When you left... He cried. A lot... It was quite depressing."

Something about all that made me angry. Extremely angry. "If he really misses me, he should have started talking to me. The only reason I didn't is because I thought he hated me. I was so convinced that he did. Harlow, I went into severe depression after losing him. I started cutting, and I even considered suicide multiple times... I attempted twice... But I failed both times."

Harlow stopped the car at the side of the road and faced me. "Emma, I don't believe you would ever even think about doing that. You always said that was for poser wannabes." My face reddened. I yanked up the sleeves of my shirt so she could see the scars. There were words and lyrics carved into my skin. I regretted my decisions, but it was too late. The marks were going to be there forever as a reminder of what I had done to myself and the pain I had put myself through. Harlow pulled my wrists torwards her to examine them. She could easily see what I had etched into myself. "Oh..." Was all she could say torward that. I pulled down my sleeves and stared at her.

"Yeah..."

"Do you want to go see him?" She asked.

"Wait... What?"

"You heard me. Do you want to go visit Brian? I'm sure you guys could make up and talk everything over." I shook my head at her suggestion.

"No... If he really wants to see me... He can come visit me on his own. I'm not coming back to him. He can come back to me." Harlow nodded at my point. At least she understood. Harlow put her Jeep back into gear and continued the journey back to my house. Eventually, she pulled up to my house to drop me off. I said a quick goodbye and ran inside past my dad and into my bedroom. I threw myself onto my bed to quickly fall asleep. It had been quite a long day, and I definitely needed to sleep.

~Dream~

I was waiting at the back of the church, with my arm linked with my dad's. It was my wedding day, but to whom I was getting married to, I am not sure. My niece Madelynn walked up the aisle as the flower girl, tossing rose petals as she went. In front of me, my apparent Maid- Of - Honor, my sister Abby walked down the aisle after her. Then it was Harlow, my sister-in-law Allie, and a couple of childhood friends, Jayy and Kat. After they had lined up by the altar, my dad and I advanced forward down the aisle. The groomsmen were Matt, Jimmy, Zacky, Johnny, and my brother, Taylor. I eyed them up until I reached the groom. I gasped. The groom was Brian. We reached him, and my dad handed me off to him and took his place next to my mother. The priest stood in front of us and began the ceremony. Eventually it was time to say our "I do's" and I faced him. As I went to put the ring on his finger, he disappeared.

~End of dream~

I sat up in my bed, shaking, and in a cold sweat. That had been the weirdest dream I had had in a while. I shook my head and wiped the sweat off of my forehead. I flipped on a light and walked torward my closet to pick out some pajamas so I could actually sleep comfortably and normally. I stripped down and put them on, switched the light off, and walked over to my bed. I grabbed my phone to check my messages. There were a few from my siblings and one from a number that I did not recognize. I opened it to read it.

Emma. It's Brian. I do really need to talk to you. I miss you.

I gasped at the sight of the text. How had he gotten my number?

Okay... I replied to him. When, where, and what about?

He immediatly replied. Hmm... Like now?

As soon as I got that text, a knock sounded on my window. I pulled the curtain back to see Brian standing outside of it.