keep the tears from my eyes. “What if it’s not just a short while?” I said. “What if this goes for months?”
His lips curved up with that beautiful smile of his, and he reached out to brush a stray tear from my cheek. “Then this goes for months,” he said. “And we take it one day at a time. We might have to keep our distance, but we can still make each other smile every day. And we’ll keep doing that over and over until we can finally be together again.”
He slowly leaned in to kiss me, and my heart clenched as his lips brushed against mine. The kiss was beautiful but also filled with sadness. A sense of longing rose deep inside my chest, and I couldn’t understand how I could miss someone so much before they were even gone. But that was what I felt right now. I was already pining for the boy whose face I held in my hands.
“I should probably get inside,” I murmured against his lips. The words hurt, but I needed to say them. I needed to leave him now before it became too impossible to open the door of the truck and get out.
He looked me in the eyes, his gaze as pained as mine. It felt a little like looking in a mirror, which made this all so much harder. I was the one to break our gaze, no longer able to handle seeing him so sad.
He cleared his throat. “I’ll grab your bags.”
As we climbed out of the truck, it felt like we’d already said our final goodbye. I somehow managed to clamp down my emotions, tucking them deep inside me to be dealt with later. As I walked toward the house, I felt slightly numb.
My parents opened the front door as we approached, and I knew this was it. It was a bittersweet moment, because as I gave Aiden one last hug goodbye, I knew I’d now get to hug my parents for the first time in weeks.
“Keep out of trouble,” I murmured to Aiden before I allowed my arms to drop to my side. His eyes were still filled with sadness, but he managed to summon a smile for me, as I stepped away.
I turned to my parents. My heart was aching for the loss of Aiden’s touch, but it was also warming at the sight of my mom and dad waiting on the doorstep for me. “Can I hug you guys now?”
The two of them didn’t hold back as they rushed from the doorstep toward me, gathering me in their arms and pulling me into a big family hug. They smelled just as I remembered them. Dad must have been tinkering in the shed because I caught the distinct odor of grease on him while mom’s perfume surrounded me, making me truly feel like I was home.
I forgot all about the pandemic and I forgot about saying goodbye to Aiden. I allowed the warmth and love of my parents to wash over me, as we were finally reunited. We clung to each other tightly before I eventually pulled away.
“It’s so good to have you back, kiddo,” Dad said.
“We’ve missed this so much,” Mom added.
I smiled up at them and nodded. “I’ve missed you guys too.” It wasn’t until now that their return felt real.
“I should probably get going,” Aiden said.
Mom rubbed my arm as I turned to him, while Dad placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. I’d known that Aiden and I would have to stay distant from each other once I returned home, but it wasn’t until this moment that it really hit me. He seemed to be feeling it too, because there was a look of devastation in his eyes that hadn’t been there before. We stood only a few feet apart, but it felt as though a chasm had opened between us and he was now impossible to reach.
I nodded, unable to say the words of goodbye. They got stuck in my throat along with anything else I wanted to say. Being with my parents was what I wanted, but I also didn’t want to be without Aiden.
“I’ll call you later today,” he continued.
Again, I nodded. Apparently, I couldn’t even verbalize a simple okay.
“Thank you for taking such great care of Clary,” Dad said.
“I think she’s been the one taking care of me,” Aiden replied. His light-blue-green eyes settled on me one last time before he slowly turned and walked back to his