Chapter Twenty-Nine:

I circle the school twice and walk around the neighbourhood a bit before I find him sitting on a tree in a park near by.

"Hey." I say, but no reply. I climb up the tree and sit across from him on the thick branch.

"What are you doing here?"

"No, you don't get to ask any questions. You only get to give answers." I tell him and he looks away,

"Why did you do that?" I ask.

"The bastard needs to learn what his place is."

"We're not together... you don't get to decide anything in my life... besides Leandro and I are just friends, it was nothing more." I lie and he seem relieved.

"Did you at least get the satisfaction that you wanted?"

"No." He quickly replies.

"Why did you break up with me? I need... closure." I say to him and he finally makes eye contact.

"It was exactly what Leandro said, but it seemed you were too involved in my life." He says and I wait for him to continue.

"I couldn't give you the life you deserve. You have a great future ahead of you and I'm just going to get in the way, besides were young you will get over it."

"Gabriel, that isn't your decision to make! Who I want in my life is up to me and I wanted you and you left because you listened to what other people said or what it seemed like but it wasn't how it seemed, you were the only person that I would give up everything for." I say,

"Well that's the issue right there, you were willing to do anything for me including ruining your future." He hops off the tree and starts to walk away.

"You're not walking away from me! I'm the one that should leave first not you!" I try to carefully climb of the tree but end up falling flat on the grass. I hear him run back.

"Shit, are you okay?" He asks, he tries to help me up, but I push him away.

"Please don't touch me." I sit up and bury my face in my hands.

"I really hurt you bad? didn't I?" He asks like a dumbass.

"Yeah, you think?"

"I just don't get how so much can change in a week... I didn't realize it at the time but even before you broke up with me we were done. You pushed me away Gabriel... you didn't try to let me in, instead you pushed me away and blamed it all on me... you didn't... you stopped fighting for us." I start to cry even though I really tried not to. I wipe my face in embarrassment,

"I was the only one that had faith in us. Face it, none of our friends or even my Mother thought it was gonna last and apparently you didn't either. Everyone thought it was a phase, a fling and you did too and you proved them right. All I wanted was you and you said you did too but you didn't even have faith in us." I cry... I'm done yelling, I'm sick and tired of it, it's all we ever do.

"Maddie, we're seventeen years old, obviously no one does. You're going all the way to New York and I'm staying in California, we argue everyday. There are so many reasons why we shouldn't be together." He says.

"Don't blame it on age because we both know that we're not too young. You're going to be eighteen in a few months, an adult. We're not children anymore so stop acting like everyone else our age that just sleeps around. Didn't you have enough of that? And so what we're far? At least we would have been together."

"You're right. I shouldn't have blamed it on age because I never felt that way but the distance is a big thing, especially the arguing." I start to get up, ready to end this conversation,

"Arguing is what we do, Gabriel. We always argue, say things we don't mean! We wouldn't be us if we didn't."

"You know through all these weeks, I just wanted you back. I would have done anything to have you back, but now I'm done. I shouldn't have to convince you to be with me, you should just want to and I can't sit here and let you act like our whole relationship was bad and a mistake but I will thank you for giving me the closure I needed, without a fight." I walk off before he can say anything or walk off before me. For the first time in weeks, I almost feel complete.