This is the last chapter

Words: 2408

I watched Zach as he put his suitcases into the back of his parents' car. I wiped a few stray tears away as he closed the trunk. He turned to me as I let my hand rest at my side. His face softened and he walked over to me and pulled me in for a hug. His arms were around my shoulders and I put my head into his chest. My quiet sobs became more noticeable.

"Winter...don't cry. You'll make me regret doing this" he told me quietly. I sniffed and pulled my head away from his chest.

"I'm sorry it's just..." I looked away from his dark brown eyes.

"I'm gonna miss you" I admitted, looking down. I heard him sigh, then felt him press a kiss to my head. He rested his forehead on top of my head.

"I'm gonna miss you too."

We stood there in a comfortable silence, the only sound being my sobs. I finally wrapped my arms around his waist, pulling him closer to me. I let out a shaky sigh.

"I don't want you to leave" I whispered. He kissed my temple.

"I don't want to leave you, but this could be the moment when my music career finally takes off" he lifted my head up and looked into my crystal blue eyes. He glanced at my lips, then back up to my eyes. He leaned in and gently pressed a kiss to my lips. All of the sudden, memories from the times we had spent together flew through my mind. I pulled away and looked down.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"You promised" I told him, bluntly.

"You promised you would never leave me" He looked down.

"I know, but this is for my career" he looked up at me as I looked down. Not angry, but sad. I gave him a soft smile.

"I know"

"It's just gonna be so different without you" I frowned looking away from his eyes. I looked back up at him and pecked his lips.

"Besides, I wouldn't be able to do that anymore" he looked down and laughed.

"Yeah, you wouldn't" we both laughed a little. I looked down as silence took over. I pulled him into and hug, wrapping my arms tightly around his torso. We both stood there, the only sound being our breathing. I heard a door open and a soft voice.

"Zach are you re-did I interrupt something?" I looked up, seeing Josh standing a few meters away from where we stood next to the car.

"No, you didn't" Zach looked at me and leaned down to my level.

"I promise I'll try to text you as much as I can, ok?" I nodded, then he kissed my cheek. I watched as he walked over to the passenger side. He looked around as if he'd lost something. He grabbed a small black box, then quickly stepped away from the car. He walked over to me.

"I have something for you" I looked down at the box.

"Oh, Zach, I don't des-" I started, pushing the box away.

"Yes you do. You mean everything to me. And I just wanted to give you something that would make you think of me" he finished, handing me the box. I cautiously opened the box and saw a crown ring with an opal stone in the middle. I covered my mouth with my hand.

"Z-Zach I-" I stuttered at a loss of words. He chuckled. He gently took the ring out and slowly placed it onto my right ring finger.

"It's a promise ring" he looked up at me.

"And I promise that, if I don't come back soon, we will meet again. It may be awhile, but I will see you again. No matter what it takes, I will never let you go" he held my hands in his and put our foreheads together.

"Alright Zach. It's time to go" his father stated. I looked up at him as a tear rolled down my cheek.

"Don't forget about me ok?" I asked. He smiled.

"I couldn't even if I tried" I hugged him one last time and watched as he got in the car with his father and drove away. I turned around to see Reese and Ryan standing in the doorway. I fell to my knees as Reese came running over to me. She wrapped her tiny arms around me as I cried into her shoulder. I felt more arms around me, but continued crying. After a few minutes my tears died down and I pulled away from Reese. I turned my head to see Ryan and Myta standing behind me. I stood up to hug the both of them. Myta pulled back and put her hands on the side of my face, wiping my tears with her thumbs.

"We can't have you crying, now can we?" She laughed as I smiled.

"Thank you Myta" I laughed and looked down at Reese, who had her arms around my waist. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and smiled.

"Hey dear?" I looked up at Myta.

"How would you like to have a sleepover with us?" I looked at her, shocked, my mouth open a little.

"Are you serious?" She nodded and smiled.

"We would love it if you would. We could go swimming, maybe build a fort and watch a movie. And Josh would join us once he gets back," she finished. I smiled.

"I would love to. I just have to pack some things," I agreed. She nodded.

"Ok. So it's settled. Also I could call a pizza place and order some food for dinner, if you kids agree," I laughed as the younger ones nodded their heads eagerly.

"I guess that's a yes," we all laughed and I looked at my phone, as I received a text message.

"Umm I have to head back to my house, my mom has a surprise for me," I looked back up at Myta. She smiled.

"Go, we'll see you later, dear," I nodded, smiling. I walked to my house, that happened to be a few blocks away from the Herron's. I opened the door to hear my mom laughing. I made a confused face as I walked into the kitchen and suddenly stopped. Six feet in front of me, at our kitchen table, sat a man that I didn't recognize. My mom turned to look at me.

"Oh! Hey my dear butterfly. Please come sit," I didn't listen to her. I just stood there, staring at the unknown man. My mom sighed and walked over to stand in front of me.

"Winter, please," she pleaded. I snapped out of my trance and nodded. She pulled my arm and sat down, me sitting next to her.

"So, Winter, this is Charlie. Charlie this is my only daughter, Winter," he nodded and leaned forward to shake my hand. I cautiously shook his hand, then sat back down. I looked at my mother as she spoke.

"Me and Charlie have been seeing each other lately," she started,"and today he asked me to be his girlfriend." I stared at her, shocked. She smiled awkwardly.

"Winter, say something," she muttered through her teeth. I slowly stood up, then immediately wrapped my arms around her.

"I'm so happy that you found love again," I whispered into her ear. She let her tense shoulders rest as I spoke.

"I'm happy you found it too," I pulled back and gave her a confused look. She smirked.

"I see the way you look at Zach," I looked down and blushed. She lifted my head.

"It's ok. He'll come back. Maybe even sooner than you think," I smiled, then looked over to Charlie.

"Well I'm gonna let you guys have some alone time. Mom is it ok if I have a sleepover at the Herron's?" She nodded.

"Yes, go have fun, butterfly," I smiled and went to go pack. After packing my swimsuit I packed some pajama clothes. I also put some bathroom essentials into my bag, then went downstairs.

"Ok, mom, I'm off! I'll see you tomorrow,"

"Ok see you later, butterfly," I walked out the door and down towards the Herron's. After walking a couple blocks down, I knocked on the wooden door. It opened to reveal a smiling Reese. She grabbed my arm and pulled me inside.

"Winter's here!" She shouted excitedly. I was pulled throughout the house and swiftly placed my bag on the kitchen counter. I looked over to the small island to see Myta putting a cookie sheet in the oven. She turned to look at me and Reese.

"Oh hey dear," she said happily as she closed the oven door. She turned to us, wiping her hands on a hand towel.

"Ryan's upstairs playing a video game, if you two want to go join him. Or you could get in the pool for a couple of hours then maybe we could watch a few movies, maybe build a fort and play some games. Oh and Winter, for sleeping, you can just stay in Zach's room," I nodded as she finished with our game plan. I looked down at Reese.

"Let's go get your brother ok?" I stated in more of a question. She nodded and dragged me up to his room. I grabbed my bag from the counter when we passed by it and Reese dragged me to Ryan's room. She stopped in front of a closed wooden door, which I presumed to be Ryan's. She opened the door and I was surprised when I saw no one. The smell in the room felt familiar to me though. I looked over to Reese, confused. She looked up at me innocently.

"This is Zach's room," that explains why I recognize the smell. I slowly walked in and placed my bag on Zach's neatly made bed.

"You can look around, I'll get Ryan and get ready for the pool," I nodded, still looking around his room. It wasn't too big, but it wasn't small either. It had a couple guitars and a keyboard. There were small decorations on the walls and a desk with a computer and a few trophies, probably from soccer, placed carefully on the shelf above the computer. There were a couple posters plastered in different places. There was another wooden door, probably leading to the bathroom. I saw a few family photos scattered throughout the room. It was cozy. I turned to my bag and searched for my all black one piece. I grabbed it and walked to the door. I opened it to see a small bathroom. I smiled and closed the door. I changed and picked up my clothes and walked back out. I stepped out of Zach's room and went down to the kitchen. I saw Josh standing there.

"Hey, Josh, where's the laundry room?" I asked, causing him to turn around.

"Oh just go down the hall and it's the first door on the left," he informed. I nodded and did a 180 and walked down the hall. I opened the first door on the left and saw a basket laying on the floor. I threw my dirty clothes into the basket and walked out to the back. I saw Myta sitting on a lounge chair and Ryan and Reese playing in the pool. Reese turned to look at me and smiled.

"Winter!" She shouted causing Myta and Ryan to look in my direction. I laughed and put my glasses next to Myta and swiftly jumped into the water, splashing both Reese and Ryan. I came up for air and laughed.

"So glad you could join us," Ryan laughed. I smiled as Reese came up to hug me. We played for a couple hours, jumping in occasionally. Ryan stepped out of the pool and I gave him a confused look. I shrugged my shoulders and continued dancing with Reese. After a few minutes I felt water being squirted on my back. I squealed and turned around to see a laughing Ryan. I narrowed my eyes at him playfully and looked at Myta, then saw a water gun right next to her. While Ryan was still on the ground laughing I signaled at her to throw me the toy. She tossed me the toy quietly and I quickly filled it with water. I swam up to Ryan. He just started to calm down when I squirted him with water. He screamed and jumped away from me. I burst out laughing as I filled the gun up again and sprayed him. Reese grabbed a small water gun and sprayed Ryan as well. This game continue for another 30 minutes until we all got tired and decided to head inside. I went up to Zach's room to dry off and change into my pajamas. When I was fully changed I went downstairs and saw the two younger ones grabbing pillows, chairs, sheets, and more soft, comfy things.

"Are you guys building a fort without me?" I asked. Ryan nodded.

"Yup," I stared at him.

"Wow how rude," I stated. He just laughed.

"Come on, help us build this thing," he said. I smiled and went to join them.

"So what do I need to do?" I asked. Reese thought for a second.

"Bring all of those stuffed animals over here to put into the fort," she said. I put my hand to my forehead like a solder.

"Ma'am, yes ma'am," Reese laughed as I turned around and started getting the animals. After I got all of the animals, I helped Ryan set up the chairs in front of the tv. I got a few books from the bookshelf as the young girl put a sheet over the chairs. After about thirty minutes the fort was set, inside and out. Myta came up to us, Josh behind her, holding movies in her hand.

"Which one should we watch?" We had a mini argument but settled on The Lorax. Reese came and sat next to me and pulled her blanket over us. Closer to the end of the movie, I heard light snores. I looked over and saw her asleep on my shoulder. I kissed her head and put mine on top of hers.

"Goodnight princess," I whispered to her.

"G'night Winter."

'I've finally found where I belong. And I'm never going to let it go.'