I'll admit I don't like this at all D:
Learning to Love Again
I will not make the same mistakes that you did.
I will not let myself cause my heart so much misery.
I will not break the way you did; You fell so hard.
I learned the hard way, to never let it get that far.
“Mom please, don’t make me do this,” Corinne sighed, slipping herself out of the dress her mom had picked out.
“Sweetie please, you’re going to have to learn to get over him eventually. Maybe this party will help you love again,” Her mother explained. In her eyes, she was helping, but in reality all she was doing was hurting her daughter.
“Mom don’t say that. You know me so well, so you out of all people should know that no one will ever replace him. And besides, I’m 21, I can make this decision on my own.”
“Just think about it honey. Maybe meeting some other men will help.” Her mother said, walking out of the room.
Just the thought of being held by another man, or ever loving someone as much as she had loved Jake, brought her to tears.
*Flashback*
“I love you so much Corinne,” Jake breathed.
“I love you too,” she said, gently placing her head on his muscular chest.
“This is perfect. You are perfect.” He said, placing a gentle, but loving kiss on her lips.
Corinne moaned lightly into his lips, pulling back several seconds later to look into his eyes.
“I never want this night to end,” she spoke softly.
“Neither do I, but we both know its going to have to eventually.”
“Why? Why do you have to move all the way to Oklahoma? How am I supposed to survive without you?” She said, tears slowly overflowing her eyes.
“You know I have no choice. I know Its going to be hard, but we can do this baby. It’ll work. Our love is too strong for it to not work.” He said, gently wiping away the tears that were streaming down her face.
“I’ll miss you so much,” She said, not knowing at the time how much she will really miss him.
*End Flashback*
Corinne was sitting on the edge of her bed, a photograph of her and Jake in her hands, when she heard the door creak open.
“Honey, the party is in an hour. You know you don’t have to go if you don’t want to.”
“ I know Mom. But I think you might be right. I’m never going to get him back, so I just need to get over it.” Corinne mumbled, trying not to cry.
Her mom walked over to her slowly and pulled her up into a loving hug.
“You have to idea how proud I am of you. You are so strong.” Her mother said, tears brimming her eyes.
“Thanks Mommy,” Corinne said quietly into her mothers shoulder.
“ I 'll leave you to get ready,” Her mom said, leaving the room and shutting the door behind herself.
Ever since the accident, Corinne had moved into her mothers house. Without Jake, she didn’t have the money to pay for their apartment, nor did she have to emotional strength to simply get out of bed in the morning.
*Flashback*
Corinne was sitting in the living room watching television when she heard the phone ringing. She quickly walked into the kitchen to answer it.
“Hello?” She spoke into the phone.
“ Hi, It this Miss Ellis?” the strange voice on the other end said in a gentle tone.
“Yes, this is her. May I ask who this is?” She ask wearily.
“This is Detective Michaels from the LA police department,” The man cleared his voice and continued, “ I.. I was calling to let you know there was an accident.” He said softly.
Corinne mind instantly went into panic mode. Jake had to fly down to LA. Her Jake. The man that she couldn’t live without.
“Wh- What’s wrong? Is he ok??” She asked quickly.
“Jake was highly intoxicated, and made the choice to drive home. We found his car wrapped around a telephone pole. We tried out hardest, but he didn’t make it.”
With those last four words out of the officer’s mouth, the phone dropped out of Corinne’s hand, and she fell into a heap on the kitchen floor. She began sobbing, not even bothering to hang up the phone. Thousands of thoughts flew through her head. How could Jake do this? He was smarter than that. How was she ever going to survive? He was her everything. What about all of their plans? They were supposed to get married, and grow old together. Even though it was impossible, Corinne spent her entire evening sending silent prayers to god, hoping that her love would come back to her.
*End Flashback*
Corinne walked slowly into the party, the music playing slowly drifting through her ears. She had decided that tonight, she was going to let loose. She wasn’t going to be the regular Corinne; the emotional train wreck, afraid to ever love again. She was happy, bubble, vibrant Corinne. She was letting all of her worries go, and she was going to have a good time. She made her way to the dance floor, determined to find a familiar face. Out of nowhere, a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her aside.
Corinne quickly whipped around to come face to face with her best friend.
“Michelle! I didn’t know you were going to be here!” She said in an excited tone.
“I should say the same thing to you!” Michelle replied.
“I’ve missed you so much. It seems like we haven’t talked in ages,” Corinne said, pulling Michelle into a sisterly hug.
“So how have you been?” Michelle asked gently, knowing that Corinne’s heart was more fragile than most girls.
“I’ve actually been doing a lot better lately. I think I’ve finally learned to move on.” Corinne said proudly.
It made Michelle so happy to see the Corinne that she used to know finally shine through again.
“I’m so glad! You have no idea how proud I am of you.” She said genuinely.
Corinne smiled softly, before leaning over and whispering in her friends ear, “ I think I just might be ready for someone else in my life.”
Corinne leaned back to see a smile creep slowly onto Michelle’s face.
“So you wouldn’t mind if I played a little matchmaker tonight?” Michelle asked happily.
“Go right ahead,” Corinne said with a small smile.
“Alrighty. You sit right here missy,” She said pointing to the table beside them. “ I’ll be right back. Don’t move a muscle,” Michelle said with a wink.
After about 15 minutes and one diet coke, Corinne spotted Michelle try to sneak past her.
“Michelle! Just where do you think you're going??” Corinne yelled after her.
“Hey! What did I say about not moving a muscle?” Michelle yelled back, a sneaky smile playing across her face.
“Ugh! Fine.” Corinne mumbled to herself.
What could she be up to? Corinne thought to herself. And why on earth was she leav-
“Hey there,” a deep voice said, interrupting her thoughts.
Corinne looked up and locked eyes with a tall man with dark straight hair, and eyes that made her melt.
“Hi.” She said softly, eyes still locked with the stranger.
“I’m Joe. I saw you over here, and I thought to myself, ‘Why on earth is a pretty girl like you not dancing?’ So I decided to come over and see if you’d like to join me.” He said smoothly.
“You know what? I think I just might take you up on your offer.” She said flirtatiously, smiling all the while.
Corinne got up and put her hand in Joe’s. Out of the corner of her eye, she could’ve sworn she saw Michelle sitting at a table with a victorious smile on her face. Corinne chuckled, and followed Joe onto the dance floor. Joe led her into the middle of the pack of people dancing and slowly pulled her towards himself. He gently put his hands around her waist. Corinne took her arms and wrapped them around his neck and began to slowly twirl his soft silky hair between her fingers. She looked up to see Joe looking at her with a soft smile on his lips.
They spent the rest of the evening on the dance floor with their bodies pressed up against each other, talking quietly between themselves. They were so wrapped up in each other that they didn’t notice when the music stopped and most of the people on the dance floor left. Pretty soon Corinne and Joe were the only two left, but they didn’t mind one bit. After awhile they both began to get tired to they decided to find a table in the back. They spent the entire night swapping stories, passions, and dreams. Joe told Corinne stories about his career, and his brothers, and how much he loved what he was doing. Corinne discovered that they both had a lot in common. By the time they were done talking, Corinne looked up so see that nearly everyone had left. She looked up to see Michelle still sitting at the same table just smiling at her. She look back to Joe, and felt him slip something into her hand. She opened the slip of paper to see 7 digits written down on it.
“Maybe you could call me sometime,” He whispered in a husky voice.
Corinne stood up and smiled. “ I think there’s a good possibility of that happening,” She said quietly.
Joe stood up soon after her and pulled her into a loving hug.
“I had an amazing time tonight Corinne.” He whispered softly into her ear.
“Me too,” Corinne replied happily.
Joe leaned in and kissed her cheek.
“I’ll see you around Corinne.” He said smoothly, and then in an instant he was gone.
---------------------------------------------------
After 5 months of non stop texting, quick visits in-between concerts, and late night calls, it was finally the day when Joe came back to visit for an entire month. Corinne tried to keep herself busy by cleaning the house and straightening the furniture, all the while her mother was sitting in the kitchen chuckling to herself. But she had to admit, It made her so happy to see her daughter finally acting like her true self again. Ever since She had met Joe, there had been a smile on her face.
Corinne was sitting on the couch organizing magazines when the doorbell rang. Corinne quickly got up and ran to the door. She opened the door, and to her dismay, there was no one there. She looked down to see a note on the door mat. She opened the note, which contained only two simple words.
“Look Up”
Corinne looked down the driveway, and past the mailbox to see Joe leaning up against his dark SUV. Corinne literally flung herself down the front steps and towards him. She crashed her body up against his and held onto him for dear life. She looked up after a few seconds to see Joe looking down at her chuckling.
“I take it you missed me.” He said softly.
“More then you will ever know,” She replied lovingly.
That’s when it happened. Joe slowly bent his head down to her level and pressed his lips up against her. Corinne felt a spark between herself and Joe; something that she had never felt between her and Jake. She pulled away several seconds later.
Corinne looked up into his eyes and spoke softly,” I love you.”
His eyes lit up with happiness as he pressed his lips against hers once more. He poured every ounce of love he had for her into the kiss. After many long moments later, he pulled away, breathing hard. Corinne gently rested her head against his strong reassuring chest and smiled.
“I love you to Corinne. More than words can describe. You complete me. You are my everything.”
Corinne looked up into his eyes and realized that is indeed true. You can learn to love again.
