How Can I Forget?; Brandon Arreaga
I don’t know how to write something without a cliffhanger but I’m gonna try! This imagine skips time after every flashback (flashbacks are in italics) also Brandon and Nayeli are about 23-24
It had been one year since Brandon had last seen her, and no matter how many girls he hooked up with, he could never forget her.
He always thought about the day they met. At the beach party Nick wanted to throw. She wore a white sundress, her natural curly hair was in a messy puff on top of her head. She danced to the music without a care in the world. To him she was mesmerizing. She had caught him staring and tried to confront him, pretending to be tough. That’s when he knew he was hooked.
He could’ve looked at her all day long.
As they got to know each other throughout the night, they slowly fell in love. She could’ve talked all night long and he wouldn’t have stopped her.
He could’ve listened to her all night long.
•
“I look disgusting.” She chuckled lightly as she tried to run her fingers through her tangled locks. She stood in the mirror wearing nothing but her underwear.
Brandon grabbed her hand and twirled her around to face him, he kissed her forehead, “That’s a joke right? Because right now you look like the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.”
•
It was another one of those nights, the boys had dragged him out so he could drown his sorrows in shots.
At the end of the night he would bring a girl home, but they would always leave before he woke up. He always dreamed of her, his first love. He didn’t want to wake up.
•
She stood in his doorway with just his t-shirt on. She bit her lip as she walked over to the bed and straddled him.
“Brandon? For some reason, I really like you.”
She made him laugh. With her, he laughed more than he did with anyone else. He ran his fingers down her thighs, and back up to the bottom of the bleach white shirt that complimented her brown skin so perfectly. He let his hands rest on her hips as she leaned down and planted a soft kiss to his lips.
•
It was just another dream. Her standing there in his t-shirt, it was only something he could imagine now. He couldn’t stop thinking about her. She slipped from his fingers, but she never slipped his mind. How could he forget her?
He stared at his ceiling. He didn’t want to forget her. He never would. In fact, he remembered everything little thing about her. She drove a Jeep and never had money for gas. She loved dancing, she would dance to any song in any place. She hated cuddling in bed because she liked to feel free when she slept.
He turned over to the side she always slept on. It still smelled like her, so how could he forget her?
•
“I need a cigarette.” She said.
She was panicking. Whenever she would get nervous or panic she would long for nicotine.
“No you don’t, what’s wrong?” He asked. He hated when she felt that way. He hated that she had picked up that habit.
“Everything.” She said bluntly. She started searching through every drawer and looked under all the furniture.
“Nayeli.” She didn’t respond, “Nayeli!” He yelled making her stop her actions. She sat down on the floor and stayed silent. “Babe, what’s going on?”
“I need a cigarette.”
He sat down next to her and put his hand on her back. She put her head on his lap, he felt a teardrop fall on his leg. He ran his fingers through her hair and leaned down pressing a kiss to her forehead.
“I love you.” She whispered. Brandon started to panic himself. It was the first she had said it. He had proclaimed his love for her before, but she she never returned it. Though he had felt the love she had for him, she had never actually said it.
“I love you, Nayeli, so much.”
•
It was another one of those nights. He couldn’t get her off his mind. There were night when he didn’t think about her once, but every other night she was all he thought about.
•
“Where are you gonna go?!?” Brandon asked Nayeli as she packed her things.
“I have a train ticket, gonna go stay with a friend.” She said bluntly. She zipped her suitcase and looked over at Brandon, who just stared at her.
“The trains not running this late, babe.” He mumbled, “its 2 am.”
She looked at him. She could’ve looked at him all night long. She didn’t want to leave, and she wouldn’t if he stopped her. So she left.
And Brandon ran after her. He ran 10 blocks in the rain.
He was too late. He watched as the last train took off quickly down the tracks. He sat down on the nearest bench. He hung his head. When he sat up, he saw a pack of clove cigarettes next to foot. He knew it belonged to her, on the back of the pack she had scribbled both of their initials to remind her to stay healthy.
•
Brandon found himself back at that same train station every once in a while. In his heart, she was gonna come back to him one day. In his head, he knew it was the end the moment she walked out of his door.
He pushed his hands in his jacket pockets, tossing around the old cigarette pack in his hand. Brandon closed his eyes. When he opened them, there she was.
She was right in front of him.
His brown eyes bore into hers, trying to read the emotion the held. He could tell, all the walls he tore down, she had built back up. She but her lip, tearing her eyes away from his and started walking towards the stations exit. She turned back to look at him and smirked. That was the push Brandon needed
Next, Nayeli was up against the wall of Brandon’s bedroom with her arms around his neck and her legs latched around his torso. He carried her towards the bed and gently laid her down. He detached their swollen lips, and gave her a light peck on the forehead. He laid down next to her, running his fingertips over her brown skin.
“I’ll love you forever.” He whispered. She smiled at him and caressed his stubbly cheek. She thought about how much she hated his facial hair but loved his face, how much she still loved him. She sighed. Nayeli moved closer and pressed a longing, passionate yet gentle, kiss to his pink lips. They kissed as if it would be their last time.
And maybe it was, because when Brandon woke up the next morning, she wasn’t beside him. A note had taken her place.
‘I’ll love you always.’
He’d never forget that.
He’d never forget her, how could he?