The handwriting on the note looked strangely familiar. The words were written in neat cursive, each letter slanted slightly to the right. Her "i's" and "j's" were dotted with petite open circles. Alex thought he could smell the faint scent of lavender, or maybe it could be a hint of cherry blossom. The smell brought back distinct memories; happy memories. Memories that he welcomed into his mind, yet hasn’t dared touch since Lucy disappeared.

Lucy...

He'd known her since forever, but only recently had they gotten together. They’d spent every waking moment with each other; requested all the same classes at school, joined the same clubs, and simply valued each others company. Lucy was tall, blonde, and brilliant, yet was scorned for her appearance and judged based on stereotypes. She wasn't dumb or shallow, and she absolutely despised the ethics of cheerleaders. Even considering all of this, there was something about her that made her different. Sometimes she seemed out-casted, yet Alex fell for her amid the horrible gossip of those around him.

He walked up to her one day while she was researching the effects of deforestation in the library (some dumb blonde, huh?), and began to stutter and babble while attempting to complete even the simplest sentence. She found it amusing though, and casually agreed to meet him for lunch the following day. All he could remember from that day, and many more after, was that he couldn't stop smiling at her.
It was his mom who snapped him out of his daydream with her acute, demanding tone. She always knew just how to wipe his smile off his face.
“Did you find out who the package was from?” she questioned.
“Uh… oh, no. It didn’t say, and I only skimmed the note. So, yeah, no. I don’t know who it’s from. It could be anybody,” He stammered. His mother hadn’t known anything about him and Lucy. She never would have approved, and if she found out this tiny package, marked with tens of stamps from who knows where, was from her, there would be hell to pay. Considering the fact that Lucy had been missing for nearly three weeks now, he didn’t exactly know what she could do, besides take the package away from him.
“Well, I’m sure the post office will have some record of it.” She answered in a monotone voice. She stalked off without waiting for Alex’s reply.
After she had left, Alex placed the box on his lap, and looked at it curiously. For a moment he contemplated leaving the box unopened and dumping it at the nearest trashcan. He couldn’t be sure that it was from Lucy. Why would she be sending him something that could jeopardize her whereabouts, after everything he did to her? He couldn’t be sure it was from her, but he had a pretty good feeling it was. After a couple of seconds he finally started to gently unwrap the box, not wanting to harm anything inside. The box wasn’t very big, only about the size of a cell phone. Underneath the wrapping was a small container, a jewelry box by the looks of it. Alex flipped the top open and a golden locket, shimmering gaily in the early morning sunlight, spilled out onto the palm of his hand. It was the locket he’d given her for her birthday, a mere two months ago. Her initials were carefully engraved on the front of it, and inside he had carefully glued a picture of Lucy and himself when they were at park one day; he climbed up into a tree to rescue a little boy’s Frisbee that he’d thrown up there, and before Alex could climb down, Lucy joined him on one of the branches, brushed up next to him, and snapped the picture. It was her favorite.
He pushed the thought out of his head. This was just a sign that she wanted no part of him in her life; that she’d moved on and he needed to accept what he’s done and move on as well. As Alex picked up the box to drop the locket back inside, a thicker slip of paper fell out, scented with the same perfume, dotted with the same circles. The letter read:
“Dear Alex. I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve forgotten about me, or have been glad to have gotten rid of me. I want you to know I’m sorry about what happened. I’m sorry for your poor decision. I suppose we went our separate ways that day, or at least you did. Maybe you don’t know how much you hurt me, or that I wasn’t just some girl who you got to toy with then throw away when you were done. Have you even noticed that I’ve been gone? It doesn’t matter; I didn’t go out of my way to write this only to ridicule you. I want you to know that I forgive you. Being out here, alone, made me realize how childish we both were. We had no idea what went on outside our world together. We had no idea what was waiting for us. I no longer obsess over you; I’ve matured and have found a new life. Goodbye. – Lucy
Alex reread the letter over and over again. His face stuck in a perplexed expression, his mind numb of everything. The only thoughts that would drift into his head were Lucy’s. We had no idea what went on outside our world together. We had no idea what was waiting for us. I no longer obsess over you; I’ve matured and have found a new life. Goodbye. She was so wrong. He hadn’t stopped thinking about since her disappearance, and he didn’t think she was just some girl. She was his best friend, and now she was gone from his life.
“I didn’t mean to hurt her!” Alex shrieked. He chucked the empty jewelry box across the room and just stood there, listening to his own, raspy, breathing. She thought he never cared about her, she didn’t know how much he truly loved her, and now she never would.