Soulmates by Mindy Kincade

startled, his eyes turning fearful.
    “Yes? What’s his name?” he asked panicky.
    “His name is Tyler Shay. We’ve been seeing each other for awhile,” she explained.
    “Are you going to marry this Tyler Shay?” he asked.
    “Marry him?” she gasped, amused by his question. “I’m only seventeen!”
    “Only seventeen? So couples don’t get married at seventeen?” he asked.
    “Not unless you’re pregnant! No, I’m way too young to be married,” she said.
    “Well, I was engaged at eighteen and my fiancé was seventeen. I mean it was normal for people to marry around that age. When you’re lucky enough to find someone that you love, you should marry,” he said convincingly.
    “Yeah, well times have changed. Paulette had mentioned that you were engaged-I’m sorry,” she said.
    “Don’t be sorry.” He paused for a moment. “Her name was Emily Rose. I called her Petal because of her last name and her love of flowers. She was obsessed with flowers, sowing seeds in early spring. And then tilling and planting. She would even name her flowers and talk to them, too,” he grew silent for a moment as he reminisced.
    “We were supposed to get married, and then I ended up here,” he said as he threw his hands in the air. “I often think about her. Many times a day really. I think about what would have happened if we had married, how many kids would we have had, what their names would have been. But most of all I wonder what happened to her. I’ve wondered how her life was, if she ever married, how she died and how I would’ve died. I should be dead, ya know. I’ve wondered what she thought happened to me. My life would have been so different,” he said quietly.
    Presley swallowed hard. She didn’t want to admit it, but in a strange way she was becoming a little jealous of Emily Rose.
    “So you loved her?” she asked.
    “Of course, I wanted to marry her. What about Tyler, do you love him?” he asked back.
    “Yes, I love him. I mean I don’t want to be without him,” she said, trying to be convincing.
    “Well now, that’s quite different. Isn’t it? Do you really love him or are you afraid to be alone?” he asked.
    “Our relationship is a little difficult. We are, um— on again, off again,” she said.
    “What do you mean on again, off again?” he pried.
    “We break up a lot,” she said.
    “Sounds to me you aren’t sure if you want to be with him,” he smirked.
    “Now, how do you know that?” she asked annoyed.
    “I’ve thought a lot about this, my feelings on love. I have had a while to think,” he winked at her. “I do believe that I have it figured out now. What I know for sure is that true love is when you don’t want to be without that person, it physically hurts to be without them. My life would be meaningless without Emily, even today. She made me into who I am as a person. She taught me so much about trust and loving without conditions. We would just lie and stare into each other’s eyes for hours not having to say a word, just looking at each other.” Jesse took a deep breath.
    “Love is when all of your thoughts consist of only that person. When you know the person so well that you can finish each other sentences, or with a look you know what they want you to do. It’s when you know without a shadow of a doubt the person is right for you. There’s no second guessing, no questioning. Emily made it known that I was the only one for her, and I believe that to be true. I never doubted it. And saying ‘I love you’ isn’t enough.”
    “Sounds like you have it all figured out. But if someone tells you that they love you, then I believe that they do,” she added, thinking of Tyler.
    “No, that’s not right,” Jesse corrected shaking his head. “Think of it like this. If you couldn’t hear, you could only see, then would his actions show you that he loves you?" Presley didn’t answer him. He went on, “It’s when you care more about that person than you do