The One

by Holly C. Webb

  I loved her and I knew I was meant to spend the rest of my life with her. Nothing else seemed to make sense without her in my life. I just hoped that she still felt that way about me.

  Realising I couldn’t put it off any longer, I pushed open the car door and climbed out. As I slowly climbed the steps towards the front door of the apartment, my heart hammered faster and faster in my chest. My whole future depended on the next few minutes, and I just hoped I didn’t mess it up again.

  When I reached the door, I took one last deep breath before I reached up and pressed down on the intercom.

  I waited for a reply, but none came.

  I pressed down again, hoping beyond hope that she would answer this time, but again there was no response.

  Stepping back, I looked up at the window of her apartment that I could see from the street, but there was no sign of life. I was just about to ring the buzzer again, when the door opened and Andy, the guy who played in the band with Savannah came out.

  “Hey, Seth,” he said as he stepped out through the door, carrying a large box. “What are you doing here? I thought you left Pullman.”

  “I did,” I said, giving him a worried look. “I came to talk to Savannah.”

  “I’m afraid you’re too late,” he said, giving me a sad smile. “She left this morning.”

  “She’s gone?” I asked, feeling my heart crash into my chest. “Do you know where she went?”

  “She called me this morning and said she was taking off,” Andy explained. “She said she was going to fix her future and that she didn’t know if or when she’d be back. She asked me to come by and collect her plants, because she didn’t want them to die while she was gone.”

  “But she didn’t say where she was going to?” I asked, already knowing the answer to my question.

  “I’m sorry, Seth,” he replied, giving me a sad smile. “She didn’t. She just said she would call in a day or two.”

  “I see,” I sighed, realising I had left it too late to try and make this right.

  “Is there anything I can do to help?” Andy asked, giving me a sad look.

  “No, but thanks, Andy,” I replied as I turned and started back down the steps, but I stopped when I reached the bottom and turned back to Andy. “When she calls, can you tell her that I love her, and that when she is ready to talk to me, I will be waiting. It doesn’t matter how long.”

  “I will,” Andy replied, giving me another smile. “Take care of yourself, Seth.”

  “You too,” I smiled back, then added. “And good luck with the baby.”

  “Thanks,” Andy called out, as I climbed into my car.

  As I started the engine, I glanced up at the window one last time, wondering where she was, and more importantly, if she was happy.

  It was almost five when I arrived back in Pomeroy. I felt tired and completely deflated. I pulled my car into my designated parking spot and turned off the engine. I rubbed my tired eyes and sighed. My head hurt and right now, all I wanted to do was have a cold beer, then sleep until this headache was finally gone.

  I was about to climb out of the car, when my phone began to ring. I looked down at it on the seat where it was and saw Sylvie’s name flashing on the screen. I quickly reached down and picked up the phone, worried that something was wrong with Jolie.

  “Hi Sylvie,” I said the moment I hit answer and brought it to my ear. “Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah,” she replied, and I could hear the smile in her voice. “I was just wondering how things went with you and Sav.”

  “They didn’t,” I sighed, wishing I could have given her the answer she wanted to hear. “She’s gone.”

  “Oh, Seth, no,” Sylvie replied, sounding genuinely disappointed for me. “I’m so sorry.”

  “I know I only have myself to blame,” I sighed once more. “She told Andy that she was going to fix her future, whatever that means. I just hope that wherever she’s gone to, she’s okay.”

  “I’m sure she is, Sweetheart,” Sylvie said, but I could still hear the sadness in her voice.

  “I just love her so much, Sylvie,” I whispered as I blinked back the tears that were now burning my eyes.

  “I know you do, Sweetie,” Sylvie replied, then took a deep breath before she continued. “Why don’t you come home, Seth. This is where you belong. I hate to think of you alone, so far from home.”

  “I think I just need some time to get my head straight,” I replied, grateful none the less for what she had said. For as long as I could remember, this woman had been my rock and my anchor. If I was honest, I don’t know what would have become of Jolie and me if it weren’t for Sylvie Walker. “Is Jo okay?”

  “Actually, that’s the other reason why I called,” Sylvie replied. “She has decided that she would like to meet Simon.”

  “Really?” I asked, smiling to myself knowing that this would make my father happy.

  “She is rather excited about it,” Sylvie continued. “So, I was thinking. Maybe he could come to dinner? I think Jolie would be more comfortable about meeting him here.”

  “I will call him and set it up,” I replied, happy that at least something was going right for some of the people I loved. “I know Dad is really keen to see her.”

  “I was thinking maybe next Sunday,” Sylvie suggested, and I knew she already had the whole thing planned in her head. “Maybe we could have a big family dinner. We haven’t really all been together since the night of your welcome home dinner. Well, other than Jolie’s party, but that wasn’t really the best night.”

  “A family dinner sounds good,” I said as I rubbed my tired eyes, “I will call my dad, and let you know.”

  “Great,” Sylvie said, and once more I could hear the smile in her voice. “Seth, you know we all love you, right?”

  “I do,” I replied, finally allowing myself to smile too. “And I love you all so much too.”

  “Good,” Sylvie replied, sounding very satisfied. “I will talk to you later, Sweetie.”

  “I’ll talk to you soon,” I replied, then said goodbye before I hung up the phone. I stared at the phone in my hand for a moment, then brought up Savannah’s number, as I had done so many times before.

  “Where are you?” I asked as I stared at her image on the screen. I held my finger over the call button for a moment, but before I could press it, the phone began to ring in my hand once more.

  This time, my father’s name flashed up on the screen. I smiled as I hit accept and brought it to my ear.

  “Hey, Dad!” I said, trying to sound as upbeat as I possibly could. It’s funny, but in the short time I’d spent with him, I was surprised how comfortable I felt with him, and how easy it was to talk to him about almost anything.

  The one thing I couldn’t talk to him about was Savannah. I didn’t know why, but to me, she was private. I hadn’t really known her for a long time, and the time we had together as a couple was even shorter, but it was everything to me, and I wasn’t ready to share that with anyone else. Not even my father.

  “Hey, Son,” he said, and instantly my smile widened at his words. There was a time I believed I wouldn’t hear him say those words to me again. “I’m sorry for calling, but I was just wondering…”

  “You want to know if I spoke to Jolie,” I stopped him mid-sentence, knowing that he was almost as excited as Jolie was for them to see each other again. “I did, and she is very nervous, but very excited to see you.”

  “Really?” Simon asked, and I could hear just how happy this made him.

  I explained to him about the family dinner; that Sylvie thought it might be easier for Jolie to meet him in a more comfortable setting, and Simon agreed.

  I told him Sylvie suggest Sunday dinner the following week, and he agreed that it was a great idea. He even suggested we drive up together. We talked for a few more minutes about him meeting Jolie, and I knew he was really excited.

  “Seth,” Simon said, just as I was about to say my goodbyes. “Is everything
okay?”

  “Yeah,” I replied, surprised by his question. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

  “I don’t know,” he sighed. “You seem a little… down this evening. Are your sure you’re okay with me going to see Jolie?”

  “Of course I’m sure,” I assured him. “I think I’m just tired.”

  I knew that wasn’t the reason I was feeling down, but right at that moment, talking about Savannah was the last thing I wanted to do.

  “Seth, I know that I have no right to come back into your life and suddenly start acting like your father again,” Simon said, and I knew he was choosing his words carefully. “You’re a man now, and a pretty amazing one at that. But I am still your dad. I am still the man who used to take you fishing where we would talk for hours. So, if there is something bothering you, or something you need to talk about. You know I am always here.”

  “I know, Dad,” I replied, grateful for his offer. “And I’m grateful. But this is one problem I need to figure out for myself. But thank you for the offer.”

  “Just don’t forget that I love you, Son,” Simon replied, and I could hear his voice cracking.

  “I love you too, Dad,” I replied honestly. “I always have.”

  “Me too, Son,” Simon replied, this time he coughed to clear his voice. “Hey, I was wondering, if you’re free tomorrow, would you care to join me for dinner. My housekeeper, Mrs Murray makes a lovely Sunday roast.”

  “I’d love to,” I replied, smiling to myself once more. “I’ll see you then, Dad.”

  “Take care of yourself, Seth,” Simon said. I knew he was happy that I’d agreed to have dinner with him.

  “You too,” I replied before I hung up.

  I slipped the phone into my pocket before I opened the car door, then with a deep sigh, I climbed out of the car and headed into my apartment building, heading for the elevator.

  While I was waiting for the doors to open, I thought of Savannah once more.

  I pulled my phone from my pocket and pulled up her number once more. This time, before I could think or second guess myself, I hit call on the phone, and brought it to my ear.

  For the first time in two weeks, it didn’t go straight to voicemail, instead it began to ring just as the elevator doors opened. I stepped onto the elevator as I listened to it ringing over and over again.

  “Seth,” Savannah’s voice finally came through the phone, just as the doors closed. But then my phone beeped, and the line went dead.

  “NO!” I yelled as I looked down at the phone, and on the screen, it said, no signal. “FUCK!!”

  SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! I chanted in my head as I waited for the elevator to reach the sixth floor, where my apartment was. I couldn’t believe it. It was two weeks since I spoke to her, and it was the first time she’d accepted my call. Of all the dumb rotten luck, life had to choose that moment for me to lose signal on my damn phone.

  “COME ON! COME ON!” I yelled at the elevator as I willed the floor numbers to tick by faster.

  Finally, the doors pinged open and I almost leapt out of the elevator, heading down the hallway to my apartment.

  I hit redial on the phone and prayed to God that Savannah would answer the phone once again.

  I listened patiently, waiting for the call to connect. Finally, it did.

  I waited for her to answer, but as I did, the sound of a phone ringing in the corridor made me look up, and instantly I stopped dead.

  There, sitting on the floor in front of my apartment door, was the woman I loved more than anything else in this whole world.

  “Savannah!” I said, feeling like my feet were frozen to the spot. I couldn’t believe she was actually sitting there. I held my breath, almost afraid that this was a dream and if I let go of my breath, I would wake up and she would vanish.

  She climbed up from the floor, her eyes never leaving mine, and I could see she was just as nervous as I was.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked taking in every inch of her beautiful face. She was even more perfect than I had remembered she was. “How did you find me?”

  “I spoke to Joe and he gave me your address,” she said, tears suddenly dancing in her eyes. “You left and you never said goodbye.”

  “I tried,” I said, knowing that none of it matters now. The only thing that mattered was, she was here, and I loved her even more than I thought it was possible.

  “I wanted to hate you so much,” she said as tears finally trickled down her face. “I wanted to take back every secret I ever told you, because you hurt me so much.”

  “I’m so sorry…” I began as I took a step closer to her, but she held her hand up and stopped me mid-sentence, and I stopped dead in my tracks.

  “All my life I have locked my heart away,” she continued, her eyes still locked with mine. “I thought that maybe I wasn’t worthy of being loved truly and deeply. I mean, my parents couldn’t love me, so why would someone else? I thought if I kept my walls up, I would never get hurt again, but then I met you. You crashed through every barrier I erected, and you made me love you. But then I thought that you had let me down…”

  “Savannah, I swear,” I said, taking another step towards her once more, hoping against hope she would give me one more chance. “The last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt you…”

  “I know that now,” she cut in once more. “But I realise now that you were always going to let me down, because I had set my standard far too high. I fell in love with you because of the man I knew you were. I loved that you were loyal and selfless, but then, when you were a loyal friend to Jared, I lashed out at you for it.”

  “I should have told you the truth,” I tried to reason as I stepped closer once more, offering her a chance to let herself off the hook.

  “But then you wouldn’t have been the man I loved,” she said, giving me a smile. “I lashed out because I got scared. I knew that morning I loved you more than I had ever loved another living soul in this world. I realised, you have the power to destroy me, and that thought scared me more than I have ever been scared before.”

  “Savannah,” I said as I closed the distance between her and me. I took her face in my hands and gazed into her eyes. “What you’re forgetting is, while I have the power to destroy you, you too have the power to destroy me.”

  “I’m sorry I left that morning,” she whispered as she looked up into my eyes. “I’m sorry I hurt you…”

  I quickly leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips, stopping her mid-sentence.

  “Do you love me?” I asked, looking down into her eyes, but I already knew the answer.

  “More than anything,” she sobbed softly.

  “Then there is nothing left to say,” I breathed against her lips. “Other than, this is forever.”

  “This is forever,” she whispered through her tears.

  “Savannah,” I sighed, then gave her a broad smile. “I will love you every day, for the rest of my life.”

  “I love you too,” she breathed against my lips, before I kissed her softly.

  The moment my lips touched hers, I knew I had come home. I had found the one.

  Epilogue

  “Seth!” Jolie called impatiently from outside the door. “Everyone is waiting out here. What’s taking so long?”

  “I want it to be perfect,” I called back, knowing that she was bursting with excitement. “It’s Teddy’s first Christmas, I want it perfect.”

  I decided that, as this was the first Christmas that we were all a real, proper family, I wanted to take a picture to mark the occasion. At least, that’s what they all thought they were here for, but really, I had another surprise for them, and I wanted it to be perfect.

  I had to admit that life was pretty amazing for me now. I finally had the real family I had always dreamed of.

  Savannah and I were happier than I ever imagined we could be. We were both living in Pomeroy now, but we spent every weekend back in Pullman with our family and friends.

  I had asked Sava
nnah to marry me just one month after I found her outside my door that night, and she of course said yes. We had the most perfect spring wedding a few months later, and life really couldn’t have been much better.

  Things with my dad, Jolie and me were pretty good too.

  It was over a year now, since he came back into our lives, and he had become more than just my father, he had become one of my best friends.

  The day I married Savannah, I cried as my father walked her down the aisle. I loved that they had a special friendship too. She said that she loved that now we were married, she got to have a father she could be proud of for the first time in her life.

  Finally, she learned what family really was, and she was happier than she ever imagined she could be.

  Jared and Callie were still together too. Despite a shaky start, Savannah and Callie became friends again, though I knew in my heart, there would always be a tiny part of Savannah that would never fully forget what she and Jared had done. Still, she knew I loved Jared, and she made the effort for me, and it just made me love her more.

  A month before her due date, Callie gave birth to the most perfect little boy, who I fell in love with the moment I met him. They called him Teddy Walker, after Jared’s father, Edward. Sylvie cried the day he was born, though she assured us that they were happy tears.

  The biggest surprise to everyone was Sylvie and my father. Simon had bought a small house, not far from Sylvie’s house, where he spent most weekends. He wanted to be closer to Jolie and me, and he said he loved being part of a family once again.

  He spent a lot of time at Sylvie’s because of Jo, but little by little he and Sylvie grew closer. Finally, Simon asked Jared, Matt, Danny, Jolie, and me, if he could ask Sylvie to marry him. We all said yes, and they got married in the summer, two months after Savannah and I got married. Simon and Sylvie got married at city hall in a small, but perfect ceremony.

  So, life was pretty much perfect, and I didn’t think I could possibly be happier. I was wrong.

  “Seth!” Jolie called again. “It’s Christmas eve. I have presents I want to open and sappy Christmas movies to watch. Can we take this photograph already?”