by Sasha Hibbs
“I know. I talked with your parents. I’m so happy for you. You’re in college now, and they tell me you’re making excellent grades.”
“I heard you’re in school, too.”
Mickey nodded his head. “Autumn, I’ve never stopped wanting to share my life with you. My head was a mess for so long it’s hard to live another way when you’ve only known one kind of way to live. When I saw you last night, it all came back to me. I wasn’t sure if I was ready for you to see me, if I was good enough—”
“I’m proud of you, Mickey. You’ve always been what I wanted, what I needed. You don’t have to prove yourself to me. I’ve only ever wanted to help you, to reach you on some level and show you that you didn’t have to torment yourself anymore, that you deserved to be happy,” I said, putting my feelings out there for him to do with what he wanted.
“I think I’m finally there, but my life is only missing one thing,” he said, cupping my face with shaky hands.
I drew my hand up to his. “What’s that?”
“You.”
I closed my eyes and leaned into his hand, savoring the touch I’d missed for so many months. I felt his fingertips against my cheek, wiping away the tears I cried for both of us.
“Look at me, Autumn,” he said gently.
I opened my eyes and my heart fluttered. He was still there, still holding me, looking at me like he did all those long months ago with a starved look in his gaze. He inched his lips closer to mine. I met him halfway as our lips collided. He lowered his hand away from my jaw and wrapped his fingers through my hair. His kisses was soft, sweet, and conveyed all the time lost between us. When he gently broke apart from me, he rested his forehead against mine.
“I want to do this the right way this time. I want to take you on dates, have dinner with your parents. Will you ever forgive me, or am I too late?” he asked, uncertainty filling his gaze.
I laughed against him. Laughed for the weight that pressed down against me finally being released. I thought about our past and had no way of knowing what our future held. The one thing I was certain of was that we finally both made it through that current, the one that led us to the brink of disaster. The waters had tested us, but we hadn’t been shattered by it. We’d only drifted apart, swimming in the calm waters until we could find our way back to each other. “I’ll forgive you, if you’ll forgive me.”
He closed his eyes as though the peace he’d long sought after and given up hope of ever having found finally came to him. He looked complete.
“My gentle butterfly found her way back to her rough boxer,” he said.
I thought about Mary in that moment. She always knew. From the very beginning, she saw the destructive path Mickey and I rode on together. She knew we’d eventually wreck. She knew timing had to be perfect. She knew if Mickey and I were meant to be together, we’d eventually find our way back. And I loved her for it.
“My girl,” he said, his voice filled with relief, longing, and the promise of a better future. “I love you, Autumn.”
“I love you too, Mickey.”
The End
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Evernight Teen ®
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