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Emily remained at Nick’s house for several more hours that night. They both spent their time together admitting their deepest fears, and acknowledging why it was so difficult for either to completely trust the other without any doubt. Nick confessed that the youth within him had been more important than the life ahead of him. He wanted to retain his freedom for as long as he could, even if it meant risking true love. Once he realized that he’d already risked it, he wanted nothing more than to have it whole heartedly. Emily explained how she only had a few people in her life that truly cared about her, and while she knew Nick was one of them, she didn’t always feel their love was worth risking their friendship over.

As their confessions deepened and their vulnerabilities became more prominent, Nick and Emily realized that they did trust each other, totally and completely. The fact that they were willing to admit their deepest fears and hidden secrets was proof enough that nothing could come between them.

While Emily left Nick’s house with their relationship no further along than when she arrived, they both parted ways with a foreign feeling of hope bubbling inside of their hearts. Nick knew Emily still needed time to adjust to the changes in her life, and he intended to give it to her, but at least he now knew they’d be together at some point, forever.


The next morning, Emily was doing some casual cleaning around her house when her phone rang. She grabbed the cordless device from the charger and answered the call.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Em!”

“Hi, Sam. How are you?”

“I’m good, how are you? Have you been feeling okay?”

“I’ve been okay. Things have been kind of hard lately, but I’m getting through it.”

“Yea, everything that happened with your parents must have been so hard.”

“Nick helped me out a lot. Sometimes I don’t know what I’d do without him.”

Sam laughed at her friend, knowing she was more in love with Nick than ever before.

“Sometimes I don’t know what he’d do without you.”

“Yea, well, I guess we kind of need each other.”

Sam was thrown off by Emily’s confession, “Whoa, wait a minute. You mean you’re admitting you need him?”

She smiled at the thought, “Yea, I guess I kinda do.”

Sam laughed again, happy for her friend, but amused by her sudden realization.

As Emily remained on the phone with her friend, she continued organizing the clutter that had developed on her kitchen counter. She was thumbing through a pile of papers when she stumbled across a sealed envelope with her name scribbled across the front.

“Hey, Sam, did you bring me a card while I was in the hospital?”

“No,” Sam said slightly confused, “Nick did. I think he was the only one.”

“Oh…” Emily trailed off as she opened the envelope. She fumbled with the card, anxious to see what it said. It had been months since Nick had given her this card and throughout all the chaos, she’d completely forgotten it existed. As her eyes traced the words, she heard Nick’s voice in her head.

Emily

When I heard about your accident, I couldn’t begin to tell you how horrible I felt. I was incredibly scared for you, and I was beyond worried. I panicked for hours and questioned how something so horrible could happen to someone so beautiful. I analyzed every moment I had ever spent with you and wondered if I could have made that time better. I remembered all the fun times we spent talking about everything for hours, or analyzing what the meaning of life really is. I cherished every time you came out to support me no matter what the distance was. Basically, whatever the emotion was, I felt it; every single one, including love. I realized that I loved you. I love you. I realized that the reason I was experiencing such an intense amount of fear and anxiety for you was because you mattered so much more than I ever allowed myself to understand. I can’t tell you how sorry I am that I ignored my feelings for you for so long, and I could never apologize enough for the pain I put you through all these years, but I can promise you that I will love for the rest of my life, no matter what.

I know you’ll get through this on top. Stay strong and we’ll be together.

With Love,
Nick


“I have to go,” Emily abruptly said.

“Wait, what happened? What did the card say?”

She sighed happily, “He’s always loved me,” she shook her head at herself knowing she was making no sense, “I’ll tell you about it later. Bye, Sam.”

Emily hung up before Sam had a chance to reply. Feeling completely uninformed, she wondered if Emily’s reaction was meant to be has positive as it sounded.

Unfortunately, she’d have to wait to find out.


Once again, Nick was thrown off by the sound of knocking on his door. He stopped what he was doing and rushed over to answer it. For the second day in a row, he was greeted with complete surprise by Emily’s arrival.

“Hi, Em. You’re back?”

“Yea,” she smiled at him, “Can I come in?”

He laughed at her and let her in.

“So what’s up?”

“Do you regret the past?”

“I’m good thanks, how are you?”

Emily laughed at his playful sarcasm, and swatted him on the shoulder for his immaturity.

“I’m serious, Nick, just answer.”

He rolled his eyes, wondering what she was up to.

“What specifically about the past?”

“You and I.”

He thought about his answer for several moments before finally speaking up, “No. I wanted to say yes because I made a lot of mistakes in the past, but when I thought about it, I realized that my mistakes brought me to this moment, right here with you, and even though it’s been really difficult for both of us, and you’re asking me weird questions, I wouldn’t give it up for anything.”

She smiled at him, knowing she loved him way too much. He was everything she could ever ask for out of life, and she intended to keep it that way.

“I found something today.”

“And what might that be?”

“The card you gave me while I was in the hospital.”

Nick looked at her questioningly, wondering if her discovery was a good thing.

“The things you wrote inside… they really meant a lot to me.”

“I’m glad,” he sincerely said, “I meant every word of it.”

“I know you did. That’s why I came over, because I believed you.”

“You did?”

“I do.”

“What made you change your mind?”

“Knowing that you wrote it before you had time to think.”

He gave her an unsure look, “I don’t follow.”

She laughed at him, falling more in love with him for his modesty. “You didn’t sit around planning exactly what you were going to say. You just wrote. It was from your heart, so it had to be true.”

He smiled at himself, feeling slightly stupid for missing the connection.

“I love you, Emily. I’ll love you for the rest of my life, and I don’t ever want to love anyone else again. I don’t ever want to hold anyone else, or kiss anyone else, or touch anyone else. You’re all I want, forever.”

She looked into his beaming blue eyes and smiled at him knowing her life was complete. “I love you, too, Nick …Forever.”

He took a step forward, and placed his right hand on her left cheek. Unable to refrain any longer, Nick reached down and kissed Emily, savoring the feeling of her lips.

They melted into each others arms, and Nick knew his life was finally complete.