Page 113 of I Choose You

As I rounded the stairs to the hall leading to the kitchen area, I could hear the groans of disapproval from our roommates. They’d obviously heard me.

“TMI!” Becca yelled.

Macie giggled as I plopped Ava on an island stool.

“Listen, as happy as we are for the two of you,” Becca said. “We don’t need a play-by-play of what’s going on up there.”

Ava laughed out loud.

“There is no way Logan and I are anywhere near as loud as you and Ty.”

That stopped Becca in her tracks. Macie and Ava froze as well. I stood on the fringe waiting to see how this played out. As the three girls all turned to look at one another, I watched as each of them started with a small smile at first. They then started howling with laughter within seconds, the tears streaming down their faces as they huddled together.

Seeing them interacting this way, effortlessly, as friends again, made my heart expand. So much of this past semester had been spent hiding emotions, which had affected the relationships in this house. Finally, being beyond that felt freeing.

Felt normal.

I knew I had a life that would never be completely normal. My challenges would be lifelong. But I was up for the challenge, and I was meeting them.

I loved it when Ava told me shechose me. Over all the other shit that had been going on in our lives.

Yeah, she chose me and I chose her.

But more importantly, we chose us.