Page 99 of Come Back to Me

As I swing my head back into his direction, I see a smile appear on his face.

Oh, this cannot be happening right now. I can’t have these feelings rushing back. I know I broke his heart before, and I don’t want that to happen again. Most importantly, I don’t want my heart to be the next one to break.

I get up from the sofa and look down both corridors.

“Where are you going?” Grayson asks me.

“The bathroom.”

“It’s straight ahead on your right.”

“Thanks.”

Grayson grabs my hand, pulling me closer to him. “Don’t be gone for too long.”

I find myself unable to respond, but my eyes must be saying something because he smiles at me.

I smile back at him, releasing my hand from his. I swerve my way through a small crowd of people and make it inside the bathroom.

What are you doing? You cannot be starting something up with him again. You know what happened last time. Remember how he looked at you when you showed up in his life after being gone for six years? He was angry and upset. He deserves better than you.

Dani knocks on the bathroom door. “Vi, are you okay? You’ve been in there for thirty minutes.”

Iunlock the door and quickly invite her in before slamming the door shut. I fall onto the floor with a river of tears streaming out of my eyes, and she sits down next to me.

“Hey, look at me,” she says gently.

Managing to meet Dani’s gaze, I follow along as she gestures for me to do some breathing exercises. Once I’m able to breathe normally, I swallow a lump down my throat.

“What happened?” she asks, her pupils dilating.

“I’m scared.”

“What are you scared of, Vi?”

“All these feelings are rushing back, and I c-can’t have them. He was so angry at m-me for coming back into his l-life a week ago. How is he o-okay with it now? I can’t h-hurt him again. I can’t g-get hurt again.”

“We all have different healing processes. I know you don’t want to hear this right now, but I genuinely believe he has some kind of feelings stored for you. I don’t think he would’ve forgiven you like that if he still…”

“What? Finish what you were going to say.”

“He wouldn’t have forgiven you if he didn’t still love you.”

“I think you’re writing and reading too many romance books.”

She scoots in front of me. “Violet, you know deep down, it could be a huge possibility. I’ve seen the way he’s looked at you tonight. I don’t want to make the thoughts inside your head grow because I know what it feels like to wonder if the person you have feelings for feels the same way about you. I won’t talk about this anymore if you don’t want me to.”

“For now, I’d appreciate it. I need to focus on my classes, my job, and my friends. I can’t have any distractions, especially not in the form of an ex-boyfriend.”

“You sounded like Grayson at the end there.”

I grunt. “Mm-hm.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I feel better now. Thanks for checking on me.”

“Grayson wanted to see what was going on with you, but I insisted on taking his place.”