Page 25 of Come Back to Me

She releases her fingers from mine, wrapping her arms around my neck. Her eyes work up my body and land back up to my face.

How is it that this girl I met when I was twelve-years-old is making me feel like I’m going to explode from the inside out? My stomach is in a million knots, tightly intertwining with one another.

“I’m more than okay with that,” she breathes out.

“I’m not saying you can’t change your mind because youabsolutelycan. I just want to make sure this is what youreallywant.”

“I want this. I wantyou.”

“I want you, too.” I shift closer to her and kiss her lips that have been on my mind non-stop for the past several months.

I never want this to end.

now

VIOLET

“I don’tremember if I told you this before, but you were my first kiss,” I say.

“And you were mine,” he reveals with a straight face. “Can I be honest with you?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“I don’t remember jack-shit about sophomore year, except for the time I spent with you.”

“Why does that not surprise me?”

He deadpans. “I’m not in the mood for your sarcasm right now.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to say that the way I did. I know high school wasn’t easy for you.”

He leans back in the chair, crossing his arms over his broad chest and staring at the basketball hoop to the right of him. I scoot closer to him, barely touching his face.

He jumps, standing in front of me. “Please don’t touch me.”

“I-I’m sorry.”

Ugh, I can see the hurt in his face, and it’s killing me.

I deserve to be treated like this. The fact that he’s hearing me out doesn’t make any sense to me. I would’ve immediately shut myself down if I was him.

He opens his mouth. “This was a mistake. I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

I get up, following him as he walks over to the other side of the arena. “Gray, please don’t do this.”

He whips his body around, but he doesn’t look me directly in the eyes. “Do you know how much it hurts seeing you here after all these years? I thought the wound healed, but it didn’t. It’s raw and wide open. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to forgive you for what you did.”

Tears line the inner rims of my eyelids. “I know and telling you I’m sorry won’t make a difference, so I’m not going to apologize to you.” I pause. “Instead, I’m going to walk away and never come back. I won’t ask Noah to update me about you. I won’t bother you ever again.” I turn and walk away from Grayson, but I stop short because there’s something I need to tell him before I never see him again. I swivel back around to meet his gaze. “There’s a reason why I’ve had Noah update me for the past six years. It’s because I haven’t stopped thinking about you. If you think cutting me out of your life forever is good for you, then I understand. I care about you too much. All I want is for you to be happy.”

Grayson doesn’t move. In fact, he’s standing in the same position I walked away from him in.

“I hope your dream of being drafted into the NBA comes true. I know it will because you are the most talented basketball player I’ve ever seen. Noah would send me videos of you practicing, and it made my heart sing every time. There’s a reason why you’re captain of our college’s basketball team. You’re a natural leader. You always were.”

His head drops down, and now he’s staring at the floor.

Wrap it up, Violet. He definitely wants you to leave.

“Honestly, I hope all of your dreams come true. You’ve been through so much. You deserve the world.” Before I turn my head around, I have to say the words I never thought I’d have to say to him again. “Goodbye, Gray.”