“Yeah. A boring one, to help you sleep.”
I smiled. “Okay.”
“Once upon a time,” Derek began, his voice dropping to that soothing rumble that made my whole body relax, “there was a terrified soccer player who thought his life was over...”
“This better not be about you,” I mumbled, already feeling myself drift.
“Shh, no interrupting. This is a very serious story.”
“Mmkay.”
“There was a soccer player who thought his life was over. He spent months feeling sorry for himself, convinced he'd never play again, never be happy again. And then one day, this girl showed up with the world's most perfect cupcakes...”
“They weren't perfect,” I protested sleepily. “The frosting was too thick.”
“...the world's most perfect cupcakes,” Derek continued, talking over me, “and she smiled at him like he wasn't broken. Like he was still just... him. And slowly, one day at a time, one pain au chocolat at a time, one terrible playlist at a time...”
“My playlists are amazing,” I murmured.
“...she helped him remember who he was. Not who he'd been, not who he might become, but who he was right then, in that moment. And he started to realize that maybe being broken wasn't the worst thing. Maybe it just meant there was room for something new to grow.”
My breathing was slowing, my thoughts finally quieting.
“And the girl,” Derek continued softly, “she was dealing with her own broken pieces. But somehow, when they were together, the broken parts fit. Like a puzzle that only made sense when they were side by side.”
“That's... a terrible... metaphor,” I breathed out.
“Shh, you're ruining my story.” I could hear the smile in his voice. “The girl and the soccer player, they didn't have all the answers. They didn't know if they were doing it right. But they showed up for each other, every single day, in small ways and big ways. And that was enough.”
“Is it?” I asked, barely conscious. “Enough?”
“Yeah, Rosie. It's enough. We're enough.”
“'Kay,” I whispered. “Love... the story.”
“Get some sleep, beautiful. I'll be here when you wake up.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
I didn't hear what he said next, if he said anything at all. I was already drifting, his voice a warm blanket wrapped around me, pulling me under into the most peaceful sleep I'd had in weeks.
The next morning, I woke up to my phone still clutched in my hand, battery at 2%, and a text from Derek timestamped 4:17 AM.
Derek
You snore. It's adorable. Sweet dreams, Thorn.
And below that, at 7:23 AM.
Derek
Morning. I know you're probably still sleeping, but I wanted you to wake up to this: You're not too much. You're not too little. You're exactly right. See you at Pilates later?
I smiled at my phone, my heart doing that stupid fluttery thing it always did when it came to him. Maybe Derek was right. Maybe we were enough, exactly as we were...messand all.
I typed back quickly, before I could overthink it.
