Prologue
Dear Tommy,
I feel like I can finally say this. I’ve waited years to tell you how I feel. With you gone, it’s been lonely. My parents’ divorce now fills my house with this void of emotion, and I’m suffocating.
I love you, Tomas Drapper. With my whole heart and soul, I love you.
From the first time you pulled my pigtails to the time you kissed me on a dare. You’ve always been it for me.
You always will be.
When you come home, I’ll be here. Waiting. Like you asked me to without saying the words. I’ll always be here, Tommy, and I hope one day you’ll love me too.
Love always,
Your Cassie-bell
Dear Cassie-bell,
I knew. All along, I knew you loved me. I tried my best to stay away these past few years, but when Ryan Hill broke your heart in nineth grade, I knew I couldn’t anymore. I’m the reason no one asked you out again. I’ve kept the asshole jocks away, and I don’t regret it for a second. I’ll always protect you, Cassie-bell. From everything and everyone.
When I come home, Cas, it’s you and me. Just you and me.
Not a fucking thing will keep us apart anymore.
I love you to the stars and beyond, Cassidy Jones.
Yours,
Private Tomas Drapper
CHAPTER 1
Cassie
Staring down at the pile of letters in the shoe box I’ve kept under my bed for years, I force myself to replace the lid. I’m making the right decision, even if my heart screams at me to stop.
Since I was a little girl, I’ve always had this dream that one day I would marry Tomas Drapper. The day we met, love erupted, and since then, my feelings have only grown stronger. We never dated each other; we kissed once on a dare but never moved beyond friendship, though the feelings were always there.
From the beginning, we were inseparable. Best friends. Destined to one day become husband and wife. Until he enrolled in the Army at eighteen and deployed shortly after finishing training. Never able to tell me where he was going, how long he would be, or when he’d be coming home, yet I waited.
I attended college…made friends. Declined dates repeatedly. I waited for Tommy, the love of my life, my soulmate, my best friend. I was there every time he came home, saw him off each time he left. I wrote to him every week, sometimes twice a week, and sent as many care packages as I could.
We talked about the future,ourfuture, and about when I finished college, settled in where I wanted to teach, and that’s when we would become us.
Six months ago, he stopped responding to my letters. I have no idea what happened, or where he is, and when his family moved a month later, I lost access to ever finding out. Paisley and Gage weren’t just Tommy’s parents, they were my second family, and they left.
Staring around my room full of packed boxes, I swipe away tears leaking from my eyes. I swore I wouldn’t cry anymore. That I would let the past go now that I’m finally moving on. I’ve accepted a teaching position in Jacksonville, Florida, and while I’m excited that it’s with a fourth-grade elementary class, I’m nervous about moving. About leaving everything behind, because if Tommy were ever to try to contact me again, he wouldn’t know how.
Two years ago, my mom died from breast cancer, and a few months later, Dad followed from a broken heart. They had always been soulmates, and while it saddened me, I wasn’t surprised that he left to be with her. Despite their divorce, due to Dad’s midlife crisis, I believe their love never faded, but it left me alone with only Tommy and his family for support. Now, I don’t even have them.
For the first time in my life, I’m truly alone with no one to help me pick up the pieces of my shattered heart. Tommy was all I had. All I wanted, and now I’m moving on without him, and it feels like I’m losing a limb. The pain is unbearable, though phantom-like, and my mind will just have to learn to live without.
Staring out at the ocean view, a sense of calm washes over me. I haven’t been to a beach in far too long; now I get to live on one. Well, close to it. A boardwalk runs between my backyard fence and the sand, but I can smell the water, hear the waves, and see the glorious sun rising over the water in beautiful technicolor.
The purchase of my first real home was worth every expensive penny. I have one week before classes start, and after all the shopping I did yesterday, I’m excited to get into my class today to decorate. I decided on a more mature setting, with an array of pastel colors, nature themes, and fairy lights. I hope the students find my room a calming presence when they’re there.
Finishing off my coffee, I rinse the cup and pop it into the dishwasher before starting the machine and heading out to my car in the driveway. I’ve only had the opportunity to meet one neighbor so far, so when I’m locking up and hear a boisterous hello from Clide next door, a genuine smile crosses my lips.
