“I know he may not want me around. I know it might take time for him to warm up to the idea of me, even as a friend or your partner, but I want to be where he is too. I won’t force it. I can get my own place and let him set the pace, but I don’t want to leave either of you.”
“What about work?”
“I can work remotely, and they can manage everything else without me.”
“What about Abby and your friends? Your mom and your nieces and nephews?”
He wraps his arms around my waist. “They’ll be right where I left them, ready to welcome us home when all three of us are in a position to go back to Rydeville.”
“That might never happen, Drew. Arlo might want to stay in Cali, and if he does, then that’s where I’ll be.”
“My home is wherever you two are.” He shrugs before leaning down to kiss the tip of my nose. “For the first time in years, I know what I want, and I’m free to pursue it. And before you say it, I’ll sign up for therapy. I’ll put in the hard work and deal with my shit. I’ll set a good example because our boy is gonna need therapy too.”
“Do you mean that?”
The playful expression leaves his face. “I do. You were right about everything.”
“I usually am,” I tease.
“I’m not wasting any energy disputing that. I will bow before you and humbly accept defeat. You knew what I needed to do before I figured it out myself. I’m done hiding and running from my feelings. What happened today has given me the closure I needed, but more than that, it has highlighted how short life is, and you truly don’t know what’s around the corner. I don’t want to waste another second of my life. I have found my true purpose in you and Arlo, and I want to be there for you both in every way conceivable.”
His lips brush my cheek, igniting a fire in their wake. “Jane was my first love and a lifeline when I desperately needed it. A small part of me will always hold love for her, and she lives on in Arlo. But I loveyou, Athena. It’s a deep, intense, eternal love I have never felt before. No woman has ever seen every side of me and accepted me as I am. You are the first and hopefully the last. You have seen it all, and by some miracle, you still want me. Only a damn fool would turn that down.”
He takes my hands and lifts them to his lips, kissing my knuckles. “I fucked up. I’ll definitely fuck up again. But if I promise to work on my demons and swear that what I feel for you is pure and true and more precious than any love that has come before, would you give me another chance? Will you let me prove my love for you and Arlo is the real deal and allow me to become the man you need me to be?”
Butterflies swoop into my stomach, and my heart pumps with adrenaline and excitement and a million other emotions. What lies ahead will not be easy for any of us, but I feel like we can get through it if we stick together, and I want this man by my side.
It’s time we both stopped fighting what we feel for one another and fully embrace what it means to be in control of our destiny. “Yes, Drew. I will give you another chance, and I already know you are the man I need. You just need to start believing in yourself.”
Epilogue 1
Drew
The last seven months have been eventful to say the least, but I wouldn’t change any of it. Not even the harrowing, heart-wrenching, soul-sucking challenging parts. Arlo, Thena, and I are all in therapy and working our way through our issues one at a time. In a way, it has helped to bring me closer to my son even if there is still a lot of work to be done in our relationship. Confronting my feelings after all this time is overdue but difficult. I never realized how emotionally stunted I was because I kept pushing everything away instead of facing up to it. But I’m an adult now, and I’m putting in the hard work for me, for my son, and the woman I love more than life itself.
Athena and I chose to put the brakes on our relationship, and while it’s killing me being around her every day and not being with her in the way I want, it’s for the best. This way, Arlo and I get to focus on our recovery with Athena’s support.
Athena and I might have cracked a few times. Grabbing stolen kisses and making out like horny teenagers when the all-consuming need for one another combusts. But we haven’t had sex. With each other or anyone else. We’re committed to one another and faithful. We’ve agreed to wait to restart our romantic and sexual relationship when the timing is right.
I’m not sure how Arlo will feel about it, and we’ll need to tread carefully so we don’t undo any of his progress.
It’s been really hard for my son. Trauma combined with teenage hormones does not make it easy, but I’m proud of him for trying. We have witnessed every gamut of emotions with Arlo. He has phases where he’s angry and reckless and hellbent on destruction. Skipping school. Arguing with his friends. Messing around with girls and showing up drunk on several occasions. Other times, he withdraws into a shell, and we struggle to get him to come out of his room. When depression hits him hard, he is silent, closed off, and in so much pain it’s palpable.
We’re trying to guide and support him while giving him boundaries that protect his fragile mental state. It has led to confrontations, and he won’t accept any attempt I make to discipline him for his safety, so a lot is resting on Athena’s shoulders. But she gets on with it and at times she is the only one he will listen to.
It’s hard seeing my son struggle and not being able to do much to help, but Thena reminds me it’s a step at a time, a day at a time, and I’m building the foundations of our future relationship now.
“Drew.” Arlo calls my name, yanking me out of my head.
I glance over my shoulder. “Yeah, buddy?”
His lips curve at the corners, and the dimple pops in his left cheek, reminding me of his mother. Jane had a dimple in the exact same place. “You’ve just been staring into space with your hands on that case for the past few minutes. You completely spaced out, dude.”
“Guilty as charged.” I toss him a smirk. “I’m almost packed anyway.” Now that school is out for the summer, we’re heading to Rydeville for a month. Arlo was the one who suggested it, and we were more than happy to agree. I’m looking forward to chilling out with everyone and hopefully showing Arlo some of my old stomping grounds.
“Thena said the car will be here in ten minutes and to get your ass in gear.”
“Okay. I’ll meet you at the front.”
