“Anyway, you used to be so fascinated with her, you know? I’d watch you watch her and I knew you were falling in love with her. And she was falling in love with you and I watched it all happen. And all the while… all the whileIwasfalling in love with you too. With my sister’s boyfriend. I’ve spent years feeling terrible and awful about it. That’s why I kept myself away from you. That’s why I’d never look at you or talk to you or just leave the room when you were there, because I loved you. Because you were Sarah’s and what kind of a sister would I be if I did something to hurt your relationship. That’s why I was running away. I didn’t want to sully your wedding with my presence. I didn’t want to be there, the girl with a witchy heart, in love with her sister’s groom. But back then, I didn’t know something about myself. Something really important.”
“What?”
I fist my hands at my side and raise my chin. “That I’d never do anything to jeopardize what you had with her. I’d never do anything to come between you two. No matter how desperate I got. Because your happiness is my happiness. When you smile, I smile. When you hurt, I hurt. So if you love her, then you should be with her.”
When I stop, I make myself tight.
I clench my muscles and I flex my fists. I keep my eyes on him, unflinching.
If he wants to hate me for falling for him, for loving my sister’s ex-boyfriend while he was still with her, then he can do that.
I’ll take his hatred and whatever he has to say to me. Because as I said, I do regret it. I do regret that I fell in love with him when he was with Sarah.
But I refuse to regret the very act of loving him. I refuse to regret loving him to the point of misery and doom.
But all he does is blink and say, “And if I don’t?”
I shift on my feet, more ready than ever. “If you don’t what?”
“Love her.”
It takes me a few seconds to put together what he meant.
If I don’t love her…
That’s what he meant, right?
If he doesn’t love her then what?
Up until now, I felt like my breaths were frozen. I thought my body was chilled to the bone and I’d never be able to get any feeling back into it.
But everything comes rushing back. Everything comeshurtlingback and punches me in the chest. It punches me in the gut, and I let out a shocked breath.
“Then I’d say…” I open my fists and loosen my body. “Choose me.”
“You.”
I nod. “Yeah, choose me.”
“Why?”
This is the easiest thing for me to say, the easiest of all the things that I’ve ever said to him. “Because I love you, Arrow. I’ve loved you for years and if you give me a chance, I can make you happy.”
“You can make me happy.”
I swallow. “Yes.”
“By loving me.”
He’s saying all these things in a flat tone but that’s not the part I’m worried about, or at least not the only part.
The fact that he keeps repeating everything that I say is even more concerning to me.
“Y-yes,” I reply.
He nods.
Then he ducks his head and shifts on his feet before looking up. “I just have one question though.”
