Finally, I spot them returning. Their expressions are unreadable.
Faith walks with her shoulders back, chin lifted. But there’s something softer around the edges now. Her dad walks beside her, not saying much, but not scowling either. Her mom seems to have a neutral expression behind them. When they reach the clearing again, she gives him a small nod, gives her mom a hug, then peels off toward the patio.
They don’t follow.
Her dad stops by the cooler, cracks open a soda, and mutters to no one in particular, “That boy better treat her right.”
I blink.
Did I hear that right?
Faith reaches me a moment later. I open my mouth, but she just smiles and presses a hand to my chest.
“It’s okay,” she says. “He’s not thrilled. But he heard me. They both did.”
I wrap an arm around her waist and pull her into my side. “What did you tell them?”
Her voice is steady. “I told them I love you.”
The world stills.
I don’t say anything for a second. Just let it settle. Her words. The quiet certainty of them.
Then I murmur, “Say it again.”
She leans in. Her lips brush the shell of my ear.
“I love you.”
And just like that—every game, every mask, every lie we ever told?
Gone.
It’s just us now.
EPILOGUE
Faith
One Year later– Nashville, Tennessee
Tonight,we’re at The Green Room – an intimate local spot known for hosting poetry, music, and stories that punch you in the heart.
Recommended by my small town singer friend I made almost one year ago to the day.
The lights are warm and low, and there’s that quiet kind of hush just before something real happens. My palms are sweating a little, but my voice is steady as I step up to the mic.
I glance down at the notecards in my hand, then back up at the crowd.
In the front row, I see him.
Hunter.
Leaning forward, elbows on knees, that familiar smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth like he knows I’m about to set this room on fire.
He’s been clapping louder than anyone tonight—but not in a way that takes over. Just…solid. Steady. There. The way I always dreamed someone could be.
I clear my throat.
