"I didn't drop you. You dropped us. You told me to leave and never come back."
I looked into his icy eyes and breathed in. They used to mean the world to me once upon a time.
"I didn't drop you. You ditched me. You backtracked and went back to work for another contract. I was making a home for us, and you couldn't even gather up the courage to come see it for fear of your secret coming out."
Wyatt opened his mouth in what appeared to be a growl but after a moment of inaction only a huff came out.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I thought I was ready. I really did. But then reality sunk in and...I couldn't do it. Why did you have to pick Mayberry? It’s my hometown. It was weird. I didn't think I could come back and be who you wanted me to be. Not in the place where I grew up."
I took another sip of coffee and sighed.
"Let's not pretend if it were any other place, you'd have come home to me."
Wyatt's gaze dropped and so did his shoulders.
"Yeah. I guess you got me there."
I wanted to reach out to him. To make all his problems and his fears go away. But he wasn't my person anymore. Not in that way. But still, I knew this man inside out. He may have hurt me, but I still didn't want him in pain.
"Anyway, I told you I'm not here to rehash things and look at what we're doing."
"What are you here for then?"
I looked him in the eyes when I said, "I forgive you."
He didn't react.
"Did you hear me, Wyatt? I said I forgive you. I'm not saying you didn't hurt me and that I didn't hate you for a long time, but..."
"But?" he whispered.
"Being with Zach has taught me a lot. About myself. About relationships. About love. Acceptance. Do you know the first time he tried to hold my hand in public, I flinched as if I was afraid?"
He shook his head.
"It made me realize coming out isn’t linear. It's not a straightforward process. Which, I knew, if I'm honest. I've always known it. It was just hard to accept and understand whenit came to you. To us. Because I was selfish and I needed you to meet me where I was at."
Wyatt didn't say anything.
"It's been a huge lesson this past month. Being open. Moving on. Feeling like I can trust again. But I've also...I don't know. I guess somewhere along the way I stopped hating you. No. Let me correct that. I haven't hated you for a long time."
Wyatt huffed at that.
"I was angry at you, sure. I showed you that every time we interacted, but can you blame me? You told me you can't settle down or leave the Navy and all, then you come back here anyway? After you dumped me. It hurt. It really, really hurt. So I was angry. I still didn't hate you. I thought I did, but the truth is I still love you."
"You...you do?" Wyatt gasped.
"Of course, idiot. We were together for the better part of my life. You're more than just a partner. You're...family. And I was holding a grudge—being angry—at my family. Because I knew—know—you can have a better life. A happier life. And you let your own head get in the way of that. I'm in love with Zach, but I'll never unlove you."
"Dare, I don't know what?—"
"You don't have to say anything. I just wanted you to know I forgive you. And I'm sorry too, if I pressured you or disrespected your journey in any way."
"You don't have to apologize," he said.
"Of course I do. And there’s something else," I said. "I want this...feeling," I pointed to my chest, where all the turmoil I felt lived, "to stop. I want to find peace. And I have, don't get me wrong. Zach is...he's great for me. But I'd love it if we could be...friends, or something. I know it might be hard considering our history, but?—"
"I'd love that." Wyatt's forehead creased and there were tears in his eyes as he looked at me, vulnerable and broken.
