My pulse steadied as I wrote. The chaos in my head quieted, every thought narrowing to the rhythm of the pen.
When I finally lifted my hand, the page was full. Dozens of tiny futures stared back at me.
I turned to the next page.
Our wedding,I wrote at the top of the page.
The words wouldn’t stop coming, the blue ink curling across the page faster than I could think.
White lights strung through the trees.
The smell of honeysuckle and roses in the air.
He’s waiting for me at the end of the aisle, hands in his pockets, that half-smile that makes my heart stumble.
His hands find my waist.
He looks at me the way he did tonight—but softer. Certain.
He says my name, not rough or hurried, but steady. Forever.
My breath hitched into something that almost sounded like a laugh.
It wasn’t crazy to dream about this. Not anymore, right?
He’d kissed me. He’d wanted me.
He’d never know the real me, the girl who’d waited and watched and loved him long before he ever saw her, but that was okay.
He’d still love a version of me, which is all I’d ever wanted.
I pressed my palm to the journal page, smudging a few of the words, and closed my eyes. I could almost hear his voice again, saying my name like he was treasuring it.
For the first time in years, the ache in my chest eased.
The world outside my window was silent, the campus asleep, but inside my tiny dorm room everything glowed—my wall, my words, my perfect dream.
And sitting there, ink on my fingers, surrounded by his face and his name, I let myself believe it.
Just for tonight.
CHAPTER 15
MATTY
By the time I finally gave up, the sun was already high, the campus dead quiet.
In my brilliant plan from the night before, I’d somehow forgotten one minor detail—it was Sunday today.
And apparently Ophelia, like most students on campus, didn’t leave her room on Sundays.
Which meant I’d spent five straight hours camped outside her dorm, half hidden behind a damn oak tree like some idiot stalker, waiting for her to come out.
She never did.
Not once.
At one point, I actually thought about dressing up like a pizza delivery guy—stealing a Domino’s hat, showing up at her door, and pretending there’d been a mix-up so I could “accidentally” deliver her lunch.
