“That was when I knew I loved you. Not the moment I caught feelings, but the moment I knew I didn’t ever want to live my life without you in it.” I stare at him, mouth ajar, I’m speechless. I remember that day well. He was so sick. It was the first time we spent time together where he wasn’t teasing me or being overly protective. I didn’t like that he wasn’t himself.
“My mom gave me so much hell for being in contact with you. Especially when I ended up with chicken pox a few days later.” I giggle, remembering her frustration.
“There was nothing that could keep us apart,” he says, holding my hand under the table. My cheeks warm, and I rest my head on his shoulder.
“Well, this game sure took a turn,” Kash remarks, pretending to doze off during Austin’s story time. Leah sits watching us with stars in her eyes, like she’s trying to envision the day that we’re talking about. Those were the good memories. The memories of Austin and me when we thought it was the two of us against the world. The memories I had never let go of, and the memories I never want to forget.
“Okay, new game,” Kash blurts. “I take the rest of these shots. Get shitfaced and you guys keep me from making a big mistake in going home with the foxy ladies at the bar… or worst of all, call Lana,” he says. “Sound like a plan?” he asks the group, and we simultaneously shout, “NO.” He raises his hands, feigning innocence, and stands from the table.
“Fine, then, how about this? We each take an equal amount of shots, then hit the dance floor to make complete fools of ourselves before grabbing some fast food and crawling our drunk asses back to the dorms.”
“Deal!” I shout, already reaching for another shot. At this rate, I won’t even remember getting home. But with these people? I feel safer than ever.
We slamback shot after shot and work it all out of our systems on the dance floor. Austin told the DJ it was our birthday so that he could get request privileges, which just ended up bumming strangers out. The night continued with the four of us being the last ones on the dance floor, carefree, laughing, and making memories that would last a lifetime.
The bartender calls last call, and we pay our tab and head out for the night. With the dorms being only a short walkaway from the pub, getting back to our rooms shouldn’t seem like as much of a challenge as it is. The world is spinning, and I’m having trouble walking straight, so we forgo the fast food idea.
“Can we just sit down for a second? I need fresh air,” I tell Austin, who begins to laugh.
“Vix, you’re outside. This is the freshest the air is going to get, baby,” he says while sitting me on a small park bench just off the university grounds.
“You’re smart, did anyone ever tell you that?” I tell him and give him a boop on the nose. He chuckles.
“Hey, we’ll meet you guys back at the room. We’re just going to take a minute for Vix to ground herself.” Kash gives us a thumbs up and proceeds to guide his sister on his arm to the school.
“Hey, Aussy?” I speak softly. “I loved you too, you know,” I tell him, continuing our conversation from earlier in the night.
“I didn’t know it, not yet. But I did. I know I did. I loved you,” I mumble.
“I know, baby.” He kisses the top of my head. “I know.” We sit there for an hour until I feel sober enough to walk back unassisted to my room. When we get to the door, we see Kash sprawled out across my bed, snoring away. Leah is on her bed in the same position, making noises in her sleep that I never thought would be humanly possible to come out of her.
“My room?” Austin says, looking at thing one and thing two. “I have a surprise for you,” he says, smiling down at me. I nod my head and grab a few things that I’ll need for the next morning, and we leave the two to sleep the rest of the night away.
FIFTEEN
VIX - PRESENT
“Canyou wait out here for a sec?” Austin stops me in the hallway.
“Oh?” I smirk.
“Just one minute, I promise,” he tells me and then rushes into his room. I hear a thump and some rummaging from the other side of the door. He comes back a moment later and reaches for my hand and guides me into the room.
“Happy birthday, baby,” he says, and I walk through the door, and my heart swells. The room is lit with a dozen or so candles, setting the mood for a cozy, romantic entrance. On top of Austin’s comforter sits two pieces of paper, two pens and two cupcakes. In my inebriated state, my emotions are overflowing, and I can’t help but audibly let out a sob.
“I swear I don’t usually cry this much,” I tell him, choking back the tears that are threatening to escape my eyes.
“I just thought… we could pick up where we left off...” he says, leading me over to the bed, and handing me a tissue to wipe my eyes. I get comfortable, crossing my legs and grabbing one of the sheets of paper.
“You know, after you left, I swore I would never do thisagain,” I tell him, looking down at the paper before me. “But I’m so happy you did this. This is the first birthday in such a long time that finally feels like I’ve had a good day,” I tell him, my voice soft. He leans in, taking my lips in his. He kisses me slowly, like the world has stopped and I’m the only thing that matters. An apology I am more than willing to accept.
“I will do everything in my power to make up for those lost years, Vix. I’ll show you every day how much the thought of seeing you again completely consumed me.” I kiss him again, gently. A kiss to let him know, with my whole heart, I believe him. He leans back, getting comfortable on the bed.
“Ready to put pen to paper?” he asks, and I nod my head, picking up a pen. I watch him scribble on his paper intently and immediately start to ask him the question I know will get a rise out of him,
“What are you wi—” He holds up his hand, cutting me off.
“No! Don’t even try me. I’m not telling you what I wished for. It won’t come true if I tell you.” I break out into a fit of giggles. Some things never change, do they? I write out my wish, and we fold our papers into little origami butterflies, like we did when we were kids. Flawless as they’ve always been. I used to wish for Aussy. I wished he would see me, that he would love me, that he would open his eyes and notice me as more than his best friend, Mavix. But now? My only wish is to keep him.
