Aiden used to do that whenever we went on road trips. He knew I didn’t like to be alone in a random room.
“Did Aiden tell you to stay in my room?” I hesitantly ask.
“No, he didn’t. When you woke up in the car, you looked around for a couple of seconds and I figured you were just trying to work out where you were. I didn’t want you to be all alone,” he explains.
“You’re going to make me cry,” I whisper and look away, fanning my eyes. “I’m not a crier. Yet with you I’ve already done it several times.”
Even when Aiden said sweet things to me all the time, it never affected me this much. What is going on with me?
“I think I’m broken,” I choke out and look away from him.
“Oh, Little One.”
Before I know it, his arms wrap around me and pull me close.
So many emotions run through me and I can’t keep up with them. I’ve never felt like this before.
“I don’t?—”
“Shhh, it’s okay. Everything is going to be okay. I know this might be scaring you, but you have nothing to worry about. I’m right here for you. If you want to cry a lot, then you can. I won’t judge you,” he says gently.
“But I don’t want to cry! I’ve never cried this much. Not even when my mom and older brother died,” I wail.
“But it’s time,” he whispers. “It’s time for you to let it all out and start to heal.”
“But why you?” I ask. “Why am I feeling like this with you? Aiden never made me think about it. Never made all these emotions swirl inside of me, and I don’t know what to do with them.”
“Because Iseeyou.”
I shake my head, wanting him to stop talking.
“I see how sad you are. See how exhausted you are from the countless hours you worked at your job. I see that you want to be taken care of and just want someone to hold you then never let go,” he says. “I see all of this and more. And I’m not going to let you go.”
Tears stream down my face as I ugly cry, letting all of these emotions out.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he whispers. “Not now and not ever. You are it for me. We are going to work through this, no matter how long it takes.”
“What if I never get through it?” I manage to get out through my sobs.
“Then you don’t, and I’ll be here for every time you cry, want a hug, or just want to talk.”
That doesn’t sound promising.
“What—” But I stop myself from asking a question.
I’m only here for two weeks. While he says he wants to be with me, maybe he just means for these two weeks and that’s it. I shouldn’t assume anything, but it’s so hard when it’s him.
“What was that?”
I shake my head.
“No, we aren’t going to do that. I want to know what you were going to say,” he says. “Tell me. No secrets between us.”
“What about after I leave Whiskey River Mountain Lodge?” I whisper, not looking at him.
I don’t want to hear him say this will be over when I leave. I can’t start something that is only going to last two weeks.
“We’ll figure it out, but I’m not giving up on you. If you want to go back home, we can do long distance and we’ll both take time off to visit each other until you’re ready to move here.”
