“Can we call it a study date?” He asks quietly.
I bite my lip, nodding.
He swallows before pulling me in for another kiss. This one is much deeper, and I finally feel myself relax. Change is good.
He pulls away, taking a deep breath. “Okay, I’m gonna go before I embarrass myself and you take everything back.”
I laugh. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Melody.”
Four Months Later
“Dylan!” Mom screeches as she takes the steps two at a time. It’s her first time meeting my boyfriend in person, yet they’re already BFFs from their regular FaceTime calls.
He opens his arms wide, accepting her hug as he spins her around. “Mom! In the flesh!”
I wait by Dylan’s car, my arms crossed as amusement tugs at my lips. “Already replacing me, I see.”
“Oh, hush, Jellybean,” Mom fusses over his shoulder.
“Yeah,” my boyfriend parrots. “Let us have our moment,Jellybean.”
Dad glides right past them, opening his arms for me before crushing me to his chest. I close my eyes, holding onto him tightly. This is the closest I’ll ever be to having a piece of Kaden. Our family.
“I missed you, Dad,” I mumble.
“I missed you, too, sweetheart,” he says before kissing my forehead. “Let’s get you kids settled in.”
Dylan helps him unload the car as Mom takes my hand. We’re stepping over the threshold of the house when she whispers to me. “Have you heard from him?”
My heart gives a painful thump. It doesn’t hurt as badly as it used to, but it’s still there. “No. Have you?”
She shakes her head, her eyes downcast. “Not a single word. The last private investigator quit a week into the job.”
I sigh. My parents are still holding out hope that Kaden will magically appear. I’ve been working through that trauma in therapy twice a week for over a year. Letting go is never easy, but we have to learn to move on from something that’s hopeless. Kaden’s decisions are out of our hands. “Mom,” I begin weakly before wrapping my arms around her in a hug. “It’s been almost two years. I think it’s time—”
She squeezed me tightly, sucking in a breath. “I know. But as parents, we would go to the ends of the Earth for both of you. We can’t let go. No matter how hard we try, Melody.”
My heart pangs. That buried anger resurfaces. He’s hurting them and doesn’t even care. He hurtusand doesn’t even care.
“We’re going to keep trying,” Mom declares as she pulls back and pushes my hair out of my face. “You look so healthy.”
I smile, looking down at my dress that fits a little tighter now. “Dylan has been cooking at the dorm every night.”
“I’m glad he’s taking care of you,” Mom whispers, but there’s something in her eyes—a hesitancy as if she’s withholding something. It’s gone before I can blink.
One Year Later
We’re soaked to the bone, our clothes sticking to us as we finally make it under the pavilion near the student center. Dylan breathes heavily, putting his hands on his knees as he hunches over. Even though we look like drowned cats, he’s still so breathtaking with his hair slicked back.
Our love wasn’t instantaneous or burning as brightly as a flame. It was earned from hard work and dedication over the last year. There’s a difference in our connection compared to my first one, but I don’t dwell on it anymore. This is my life now, and one where I’ve been chosen above all else.
I turn away from him, wringing out my shirt the best I can as I continue to walk. “We only have two minutes to get to the play before we’re locked out of the auditorium! Pick up the pace, baby!”
“Melody,” he calls after me, but I’m happily skipping along, none the wiser. “God dammit, woman, if you don’t turn around!”
I whip around, my face falling and my heart plummeting as I see him down on one knee, holding up a velvet box with a teardrop-shaped diamond ring nestled between two cushions. The rain slows to a dull sound in the distance, and I feel my skin prick with the cold.
