Page 234 of As You Wish

He was out of breath, like he’d run a marathon. People gathered around, watching with wide eyes.

I blinked, a wash of déjà vu hitting me. Slowly, I turned to see the same square where I’d broken both of our hearts. One heartbeat, I could see the cracked facades. The next, I was back in the present.

We were standing in the same place.

Time was repeating itself.

“J-Jade,” he said. “I⁠—”

He let out another breath, his eyes tracing over every inch of my face. I stared him down, slowly taking in the wrinkles that weren’t there before. The color around us.

This was the present. Not the past.

Silence stretched out between us. I thought he’d tell me he was leaving. His apartment was done, and I’d have my final answer.

Everything would click together like a broken puzzle.

“I hear your neighbors are terrible,” he said. “They’re rude, loud. You’ve even had to step in.”

My throat felt thick. “Yeah, they are.”

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I hear it’s not going to get any better.”

“What about when their lease is up?” I asked. “They have a different home, don’t they?”

“No. They don’t.”

I blinked. “Excuse me?”

“I’m not leaving this time.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t fucking want to.” The words were so shocking that whatever I was going to say next evaporated in a puff of smoke. At the threat of silence, Gabriel continued. “I get why you’d regret things. I get why you’re mad. I tried to give you everything, but I was a coward where it matters most. I should’ve given you me. I should’ve done that the first fucking time. I’ve lived for what ghosts want, not what I wanted. I don’t even know how to begin living for myself . . . but I know it starts with staying where my home is.”

I could barely speak. My heartbeat was pounding in my ears, but I managed to ask, “Wh-what are you saying?”

“I’m saying that I listened. It took you and Atticus to do it, but I see it now. I see that I’m hurting you by choosing what others want. I want to be here. In Strawberry Springs. Wherever you are.”

I let out a sob. It was all I could do. “Wh-what?”

Gabriel ran a hand through his hair, but his eyes were on mine. “I know I have a lot of time to prove that to you, and I’m happy to do that. But I’m not going back. I’m staying here.”

I wasn’t sure who moved first, but suddenly, I was sobbing in his arms. They were ugly, heart-wrenching cries, and I had no idea where they came from.

Relief poured through me. Never in my life did I expect to hear those words, but they’d been spoken. I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to have hope yet, but it blossomed in my chest anyway. The future I barely dared to dream of was fuzzy and in black and white.

Now it burst forth in technicolor. It was so real and right in front of me.

“P-please don’t take it back,” I managed to say. “Please stay.”

“I will. I promise. I plan on it. Whatever you need to hear to believe it. But there’s just one other thing.”

I sobbed again. “Fucking what, Gabriel?”

“Maybe we should get off the street before Kerry jumps us.”