“I love you, you know.”
She leans her head back and looks at me intently.
“Then why won’t you let me in?” she asks.
“Because there are some things I’d rather leave behind.”
She sighs, her eyes shutting for a few minutes.
“We’re both liars, Wyatt. Liars who believe that the secrets we hold are to protect each other. The only person we are protecting is ourselves.”
I sigh. It always comes down to this.
She reaches up and knits her fingers into my hair.
Today she became my wife, and she’s the most honest person I know.
“I never lied about the fact that I love you,” I say, pressing my lips to her temple.
“I know.”
I watchher as she sleeps, and I have to bite back the emotion I feel inside. I was in love with two people. One I could never be with, and one who’d leave me soon and I could do nothing about it.
When we were twelve years old, I took Hayley fishing with my family and me. We were camping over for the weekend. It was her first time, and she was fascinated by every single thing I did. I’d been fishing with my father for three years now, so I had a pretty good handle on it. We sat on the docks overlooking the water, eating chips and staring at the mountains in front of us. I grinned at the pretty girl beside me, wanting to push the wisps of gold that flew free behind her ears. I wouldn’t dare. She’d know I had a crush on her, and she’d reject me. We were best friends, but that didn’t mean she wanted to play house with me.
She would glance at me every now and then and smile that crooked smile that made her face light up. My line tugged, and I stood bracing myself. She hopped beside me.
“You caught one! You caught one!” she shouted clapping her hands in excitement.
“Shh, you’re going to scare them, Bella,” I laughed.
I reeled in my line and sighed in disappointment. I’d caught a boot. An old boot. I threw it on the bank and sat down sulking. I hated being embarrassed in front of her.
She rubbed my back and assured me we’d catch one real soon.
We never did, but a few days later, I found a boot stuffed with flowers on my front porch. My parents had no idea where it came from. But I did. She’d somehow snuck that old boot back home.
“Who would do such a thing?” My mother scrunched her nose at the boot.
“Someone creative.” Dad shrugged.
I reached for the boot, placing it in a hanging plant holder.
I looked up at my neighbor's house and smiled. She stood there, her hair like sunshine around her, and I knew, there and then, I wanted her in my world forever.
