“Well, last night Dylan and Aurora came over to the office to bring a thank you card, and they gave me a ticket to come see tonight’s game.I wasn’t going to come but then decided that it might be fun to watch you guys play one last time.”
“Alright, but then you’d be at the game?”
“I would be, but when I got there, you were already on your way out and they wouldn’t let me in.Aurora told me what happened, so I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“I’m good, just a little knee injury,” I said, shifting in the bed, trying to fix the pillow.
“Want some help?”she asked, stepping up beside me, adjusting the pillow behind my back so I was more comfortable.
“Thanks.”
“I know you probably don’t want to see me, but I couldn’t stay at the arena knowing you were hurt,” she said, taking my hand in hers.
I looked down at her hand, and then up at her, my eyes locking with hers.
“I tried messaging you after the article?—”
I shook my head.“Emma, please…”
Her cheeks flushed as she stared into my eyes.I wondered if she thought she had crossed an invisible line that could never be redrawn.”
“I don’t know how we got to this point,” she whispered.
I reached over, placing my hand on her cheek.“Listen, I got angry that night at the restaurant.I lost my temper.I am sorry.I lost it again over the article.Had I not broken my phone into literal pieces, I’d have been able to respond to your message before now.”
“You mean you would have messaged me?”
“Yes.You see, I never fully admitted to myself how much you meant to me.Having you back in my life made me so afraid of losing you, I held on to you too tight.When I look back on everything, I realize maybe I pushed you away.I did the exact opposite of what I wanted to do.The night Mark showed up, I was about to ask you not to come back here, but to move in with me.The thought of a long-distance relationship made me sick to my stomach because I was so afraid you’d come back here, and he’d get his hands on you and convince you that you should be his, I didn’t realize that I’d literally pushed you to him by doing what I did.”
“You didn’t push me to him.
“Well, that is a good thing.”
“I don’t think I ever really loved him.Our entire relationship was a lie.Seeing his behavior toward you made me realize exactly what type of man he was.However, seeing your behavior toward him scared me equally.I don’t want to be afraid to move around you.”
“You don’t have to be afraid of moving around me.”
The space between us grew quiet as we both sat there looking at one another.No matter how difficult I was, or how much I tested her, something in me still wanted to believe she wanted to be with me.In fact, the more I thought about it, the more I couldn’t imagine my life without her.If only I could go back and erase time, especially the dinner where I allowed my emotions to take over, because I regretted everything that happened that night in the restaurant.
“I want to apologize to you.I didn’t mean to send the information.It was a mistake, and even though it’s one I know you’ll never be able to forgive me for, I need you to know how I feel.”
“Let me guess, you are sorry?”
She nodded.“I am.You know that I’d never do something intentionally to you when I know how you felt about keeping that a secret.”
“I know.”
She looked up at me and frowned.“Colton, why aren’t you angry with me?”she questioned.
I shifted over on the bed and slid the pillow that was under my knee to support it a little more in my new position, then patted the bed beside me.“Sit down.”
The moment she did, I took hold of her hand.“I’m not angry with you.”
“Why not?”
“Well, sometimes the things we are afraid of the most have a way of surprising us.”
“I don’t understand?”
