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“I don’t believe you.”
“I don’t care.” Her stepfather shrugged. “You’ve been given a real chance here. A chance that you would never have had if it wasn’t for John, so don’t blow it by pretending you understand things that you just don’t.”
********
Chapter 20
John
His new apartment was a disaster. The air was heavy with damp. That damp had started to pull the wallpaper from the walls. The lights flickered whenever he turned them on. The sink in the bathroom had a leaky tap that dripped every few seconds. The kitchen was just a stove that had been fitted into a small closet, which John was pretty sure was once used to keep clothes in.
It was good enough, though. It was good enough for him. It was good enough to start the next chapter of his life with. The apartment didn’t matter. His living conditions weren’t an issue. The only thing that he cared about was making sure that Amy had a chance to be happy.
He pulled out a clean shirt from the bag that he kept beside the bed. He’d considered unpacking on his second day, but he’d been too afraid of what the apartment might do to his stuff. Sure, living out of a bag wasn’t easy, but it was better than having all of his clothes ruined with damp. He pulled on his shirt and headed to the door as he heard someone knocking on it.
He opened it. He didn’t know who to expect, but he’d pictured it being some kind of salesperson. “Hi,” Amy said when his eyes met hers.
“What are you doing here?” John asked, standing aside so that she could come into his apartment. She looked wrong standing out in the dank hallway. She was too fragile, too perfect to be in a place like that.
“I needed to see you.”
“How did you find me?”
“I made your dad tell me where you’d gone.”
“Oh,” John said, closing the door behind her. “So, you spoke to him?”
“Sure.” Amy nodded. “It took me a while to get the whole truth out of him, but I got there in the end.”
“So, you know what I’ve done?”
“I know what you tried to do,” Amy corrected him. “You’re not going to work for your father. I won’t have you take the job that was destined for me. It isn’t fair.”
“You don’t have a choice,” John told her quickly. He didn’t want her to get any grand ideas about changing what he’d sorted out.
“That’s not true.” She smiled softly. “Someone once told me that we always have a choice.”
John couldn’t help but smile back. She was right. He’d been the one who had told her that. “So, what do you suggest, then?” He gave her a chance to explain, even though he was sure there was nothing she could say that would change his mind.
“Well, you’re not going to take that job,” she started. “I’m not going to take the job, either. We’re both going to refuse the job, and then we’re going to deal with the consequences.”
“He’ll kick you out.” John shook his head. “He’ll cut you off and see you out on the street.”
“I’ll come and live here.” Amy shrugged.
“You want to live here?” John asked in disbelief. Could she not see the apartment that was surrounding her? Could she not feel the damp crawling over her chest?
“No,” she shook her head, “but it’s probably better than living under the judgement of your father.”
John nodded. She wasn’t wrong. The place was a total disaster zone, but it was better than living under the shadow of his father, and that was something he couldn’t deny.
“Look, I know this is going to sound crazy,” she broke the silence that had fallen between them, “but when I watched you walk away the other day, I couldn’t stand it. I couldn’t stand the fact that, for a second time, I was losing you and I hadn’t had a chance to tell you how I really feel. I missed you, John. I missed you every day for eight years. There wasn’t a single guy in my life since you left. There hasn’t been a single person who I could compare to you. I don’t care about your father’s money. I don’t care about a perfect job or even a perfect apartment. I just want you. I want you to stay in my life. I don’t need anything else if I have that. I don’t need anything else if I’ve got you.”
John could see the pain the truth was causing her. He reached out and stroked her cheek softly. “You don’t know how many times I’ve imagined you saying something like that,” he admitted. “You don’t know how long I’ve waited to hear you tell me that you feel the same way.”
“I should have told you sooner.” Amy shook her head. “I should have told you the moment that you came home, but I couldn’t. You’d brought Stacy with you. What was I meant to do? What was I meant to say when you had a perfect Barbie doll on your arm?”
John laughed. “You think that Stacy was a perfect Barbie doll?”
“Well, she was never going to be a rocket scientist.” Amy laughed too. She couldn’t help it. The situation was serious, but the more they talked about it, the sillier it seemed. They should be together. He was meant to be with Amy. That was obvious. They could talk about all the reasons that it wouldn’t work. They could talk about all the people who might stand in their way, but it didn’t change anything.
The moment had come. He grabbed it with both of his hands, so that it wouldn’t slip away. He leaned forward and kissed Amy gently. The sweet taste of cinnamon and strawberries filled his senses. He parted his lips. She parted hers too. Their kiss turned deep and tenderness turned to passion. The world slipped away. How could his dad say that it was wrong? How could anyone think that Amy and John together were wrong? They were the only thing in the world that made sense.
She pulled away from him with her big eyes meeting his. “So, what do we do now?” she asked him.
“We go and tell my father what’s happening,” John told her confidently. “We deal with whatever he has to throw at us, but we agree right now that we won’t let him come between us again.”
“Okay then,” she nodded. “Let’s do this.”
THE END
