“And me?” she lets out a dry chuckle. “I’ve spent my whole life trying to stay out of the way. I like being alone. I like disappearing. I actively avoid being in rooms like that. I have one close girl friend, someone who’s been my best friend since grade school, and I like it that way. You have more friends than I cancount on two hands. Real friends who love and adore you, who invite you to their dreamy wedding in paradise.”
“Meadow—”
“I’m not done,” she shakes her head. “You deserve someone who will match your energy and joy for life. Someone who will sing drunk karaoke at a bar and not care who’s watching. Someone who can walk into a room full of strangers without needing a quiet corner to disappear to. Not someone who’s constantly trying to shrink herself down just to get through the night.”
Fuck.
I’ve never felt pain like this.
I’ve taken hits from men twice my size and walked it off, but this? This is different.
Hearing Meadow talk like she’s already decided she’s not enough for me—like she’s giving up before she even gives us a chance—fucking guts me.
Desperately needing to touch her, to shake these self-destructive thoughts from her brain, I reach out and cup her wet cheeks between my palms.
“Meadow, look at me,” I rasp. “Look at me, baby.”
She fights it for a moment before slowly lifting her mocha eyes to mine.
God, she’s so beautiful.
Even like this, shattered and falling apart, she still takes the breath right out of my chest.
I just wish she could see herself as I see her.
How the hell do I make her see it?
“You’ve got it all wrong,” I breathe, my eyes darting over her face. “You think you don’t belong in my world,” I add, my voice dropping. “But Meadow… you are the only part of it that’s ever felt right.Youare the only thing that’s ever made sense.”
A sob catches in her throat as she grabs my waist, clutching her fingers into my dress shirt.
“Then why, Owen?” she shudders. “Why do I feel like I’m not enough?”
Why do I feel like I’m not enough?
That question…
It fucking destroys me.
That question will haunt me.
I press my forehead to hers, my hands still cradling her face.
“You are, baby,” I whisper. “You’re more than enough. You’re my entire fucking world, Meadow. You have been for years.”
I swipe my thumb across her lips before leaning down and kissing away the fresh tears from her cheeks. She briefly closes her eyes as I brush away every single drop with my lips.
“Owen…” she stammers. “I’m so scared. I’m fucking terrified. Because I know how this ends. And I don’t think I would survive losing you.”
“Then tell me, Meadow,” I demand, my voice thick with emotion. “Tell me how you think this ends.”
Her gaze drops to our feet.
“I go back to being your friend, or worse, we can never repair our friendship after this week,” she says weakly. “And then you go back to your life. And eventually… You find someone who is your perfect puzzle piece. Someone who doesn't even have to try to be your other half.”
Yeah, fuck that.
I’m not going back home to anyone but her.
