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Willow huffs out the tiniest laugh, but is otherwise stone, so I continue.
“I could tell you what Jade and Tate talked about—because he told me—or the way my heart raced to dangerous levels when I saw you fall. I could tell you that we spoke about your loathing of bells above doors, and that the mere sound of them triggers me now. I could describe the trees, the atmosphere, the smells, the sounds. If I could give you every single memory of that day, I would. But I truly believe it would only make things worse. You don’t want the darkness I have floating around in my head. It causes nothing but agony. It’s not a savior; it’s more like a curse.” I finally pause before adding. “Let me be the keeper of that burden.”
Willow tilts her head back and stares through me, her mind whirring. I’m about to say more when I see a little light creeping back into her eyes. “You’re right,” she whispers. “Maybe it’s better this way.”
“No.” I can’t let her hide. “Please don’t say what you think you should say. Tell me what youfeel.”
“I’mscared,” she rasps, immediately responding. “I’m scared that I’ll never remember, but I’m also scared of what I forgot. I know my type of amnesia is caused by trauma, so I’m aware they’re not going to be good memories. But what if I’m never truly happy because I’m never fully whole?”
If any part of me was still intact, Willow just smashed through it. “I can’t answer that for you,” I say with my broken heart lodged in my throat. “But I can spend every day trying to ensure that you are. I’ll work hard to make you happy.”
I brush a stray hair behind her ear before wiping the tears from under her eyes, all while she stares at me, her gaze full of regret.
“You do.” She smiles softly. “You do make me happy.” She pauses, blinking a few times before she whispers. “Tell me something real. Something about us.”
“You were my first kiss,” I blurt and then grimace. “It was only brief. The lightest touch. But you were my first. And my only.”
“Wait,” she says, her brow furrowed in confusion. “You mean back then?”
“I do.”
“We kissed?” she asks with softness to her tone, almost like she doesn’t believe me.
“We did.” I bite back a smile.
“So, Jack wasn’t my first?” she muses. “Wow.”
“Fuck no, he wasn’t. Who’s Jack? Do I need to kick someone’s ass?” I’m joking but I’m not going to lie, I’m a little jealous. She remembersJack'skiss.
Willow giggles. “No, he was awful. I feel better knowing it was you.”
“Good. Your firstandlast.”
“My last? That’s very presumptuous.”
“No, it’s not. It’s foreshadowing.”
Willow giggles again until her expression turns serious. “Will you show me?”
“Show you what?” I ask with a frown.
“The kiss.”
Now that’s something I can do. I will never forget that kiss for as long as I live.
Leaning forward, I slowly brush my lips against hers, caressing her mouth as my heart pounds in my chest, just like it did back then. I pull away after only a few seconds, sinking my hand into her hair to lift her face, but when she opens her mouth in anticipation, I don’t kiss her again. That was our kiss, our brief moment.
“That’s all we got before…” I trail off. We don’t need to talk about what happened next.
Willow lifts her fingers to her lips, her eyes softening. “Thank you.”
“Thank you?”
“That was perfect, and exactly what I needed.”
I smile and nod, letting her have this time without ruining it with words, and after a beat, she looks at me with wide eyes before shaking her head. “No, it’s more than what I needed,” she says, her gaze locking with mine as she reaches up to hold my hand still in her hair. “You’re my missing piece.”
My body chills. While that sounds like such a huge responsibility, it’s one I’d happily take on. “You’re my everything,” I say for the second time because it’s true. “I’m so sorry I hurt you, but I can say with absolute certainty that I will never hurt you again.”
