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“I love you, Caleb. I was just too scared to admit it. But I am afraid if I don’t tell you, I will lose you. And I don’t want to lose you. I cant.”
I hold her tight, not wanting her to see that tears are brimming my lids as I try to blink them away. I kiss the top of her head.
“Find someone who loves you more than you love them, that way if they ever break your heart, they suffer the most.”
She lifts her head as her tears slide down her cheeks. She sniffs and wipes them away.
“What did you just say?” She questions as I relay the words Ali once told me years ago.
“You said I need to love you more. And I said find someone who loves you more then you love them, that way if they ever break your heart, they suffer the most. I will love you more for the both of us, Julia. I will never break your heart, so I will never suffer.”
“But how did you know that?” She places her hand over her heart as she looks into my eyes which display nothing but sincerity.
“Because she told me that too.”
“I love you.”
Her lips find mine and we kiss, a magical bone shattering kiss that seems to last throughout the night. We cuddle naked on the couch, not caring about the world around us, just the world we are creating for ourselves in this moment.
And that’s when I know.
JULIA
ONLY LOVE CAN HURT LIKE THIS BY PALOMA FAITH
The past three days have been a whirlwind of emotions. Caleb and I have been confessing our love to each other non-stop, I am dealing with the aftermath of the fire, dealing with the media circus revolving around Daniel, all while trying to put up Christmas decorations while Caleb is closing down the bar. He insists on calling me every hour to make sure I am okay, its sweet, but not necessary.
“I need Marci and Denver. Fly them and their team first thing Monday morning. I need the kitchen and dining room restored to the original state.” I state into the receiver as I speak with Madison. I had already sent photos from before the fire for them to match.
She has been in a PR nightmare but understands my request to not be involved with anything Daniel related. The news has been reporting on him constantly. Discussing how he broke into my home, attacked me, had other domestic charges brought against him from the woman he slept with while married to me. He was fired from his agency, which explained why he said it was all my fault. But really all the consequences he was facing were all based on his actions. His agency didn’t want to represent an abuser or an adulterer.
“They will be there. Do you want me to send you the invoice to approve?”
I shake my head forgetting we aren’t on FaceTime.
“No, go ahead and approve them. I need this done before the New Year’s party.”
“I’m excited. Do you need anything?”
I look around the room I am in, mentally taking inventory.
“Nothing that I know of. Caleb pretty much has everything.”
“Okay, talk to you later.”
I spend the next two hours ignoring my phone and cleaning up the house. I’ve looked around the entire house, but I can not find any decorations other than the tree he put up last night. I find the access for the attic and pull the stairs down. Attic’s creep me out, all the spiderwebs and darkness gives me goosebumps. I begin to rummage through the attic for any decorations. I locate a couple of boxes as I move some picture frames out of the way. The dust collected on these boxes has me sneezing.
Lucy.
The box has her name on it. My head is telling me not to open it. But then I have my heart telling me I have to open it. I am curious how their love was, is ours the same or more. I know that’s pathetic, she is dead. I know but you don’t just stop loving someone just because they pass right?
Okay, I’ll just take a quick look.
I open the first box, setting the top on the ground as I move around the tissue paper. A picture of this beautiful brunette, perfect facial bones, full lips, perfect nose, and a petite body is smiling at me. Next to her is a younger, softer, happy Caleb. He is staring right at her as she looks into the camera. I place my hand over my heart. I can’t help but instantly feel sad. He is looking at her like she is his entire world.
How could she want to leave him so soon?
I set the photo down and continue shifting through the items, looking at clothing, letters, trinkets. I find baby items in one box, with an ultrasound photo, looks like the baby was about 15 weeks according to the15wk 4 day, labeled on the top left.Lucy Taylor, age 25. My stomach turns.
