AllFreeNovel
Share Us
40
Elizabeth
I lift my shaky hand to knock on the door, taking another deep breath before tapping my knuckles on it.
My stomach flutters as I wait, my insecurities making me question my decision to show up here. The lock clicks, and the door slowly opens, but it’s not the tall, dark-haired man I’m aching to see on the other side.
Allison stands in Brenden’s front doorway, a hand on her hip and smirk on her face. “Wow, you look like shit.”
She’s not one for holding punches. I’m a total wreck. My eyes are red and puffy, my hair matted, my body covered in an oversized hoodie. “Thanks,” I deadpan. “I feel like it, too.”
When Jon’s mother said Brenden was in love with me, I panicked. Then he actually told me he loved me, and I walked away like a fucking moron. For two days, I wallowed in my own misery, crying for hours on end while telling myself I did him a favor by walking away. On day three, the tightness in my chest became so unbearable, I had no choice but to stop lying to myself.
I’m in love with him too, and I think a part of me has known that for a while now.
It won’t be easy to explain to Brenden why I ran away from him the other night, but I owe it to him to try. He deserves to hear me say it.
For once in his life, he needs to know that loving him is possible—and that he’s worthy of it.
“Brenden’s not here,” Allison says, gesturing toward the door, “but you can still come inside, if you want.”
I step inside, my pulse racing as she closes the door and turns to face me. Allison hasn’t exactly been friendly to me in the past, and I’m positive I won’t like what she has to say today.
“He’s really hurting, you know.”
“I know.” I sigh, hanging my head.
Brenden hadn’t gone after me when I left. He hasn’t attempted to contact me in the past four days either.
“This is exactly what I was afraid of, Lizzy.” She takes a seat on the couch, and I sit on the loveseat across from her, fighting my instinct to flee. “You’re the only person he’s ever been in love with. Do you know that?”
I nod, my chest tightening as tears begin to fill my eyes.
“Do you love him?” she asks me.
“Yes.” A few tears spill out, but I keep my eyes on hers so she can see my sincerity here.
She relaxes into the couch, crossing her arms and legs. “Why?”
I shake my head, scrambling to think of a response. I’m not prepared to answer a question like this. Allison wants proof that my love for Brenden is real—that I’m never going to hurt him like this again—and I want to give it to her.
“There isn’t much I don’t love about him,” I admit.
Allison scoffs at my response, rolling her eyes as if she’d been expecting that kind of vague response. She made up her mind about me a long time ago, and after everything that’s happened, it isn’t going to be easy to change it.
“If I had to pick the one thing I love most about Brenden, I would say it’s the way he uses those broken pieces of himself to help others feel more whole,” I tell her. “I love that he always tries to find a way to turn a negative into a positive, that he chooses to see the beauty of life even through the ugly.”
My voice is barely audible due to the huge lump in my throat, my vision blurred from all my tears. I take a breath and wait for Allison’s response.
She stares at me for a moment before clearing her throat and wiping away a stray tear of her own. “All right…I believe you. Now, what’s your plan to prove it to him? It may take more than words.”
Allison has a point. Actions certainly speak louder than words. I’d chosen to walk away from him after he told me he’s in love with me. It’s going to take something big to get him to hear me out after that.
I’ve allowed my fear to hold me back from the start, always fighting things between us. If I’m going to convince him things will be different moving forward, I need to do something to show him I’m not afraid anymore.
“You’re right,” I tell her. “And I think I know the perfect thing.”
Brenden
