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Searing pain flows through my entire body as waves of agony pull me under. I’m just praying that I can hold on for just a little longer until the pain subsides. I yearn for numbness to cut me off from all these feelings that I’m so desperate to forget.
“I care about you, Finn. But—” I begin before he cuts me off. I wrap my arms around my waist, attempting to hold myself together.
“Don’t you dare fucking finish that sentence, Marissa.”
My head snaps up, locking eyes with his, and I see the soul-crushing hurt in his eyes and have no doubt that I’m the one that put it there. The weight of what’s happening threatens to crush my soul.
I feel his strong arms wrap around me. “Everything will be okay.” He buries his nose in my hair, but instead of calming me, it ignites a rage inside me.
“Things will never be okay again!” I scream, pushing out of his embrace. “This is all your fault.” I pound my fists into his chest repeatedly. “You made me love you. You made me want things that I never would’ve dreamed of having before I met you. I was content with being alone, with letting some of my dreams for the future fade away into the darkness.”
My hands fall to the side, dropping my head to his chest.
“And now it’s all over.”
“It doesn’t have to be over, sugar.” He pulls me forward, wrapping his arms around me again. “I love you.”
He plants a kiss on each of my eyelids, the tip of my nose, and my cheeks.
“I’ve loved you since the moment I laid eyes on you.”
A gut-wrenching sob escapes me as I bury my face in his neck. Snot and tears collect on his skin as I try to regain control of my emotions.
“Let me love you,” he chokes out, brushing his lips against mine a few times before pressing them to mine.
I moan softly, nibbling on his bottom lip, and he immediately opens to me, his tongue sweeping through my mouth. I tug on the short hairs at the base of his neck, pulling him tightly to my body. I want to get as close to him as possible. To crawl into his skin and brand my name on his soul for all eternity.
“But you’re leaving, Finn. You don’t belong here, stuck in Magnolia with the rest of us.”
CHAPTERTWENTY-THREE
FINN
Ithread my fingers through Marissa’s hair, tugging her head back and exposing her neck to me.
“I’m never letting you go.” I nibble down one side of her neck before making my way back up the other side. “You can’t leave me.”
Tears spring to my eyes as I bury my nose in her neck, clinging to her body like it’s an anchor holding both of us together.
“I have to go,” she croaks, trying to wiggle out of my grasp, but I tighten my hold.
Bitterness courses through my veins that fate could be so cruel. That it’d allow this angel to light up my entire world before ripping her away from me and plunging me back into darkness.
“No, you don’t.” I lean back, cupping her cheeks in my palms. “I’ll follow you to the ends of the Earth, Marissa.” I kiss the tip of her nose. “No one is going to keep us apart.”
“But you have your life in Texas. My life is here in Magnolia. I love this town and the people in it. Sure, I went away to college, but the plan was always to come back here and put down roots. Magnolia has always and will always be my home.” She nuzzles her cheek against my palm, clenching her eyes shut. “I won’t ask you to give up everything you’ve accomplished for me.”
“You’re everything to me, Marissa. None of that means anything to me if you aren’t here to share it with me.”
Marissa covers her mouth with both hands, her head swinging back and forth as she tries to process everything I’ve just dropped into her lap. Everything else fades into the background as she backs away from me, slamming her back into the door of her SUV before sliding to the ground. My eyes lock on her as I search her face for any answer. Any sign that she loves me even a fraction of how much I love her.
But the only thing I see is fear.
“Okay.” I take a step back from her, my arms dropping to the side. “I’m going to head inside.”
“It’s for the best,” she sobs, her entire body trembling.
I back away toward the door. I want to push her harder, to make her understand what she means to me, but I can’t sit here and watch her crumble in on herself, knowing it’s my fault. She needs space to process everything that I’ve said to her and decide if being with me is enough. I need Marissa to understand that I’d do anything for her, give her everything that I am, and all she has to do is give me her heart in return.
