AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Sorry. That was a long time ago. I shouldn’t be bringing up the past, especially with what happened between the two of you.”
It’s been years since Campbell and I broke up, but right now, the hurt still feels as fresh as the day he walked out of my house for the last time. These feelings for Finn are even more confusing. He’s managed to weasel his way into my heart, wanting something I thought he understood we could never have. I told him that I couldn’t give him any more than one night, but one night turned into two and then so much more. Now I wish that I could take it all back. If I had known that being with Finn would lead to some of the best moments of my life, I’d have run in the opposite direction. Now I’m sitting here, questioning every rule I’ve put into place to protect my heart.
“I deserve it. We both know that, but that’s not why I came here.” Campbell sighs, pulling out a chair from in front of my desk and taking a seat. “I never apologized for the way things turned out. I want to explain why I did things how I did.”
“People talk, Campbell. I got the basics. You broke up with me and immediately ran to Emmeline, got engaged, and then knocked her up.” I lean forward, resting my arms on my desk, locking eyes with him. “You’re a decent guy. Things may not have worked out between us, but I know you loved her.”
Campbell’s shoulders drop in relief as a hesitant smile crosses his face. “I know I should be glad that you understand what happened, but I’m even more confused than I was before I walked in here.”
I cock my head to the side, trying to make heads or tails of what he’s saying. If I’m being 100 percent honest with myself, I haven’t always felt that way about what happened between Campbell and me, but as I grew up, the hurt faded, and some things became clearer about the situation.
“What’s there to be confused about, Campbell? It’s been years since it all went down. We’re adults now, with responsibilities and years of broken hearts in our rearview mirror.” I smile brightly before reaching forward and giving his hand a squeeze. “I’d be lying if I said it didn’t hurt. I thought we were going to get married and spend the rest of our lives together, but I grew up.
“But I’ve always wondered what happened between us,” I mumble, turning my chair around and staring out the window. That pain of what happened feels just as fresh as if it happened all those years ago. But this time, the man who broke my heart was Finn, not Campbell.
“How did we go from planning our future together to you married to another woman with a kid on the way in a matter of months?”
Campbell sighs loudly, his footsteps echoing in the quiet room as he comes around my desk. He drops into a squatting position, grabbing both my hands in his. “Honestly, nothing happened between us. You had all these plans for your life. Plans that, as time moved forward, weren’t in line with mine. You love Magnolia. You love being able to see your family whenever you want, even if they get on your nerves.” He drops his head, his shoulders shaking as he laughs softly.
“I’m glad this is funny to you, Campbell.” I try to snatch my hands away from him, but he tightens his grip.
“It’s not funny to me at all, Marissa. But there were times in our relationship that it felt like you loved Magnolia more than me.”
“That’s insane.”
“I know that now that I’ve grown up, but at the time, you had plans for the future. Plans that you laid out and set for both of us. At first, I just wanted to make you happy, but deep down, I knew that living the rest of my life in Magnolia wouldn’t be enough for me. I wanted to see and experience the world.”
“I could’ve done that with you.” I pull back, looking him directly in the eyes. “I’d have done anything for you, Campbell.”
“I know that now, but at the time…” His voice trails off as he pushes to his feet, placing both his hands on my shoulders. “I was a coward. I didn’t want to ask you to give up on your dreams because of me.”
Campbell stares at me, his eyes full of regret, begging for my forgiveness. Forgiveness that, before this moment, I thought I’d already given, but somewhere, buried deep in my heart, was the devastated seventeen-year-old girl who had her heart broken.
“I forgive you,” I say, tears pooling in my eyes as a bright smile spreads across my face, and his shoulders sag in relief.
“I didn’t know I needed to hear you say that until right now.” He smiles brightly, dropping his arms and taking a step back, putting some space between us. “So, are you going to give Finn a chance, or what?”
“How do you know about that?”
“Our mothers are all friends, Ris-Marissa. They gossip even worse now than they did when we were younger.”
“That’s just peachy,” I respond, swiping at the tears that are dangerously close to slipping free. “I really wish my mother would stop gossiping about things she doesn’t understand. But if you must know, Finn left me without so much as a goodbye text. I guess spending the rest of his life in Magnolia wasn’t appealing to him either.”
“I have a feeling that you may not know everything.” He smiles, grabbing my hand and pulling me toward him. My face smashes into his chest as I relax into his arms. “I know you, Marissa. He scared you, so you pushed him away.”
“I did not.” I pull back, scowling up at him, which causes him to chuckle softly.
“Yes, you did. You did the same thing when we started dating. And I’m sure you’ve done it to every other man you’ve dated since then.”
“There haven’t been many.”
“I rest my case,” Campbell mumbles, taking a step backward and resting his hands on my shoulders. “A little birdy told me that Finn is over the moon for you. Just give him a chance. You never know, he might be the one.”
“Maybe.”
I need to be honest with myself. I’m in love with Finn Buckley. I may not be ready to jump into a relationship with Finn, but the feelings are there. Maybe they’ve always been there, growing into something beautiful, perfect, and beyond anything I could ever imagine. I wasn’t searching for forever when he sat down on the barstool beside me, but it seems it may have fallen into my lap. Finn has made me feel things again that I don’t know how to explain, things I never imagined feeling for another man again.
“I love him.”
