Page 96 of Friends That Heal Us
I rub the top of his head. “Hey, it’s okay.” He turns his head towards me with his tongue out. “Let’s go see who it is.”
I pick him up, wrap him under my arm, and carry him toward the front door. I’m guessing it’s my parents because they’re the only ones who know where I live.
I swing the door open, and my eyes go wide. “Vi.”
She gazes between me and the dog, her mouth partly open. She looks fresh out of a workout with her leggings sculpting her body and her hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. There’s a soft pink tint on her cheeks. Even in simple gym clothes, she looks beautiful.
“Hi,” she says softly, looking back and forth between the dog and me.
“Is everything okay?”
“No.” She shakes her head and then sighs. “I mean yes. Can we talk?”
I don’t move because I’m a little embarrassed to let her in. All I have right now is a mattress. I haven’t had time to move anything else in.
She must see my hesitation. “If not, it’s fine.”
“No, it’s just that I don’t have any furniture yet.” I back away from the front door, letting her walk in. She looks around the place. Once I shut the door, she turns back to me.
“Who’s this?” she asks, putting her hand out.
The sweet pup sniffs her and then wiggles in my arms trying to get to her. I set him down, and as soon as I do, he jumps up on her leg.
“He’s so cute,” she says, bending down and petting him. “Is he yours?”
I shrug. “I’m fostering him right now.”
She sits down on the floor and crosses her legs. He turns over onto his back, and she rubs his belly while she giggles.
“Oh, you like belly rubs,” she says in a baby voice.
“How did you know where I was?”
She looks up at me. “Your parents told me.”
I nod.
Is she going to say why she’s here? I don’t want to ask and sound rude. But the anticipation is killing me. Unless she really is here just to see how I’m doing.
“So what did you want to talk about?”
“I’m all in, Ezra,” she says, swallowing hard.
Her words made me catch my breath, shocked and unable to move as my brain tries to understand what she’s saying
“I want this with you.”
“Why?”
Her brows knit. “Why, what?”
“Why do you want this with me?”
“Because you…you’re the person I want to wake up to in the morning. You’re the person I want to see at the end of my day. You’re my safe place. And I’m sorry it took me this long to come to my senses. It has always been you.”
I’m struggling to process her words. “In what way do you want this with me?”
“I want all of it. All of you. I’m done being scared and fighting where my heart has always belonged.” She shifts her gaze down to the dog and then back up to me. “I can’t live in that house if you’re not there, and if you don’t want to be there, that’s fine. I’ll go wherever you go.” She pauses for a moment. “I just want you, Ezra.”
