Page 97 of You Met Me There

I kick at a stone in the gravel, fisting a hand on my hip. “No … No, I’ll talk to her in person when I get there. I’ll fly out tomorrow.”

“Call me when you’re at the airport.”

“I will.”

“And Luke.”

“Yeah, Dad?” I pause, holding my breath.

“You’re a good man. I love you. And you and Natalie are going to be fine. Don’t let the fear of your mom’s past keep you from enjoying the future.”

I let out a long held breath. “Love you too, Dad. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

The next day, Natalie walks into the bedroom while I’m packing for my flight back to Miami. If it weren’t for the Bat Cavity being a literal pain in my butt, I’d be enjoying the last couple of weeks with her in her hometown.

Natalie and I have grown in the months we’ve been here, both closer to one another and to her family. I feel like we’ve hit a turning point in our relationship, even if we haven’t totally figured out everything around having kids of our own. To combat my fears, I’ve done my due diligence in searching for a therapist in Florida. Sandra, as a therapist herself, helped me search for someone who can help. She said I’m suffering from secondary trauma. I didn’t give her the specifics, but I owned up to my struggles and asked her for recommendations, and she gave me some names to look up.

Being a kid who grew up with a depressed mother, I felt the stress and loss she went through as if it were my own. I lost my mother for two years, and I hold that in a tiny, little box in my heart. Not only did her distance in my life change me, but the way she dealt with her own experiences shaped what I now feel toward the family structure and pregnancy as a whole.

Taking care of my own mind before making life-impacting decisions is the best thing I can do for Natalie and our future kids.

Outside of Natalie, I didn’t want to talk to anyone else about those difficult childhood years. I’d have taken my fears to my grave if it weren’t for her. But Natalie has encouraged me to open up about my past, and we’ve both been better for it.

She wraps her arms around me from behind, resting her cheek against my back.

“I’m going to miss you,” she says, her breath warm through my cotton shirt.

“I won’t be gone for long. Just a couple days.”

“I know. But we only have a little time left here before the summer ends.” She moves around me and sits on the edge of the bed, watching me pack.

I lift my eyes to her. “Dad’s freaking out about the project, but he’ll think more clearly if I’m around to help out. If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t be going.”

She nods slowly.

I watch her. “Will you be alright here?”

She smiles and nods again. “Yeah, totally. Don’t worry about me. Jules and I are great now, so you don’t have to worry about what I might do. I think I’ll spend more time with the family so I’m not alone.”

“Are you having fun here?”

“Yeah.” Her smile reaches her eyes. “I am having fun. It’s been a great summer. I’m doing things I never thought I’d do, and everything right now just feels—it feels good. Right. I haven’t felt this way in …. Well, never I guess.”

I sit beside her and pull her hand into my lap, thumbing the diamond ring on her finger. “I’m going to miss you while I’m gone, too.”

The corner of her lip twitches. “Like you said, you’ll be back before you know it, and we’ll have another two weeks of summer fun before we have to go home.” She leans in and presses her lips gently against mine.

She pulls back, and I brush my nose over hers. “I think you know I could stay here kissing you all day, but then I’d miss my flight.” She gives me her most adorable come get me smile. I kiss her again.

I’m not late for my flight, but I am running through the airport after Nat drops me off at the curb outside. And while I rush onto the plane, I know I won’t feel whole until I’m beside her again.

Chapter 48

Natalie

You know that feeling you get when you sense that you’ve seen the current scene of your life played out before? You’re standing somewhere you’ve never stood or saying something to someone you know you’ve never said, but it all feels so … familiar? Like it’s just a repeat of this very same scene happening after it’s already happened to you in some other life?

That’s the feeling I get now as I stare at my amazing family.