Point of Retreat (Slammed #2)(48)

(I pull her shirt from my bag. When I hold it into the light, I sigh into the microphone.)

"This is that ugly shirt you wear.

It doesn’t really have anything to do with why I fell in love with you.

I just saw it at your house and thought I’d steal it."

(I pull the second to last item out of my bag. Her purple hair clip. She told me once how much it meant to her, and why she always keeps it.)

"This purple hair clip?

It really is magic…just like your dad told you it was.

It’s magic because, no matter how many times it lets you down…you keep having hope in it.

You keep trusting it.

No matter how many times it fails you,

You never fail it.

Just like you never fail me.

I love that about you,

because of you."

(I set it back down and pull out a strip of paper and unfold it.)

"Your mother."

(I sigh)

"Your mother was an amazing woman, Lake.

I'm blessed that I got to know her,

And that she was a part of my life, too.

I came to love her as my own mom…just as she came to love Caulder and I as her own.

I didn’t love her because of you, Lake.

I loved her because of her.

So, thank you for sharing her with us.

She had more advice about

Life and love and happiness and heartache than anyone I've ever known.

But the best advice she ever gave me?

The best advice she ever gave us?"

(I read the quote in my hands)

"Sometimes two people have to fall apart, to realize how much they need to fall back together."

(She’s definitely crying now. I place the slip back inside the satchel and take a step closer to the edge of the stage as I hold her gaze.)

"The last item I have wouldn’t fit, because you’re actually sitting in it.

That booth.

You’re sitting in the exact same spot you sat in when you watched your first performance on this stage.

The way you watched this stage with passion in your eyes…I'll never forget that moment.

It's the moment I knew it was too late.

I was too far gone by then.

I was in love with you.

I was in love with you because of you.

(I back up and sit down on the stool behind me, still holding her stare.)

I could go on all night, Lake.

I could go on and on and on about all the reasons I'm in love with you.

And you know what? Some of them are the things that life has thrown our way.

I do love you because you're the only other person I know that understands my situation.

I do love you because both of us know what it's like to lose your mom and your dad.

I do love you because you're raising your little brother, just like I am.

I love you because of what you went through with your mother.

I love you because of what we went through with your mother.

I love the way you love Kel.

I love the way you love Caulder.

And I love the way I love Kel.

So I'm not about to apologize for loving all these things about you, no matter the reasons or the circumstances behind them.

And no, I don’t need days, or weeks, or months to think about why I love you.

It’s an easy answer for me.

I love you because of you.

Because of

every

single

thing

about you."

I take a step back from the microphone when I'm finished. I keep my eyes locked on hers and, I'm not sure because she's pretty far away, but I think she mouths, "I love you." The stage lights come back up and I'm blinded. I can't see her anymore.

I gather the items and place them back inside my satchel and jump off the stage. I immediately head to the back of the room. When I get there, she's gone. Kel and Caulder are both standing up. They let her get out. They let her leave! Eddie sees the confusion on my face so she holds up Lake's purse and shakes it. "No worries, Will. I've still got her keys. She just walked outside, said she needed air."

I head to the exit and shove the door open. She's in the parking lot next to my car with her back to me, staring up at the sky. She's letting the snow fall on her face as she just stands there. I watch her for a minute, wondering what she's thinking. My biggest fear is that I misread her reaction from up on the stage and that everything I just said meant nothing to her. I slide my hands in my jacket pockets and begin walking toward her. When she hears the snow crunch beneath my feet, she turns around. The look in her eyes tells me everything I need to know. Before I take another step, she rushes to me and throws her arms around my neck, almost knocking me backwards.

"I'm so sorry, Will. I'm so, so sorry." She kisses me on the cheek, the neck, the lips, the nose, the chin. She keeps saying she's sorry over and over between each kiss. I wrap my arms around her and pick her up, giving her the biggest hug I've ever given her. When I plant her feet back on the ground, she takes my face in her hands and looks into my eyes. I don’t see it anymore…the heartache. She’s not heartbroken anymore. I feel like the weight of the world has been lifted off my shoulders and I can finally breathe again.

"I can't believe you kept that damn gnome," she whispers.