I woke up late the next morning. Wiping the sleepiness from my eyes, I sat up to notice Aiden was gone. I found a note lying on my nightstand after scanning the room from my bed. I lazily slumped over to grab it. It was from Aiden and read:

“My Love, I made sure that you would be safe, staying with you until sunrise. But it is important that I hide this locket and find out everything that Easton knows. I must protect you. 

I may be gone longer than expected, but please don’t worry. I will be back and promise to explain everything when I return. 

Love, Aiden”

His handwriting was messy and almost illegible most likely because he wrote it in a hurry. I let out an aggravated sigh because I did not want him to leave without me. I wanted to go with him as well as have him explain everything to me. My heart ached with the desire to be with him right now. Maybe Aiden didn’t want me to go with him because of the way I freaked out last night when he spoke of Easton and Lucien. 

After a few minutes of contemplation, I decided to get out of bed and take a shower. As I walked down the hall to the bathroom, I couldn’t help but feel something was off. The silence in the house bothered me. 

I checked the house to find that my parents were still asleep in their bedroom. That’s strange. They should both be at work. I guess they stayed out really late to early in the morning. I quietly closed their bedroom door to not disturb them as I tip-toed to the bathroom.

The warm water felt good on my chilled skin. It truly surprises me how a steaming shower seemed to melt all of my problems and thoughts. Just as I climbed out of the shower, I could hear shuffling around in the hallway. My parents must have woken up. 

I ran to my room to finish getting dressed and brushed my hair. Just as I finished and was ready to head out, my stomach growled. I really wanted to avoid my parents, mostly to avoid their stares of concern. But my stomach would not stop growling and it started to become a little painful. 

I took a deep breath before making my way to the kitchen, getting ready for a barrage of questions about where I was all day yesterday. I know I’m 20 and do not need to answer to anyone, but that doesn’t make a difference to a parent.

As I made my way to the kitchen, my parents were leaving out the front door. How fortunate! I couldn’t help but wonder if what they were doing. Were they headed to work or going to do something else? 

I ate what was left over from breakfast then went to watch TV for a little bit. Should I go out? I didn’t really feel like going anywhere. Instead I just continued to watch TV and enjoy the alone time. Though, I couldn’t help but wonder what Aiden was up to and worry for his safety.

It wasn’t long before I heard a knock at the front door. Looking through the peephole, I saw Sara standing there, visibly happy about something.

“Oh, Ember! You will never guess what happened last night!” She began excitedly as she walked into the house. “After leaving you, I started walking home alone, and guess who I bumped into!”

I shrugged my shoulders. “Who?” I asked as I took a swig from my drink.

“Easton!”

I choked and started coughing as my heart sank at the mention of his name. 

“He told me that he was back in town for good this time and that he wanted to pick up where we left off!” She paused to wait for my reaction, “Oh, don’t give me that look!” Sara sternly said, noticing my wary look. “I was skeptical about it too, but he was very sincere. I asked him where he had gone, and of course, he wouldn’t tell me.” She continued to explain. “So I told him, ‘If you can’t tell me something as simple as where you have been for the past three years, how do you expect us to be in a relationship?’ I told him, ‘ I’m not dealing with secrets and lies from you anymore, and I’m NOT keeping anything from Ember. She is my best friend. Why I even agreed to it in the first place is beyond me!’”

“What did he say to all that?” I asked, raising my brow. I was actually proud that she put her foot down and told Easton her demands. But I still couldn’t shake the words Aiden said last night.

“He was taken aback by what I said. He looked like he was upset at first, but I stood by what I said. So after a minute of not saying anything to him, he finally agreed that he would not keep any more secrets from me, nor would he ask to keep us a secret from you. So, I asked him again, where he had been for the past three years and he gave me an answer!”

My eyes grew wide in anticipation. “Where?”

“Easton said that his parents were getting a divorce and they decided to tell him on the day of graduation. His father was moving to Florida and his mother was leaving for California, which put him in a difficult position because he couldn’t stay here with no money to survive on. His parents wouldn’t just keep paying for a place for him to live. So, he said the only logical thing to do was to break up with me because he didn’t want to string me along in case he never returned.”

That explanation is plausible, but why keep any of it a secret?... I thought to myself as Sara continued talking.

“First he lived with his father in Florida, finding odd jobs here and there until one day he and his father had a falling out. Then he left to live with his mother in California. Easton said he was able to find a decent job to save up some money so he could live here until he found another job.” Sara looked as though she was over the moon. “Easton told me that he could not the fact that he wasn’t near me and not knowing that I was ok. 

“We made it to my house, but I wanted to keep the conversation going, so I had us wander around for a little while to see if I could keep him talking. It was quiet and awkward at first. So, I told him I had told you about us dating in high school. He looked surprised at first but didn’t say anything for four blocks. 

“That’s when he grabbed me by the arm. And Ember, oh my gosh I thought my heart was going to burst out of my chest when he touched me! But the arousal turned to a little bit of fear because his voice was… dark when he asked me if I had told you anything else.”

This statement made my heart drop. Was he really not to be trusted? I thought to myself as Sara continued.

“I figured he may have been talking about our intimacy or I don’t know, maybe that he was telepathic. But either way, I told him no.”

My face grew hot from embarrassment as I let out a groan and whined. “Ahh.. I wish I could forget that I had ever seen that!”

Sara only giggled at my pain, unphased by the fact that I saw ALL of it. “After that, he told me all about his life from when he was little to growing up and moving around all the time, from place to place. Easton blames the constant moving around all the time as the reason why he is socially awkward since he is always the new kid at school. There was also no reason to make friends because his family would just up and leave again. 

“After that, we started to get into less heavy topics that led us to talk about stupid stuff. Then, out of the blue, he grabbed my hand, which I had half a mind to pull away, but I just allowed him to hold it. I know I shouldn’t have but men know how to break through a woman’s wall!”

I plastered a fake smile on my face, “I didn’t say anything about it, Sara.” I was trying my best to be happy for my friend but, Aiden’s warning about Easton was still fresh on my mind. And who can say that when Easton grabbed Sara’s hand, he wasn’t just doing that to find more information about what I had been up to since he gave me the necklace? 

“Soon after, it started to feel like old times between us; we were laughing, popping off jokes, and just… just so happy. But my heart is still wounded from what he did…” Sara became sad as she continued her speech. “It made that special moment hurt and filled my heart with a lot of guilt. I stopped talking and the happiness I felt just disappeared. I sat down at a bus bench to rest my legs, because we had been walking for a long time. 

“That’s when Easton sat beside me, wiping away a few tears that had fallen. He asked what was wrong and pulled me towards him to hug me. He tried to make me face him, but I didn’t want him to see my face, so I tried my best to hide it. Easton gingerly grabbed my chin, making me stare him in the eyes, and said, ‘Sara, baby, tell me what’s wrong.’ His beautiful green eyes looked soft and radiated love, but I am pretty sure he knew exactly why I was crying…

“I told him I was afraid to let him in again. I told him I was afraid that if I did decide to let him in, then what if he decided to leave without any explanation again? I told him I couldn’t go through that pain again; that it would kill me. I told him, ‘ Easton, I’m sorry but my heart is still broken from you… Even when I had planned to go out on dates with other guys, I backed out of them last minute or just stood them up entirely. My heart still hasn’t healed because that day you stole it. There is nothing in my chest now.’ With me being there alone with him, it made that emptiness feel worse somehow…

“And of course, you know by that point in our conversation, I was ugly crying,” Sara added with a half-hearted chuckle.

“But he didn’t say anything. He remained seared on the bus bench, looking like a toddler being scolded by his mom. I just watched him, waiting for him to say something, waiting for him to say whatever was on his mind at the moment. But he didn’t say anything. I was still crying, and just got up, walking away. When I say I felt defeated, you have no idea just how badly I wanted to crumble to the floor. You have no idea how annoyed I was with him.

“I had only taken two steps before I felt him lightly grab my wrist. Looking at him, I saw tears had filled his eyes. Then he said, ‘Sara, I am deeply sorry for the pain I caused you. The reason I left was that I thought I had no other options. I don’t like the thought of long-distance relationships… A lot of people go into one thinking they can beat the odds… but far fewer actually survive. I only left you because I didn’t want you to go through life without finding someone better than me. Like I told you before Sara, I came back to be near you. I didn’t know if you had found yourself a boyfriend or if you had been married with a family. I only came back to make sure that whoever you were with was treating you better than I ever could have. If you do not want me, then at least let me be your friend so I know you are ok.’ 

“Ember, his voice was so husky and sincere. I couldn’t help but feel that he was telling me the truth. I believed him. Every time I think of it, my heart begins to melt!” Sara gushed, raising her arm. “Look, I have goosebumps!”

“Sara…” I said her name, unsure of how to proceed with my news. 

“Hm?”

“Don’t get me wrong when I tell you this. I want nothing more than for you to be happy.” My statement was true, but after what Aiden told me last night… Did it have to be Easton? What if his feelings for Sara aren’t true? What if he tried to physically hurt her? This put me in a difficult position. Should I tell her what Aiden said about Easton? I’m not sure if mentioning it at all was a good idea. I wish Aiden was here to help me navigate this… “But do you feel it is a good idea to date him again? Please don’t misconstrue what I’m saying, because you know I have nothing against Easton. I’m just worried about you being hurt again. What if he just up and leaves again?”

Sara held my hand, giving it a little squeeze. The gesture made me a little disoriented at first because she was only thinking of Easton, his face, and an entire collaboration of words that assaulted my mind, rendering me disoriented for a minute. 

Seeing the look on my face, Sara quickly dropped my hand and smiled, “Sorry about that. I forgot I can’t touch you,” she explained with a giggle.

“You are very excited about things,” I started after coming to my senses and getting up. “Jeez, you gave me a headache,” I complained, trying to find some medicine.

Sara apologized before adding, “Oh, Ember, I am in such good spirits! Easton is going to take me out on a date tonight!” She continued ecstatically, practically clapping her hands together. “I asked him to walk me home after his speech and I thought over everything he had said. But my thoughts were interrupted when he decided to speak, ‘Sara, I am going to be 100% honest with you from now on. I promise I will not disappear without letting you know where I am going and why. I know I broke your heart. It is something that I regretted ever since the day I decided to do it.’ Then he looked me deep in the eyes and said, ‘I love you. I will never love another the way I do you. That day, I thought I was saving you, doing something good for you, but now… Now I realize that all I did was cause you an immense amount of pain and damage any attempt of you finding true happiness. If you won’t take me back, I understand… If I was in your position, I wouldn’t readily take someone back who hurt me so deeply. All I can do is tell you that I am being completely honest when I say I will never leave you or hurt you like that again. If it takes me the rest of my life to show you just how sorry I am and how much I love you, then that’s what I’ll do. I will spend every waking minute showing you how much I love you.’

“By the time he had finished, I knew I should be skeptical of his words. I know I shouldn’t believe him and keep him at bay, but I do believe him. When we reached my house, we gazed at each other for a few minutes before I worked up the courage to ask him to take me out to dinner. While I could tell Easton was surprised and excited by my question, I let him know real quick that this was a trial run.”