Chapter 8
CHAPTER
EIGHT
WILLOW
I don’t feel the first second of it. Not the punch. Not the shock.
“Emma!”
My voice breaks as I drop to my knees in front of her, my arms wrapping around her so tight I’m afraid I might hurt her.
She’s real. She’s here. Her arms fling around me just as hard, her face burying into my shoulder. “Willow—oh my God—I thought—”
“I know,” I choke, pulling her closer, my hands trembling as they press into her back, her hair, her face—like I need to make sure she’s actually here. “I know, I know—”
She’s crying. I’m crying.
And for a second—Nothing else exists.
“They said to stay together,” Emma rambles into my shoulder, her voice shaky. “Dad wouldn’t let go of my hand and we just kept moving and—”
“You’re okay,” I whisper, pulling back just enough to cup her face, to see her. “You’re okay. That’s all that matters.”
“I was so scared,” she says, her voice cracking.
“I know,” I say again, softer this time. “Me too.”
A hand grips my arm. Firm. I freeze.
Dad.
“Willow.”
His voice cuts through everything.
I turn slowly. And there he is. Standing right in front of me. Alive. My breath leaves me all at once.
“Dad…”
I don’t even think. I throw myself at him, my arms wrapping around him just as tightly as I held Emma. He catches me instantly, holding me just as hard.
“You’re okay,” he says into my hair, his voice rougher than I’ve ever heard it. “You’re okay.”
“I thought—” My voice breaks. “I didn’t know where you were—”
“I’m here,” he says. “I’ve got you.”
For a second— It’s everything. Everything I wanted. My family. Safe. Alive.
And then— It crashes back. Everything else. I pull back just enough to look at him, my hands still gripping his shirt.
“You hit him.”
His expression hardens instantly.
“Yeah,” he says.
No regret. No hesitation. Just anger.
“He—”
“You hit him,” I repeat, my voice sharper now, emotion surging all over again. “What is wrong with you?”
“Willow—”
“No,” I cut him off, stepping back. “You don’t get to just—he didn’t do anything wrong!”
Dad’s jaw tightens. “I saw exactly what he was doing.”
“And I was right there!” I snap. “I kissed him too!”
Emma goes still beside me.
Dad’s expression shifts from anger to something sharper. “What?”
“I kissed him,” I say again, louder this time. “It wasn’t just him, okay? It was both of us!”
His eyes flash. “That doesn’t make it better.”
“It does to me!” I fire back.
My heart is pounding now, my chest tight, everything colliding all at once. Relief. Anger. Love.
All of it tangled together so tightly I can barely breathe.
“I love him,” I say.
The words come out before I can stop them.
But I don’t take them back. I won’t. Dad stares at me like I just said something insane.
“Willow,” he says slowly, his voice controlled in a way that feels worse than yelling. “You’re twenty-two years old.”
I blink. “And?”
“And you have no idea what you’re talking about.”
The words hit like a slap.
“Yes, I do.”
“No, you don’t,” he snaps. “You think this is love? You think this is real? It’s not. It’s confusion. It’s adrenaline. It’s—”
“It’s not!” My voice breaks now, tears spilling over before I can stop them. “You don’t get to tell me what I feel!”
“I absolutely do when it comes to him,” he shoots back, his voice rising again.
My chest tightens painfully.
“Why?” I demand. “Because you said so? Because you decided this isn’t allowed?”
“Because I know him,” he says, his eyes flicking briefly past me—toward Garrison. “And I know exactly what kind of mistake this is.”
That does it. I turn. Garrison is standing a few feet away. Silent. His jaw tight. His eyes on me. The look on his face breaks something inside of me. Because he’s not fighting this. He’s not arguing. He’s just… standing there. Like he’s already accepted it. Like he’s already losing me.
“Say something,” I whisper, my voice trembling.
His eyes soften slightly. But he doesn’t move.
“Willow,” he says quietly.
That’s it. Just my name. And somehow— It feels like goodbye.
“No,” I breathe, shaking my head. “No, don’t do that—don’t just stand there like this is over—”
“Willow,” my dad’s voice cuts in sharply.
Before I can react— His hand wraps around my wrist. Firm. Unyielding.
“We’re leaving.”
I yank slightly, startled. “Wait—no—”
“Now.”
“Dad, stop—”
But he’s already pulling me. Dragging me toward the exit.
“Emma—” I call, twisting to look back at her.
She hesitates for a second—Then follows. And I’m being pulled away. Away from him.
“Garrison!” I shout, my voice breaking as I try to pull free.
He doesn’t move. He just stands there. Watching me. His expression tight. Controlled. Like he’s holding himself back from something.
“Do something!” I cry.
But he doesn’t. He can’t. Because of the promise. Because of my dad. Because of everything.
And I feel it then—I should feel whole. But the distance growing between Garrison and I is breaking my heart. He’s becoming smaller in the distance. I feel like I’m losing something just as important. Something I might never get back.
The doors swing open. The outside air hits my face. And just like that—He’s gone. I stand a few feet away from the shelter entrance, my arms wrapped tightly around myself, trying to hold everything in.
Dad is a short distance away, pacing near the curb, one hand raised as he tries to flag down a passing car.
“Taxi!” he calls out, frustration edging his voice. “Hey!”
No one stops. No one even slows down. Emma sits on a low concrete barrier nearby, wrapped in a blanket, watching everything with wide, tired eyes.
And me—I just stand here.
Staring at nothing. Feeling everything. I found them. They’re alive. They’re safe. And it should feel like relief.
It does feel like relief.
But it’s tangled up with something else now. Something just as strong. Just as overwhelming.
Him.
My chest tightens, my eyes burning again as I press my lips together. I shouldn’t have looked back. I shouldn’t have called his name. Because now I know exactly what it feels like to lose him.
“Willow.”
My heart stops.
I don’t turn right away. I can’t. Because I know that voice. I feel it. All the way down to my bones. Hope hits me so fast it almost hurts.
Slowly—I turn. And there he is.
Garrison.
Standing a few feet behind me, his chest rising and falling like he ran to get here, his eyes locked on mine like he hasn’t looked at anything else since I walked out that door. Everything inside me shifts all at once.
“You came,” I breathe.
Of course he did. His jaw tightens slightly, like there’s a hundred things he wants to say and he’s choosing the one that matters most.
“I’m not letting you walk away like that, not this time.” he says.
My heart stumbles. Behind me, I hear my dad’s voice. Sharp.
“What the hell are you doing out here?”
I flinch slightly, but I don’t look away from Garrison. I can’t. Because something’s different. I can feel it. In the way he’s standing. In the way he’s looking at me. In the way he’s not backing down. He steps closer.
Not to me—To my dad.
“I need to talk to you,” he says.
Dad scoffs, incredulous. “I’ve heard enough from you.”
“No,” Garrison says, his voice firm. “You haven’t.”
That stops him. Just enough. Dad turns fully now, his expression dark, protective, angry.
“You’ve got a lot of nerve showing up here after what I just saw,” he says.
Garrison nods once.
“I know.”
No argument. No excuse. Just Acceptance. And then he keeps going.
“I love her.”
The words land like a shockwave. Silence follows. I feel it in my chest. Dad’s expression shifts, his eyes narrowing. “You don’t get to—”
“I do,” Garrison cuts in.
Calm, steady, and unshakable.
“I’ve loved her since the first moment we touched,” he continues. “Since the garage.”
My breath catches. He says it out loud. To my dad without hesitation or fear.
“And I know what you think,” he adds, his voice lowering just slightly. “I know what this looks like. I know why you’re angry.”
“You think?” Dad snaps.
“I don’t blame you,” Garrison says. “If I were you, I’d probably want to kill me too.”
That almost makes me laugh. Almost.
“But that doesn’t change anything,” he continues. “It doesn’t change how I feel. And it doesn’t change what I’m willing to do about it.”
Dad’s jaw tightens. “You already said what you were willing to do. You promised me you’d stay away from her.”
“I did.”
“And now you’re breaking that.”
Garrison exhales slowly.
“Yeah,” he says.
Just like that. No defense. No justification. Just truth.
“Because I can’t keep that promise anymore.”
My heart slams against my ribs.
Dad stares at him, disbelief flashing across his face. “You don’t get to just decide that.”
“I do when it comes to her,” Garrison says, his voice firm. “Because she’s not something I can just walk away from.”
My chest tightens painfully. This is everything I wanted him to say.
“I love you,” he says to my dad.
That catches him off guard. I can see it.
“I always have,” Garrison continues. “You’re my best friend. You’re family.”
Dad’s expression flickers, just slightly.
“But nothing you say to me is going to change the fact that I love your daughter,” he finishes.
The words settle. And then—He turns to me like I’m the only thing that matters now.
“This time is different,” he says.
My breath catches.
“This time, I’m not walking away.”
My heart feels like it might break out of my chest. Because I believe him.
I feel it. In every word. In every look. In every step he takes toward me. He stops right in front of me, close enough that I can see everything in his eyes.
“Come with me,” he says.
My stomach flips, my chest tightening as everything collides all over again. My dad. My family. Him. All of it.
I look at Garrison. Then at my dad. Then at Emma. And back at him. My heart is pounding so hard I can barely hear anything else. Because this moment changes everything. I have to choose.