Chapter 31 #2
Pulling the phone back, he looks again and says, “One of Isla’s friends uploaded it and tagged me. I may have taken her on a date a few months ago, and not called her back for a second.”
“That’s not okay, Teddy,” I huff.
“She didn’t like shellfish! I’m a scallop diver,” he says defensively.
“Not you, her. She doesn’t know if you’re out or not.
She can’t just upload shit like that on the internet.
” I’m so caught up in the fact that this woman is outing Teddy to the whole world that it takes me a moment to realise I’m in the photo too.
“You need to message her. I-I can’t have my picture on there,” I say, feeling too warm.
“It’s fine, Bay, I don’t mind. Let everyone see, I have nothing to hide.”
“I do!” I shout, hands going to my hair and gripping on tight. “I don’t have social media. I can’t have my family knowing where I am. Please, ask her to take it off.”
“Shit, okay.” He types out a message, and I hear the whoosh as it sends, then he pulls me against his chest. “You’re fine. No one’s going to find you here.”
“Sorry,” I mumble into his jumper.
“For what? You’re allowed to have boundaries, Bay. I’ve only met her a couple of times, so I’m not sure why she took that photo, anyway.”
I hate how fast my body reacts to danger—I’m fine one minute, and the next it feels like the world is closing in on me, as if I’m about to slip off a ledge and fall for eternity.
I feel the coarse wool of Teddy’s jumper between my fingers and hear the rushing water as it runs along giant boulders down the hill.
The mixture of the ocean on Teddy’s clothes and the earthy smell of mud and moss from the trail fills my nose.
Another message dings.
“It’s gone,” he says softly, kissing my forehead. “Want to keep going? I think it’s only a few more minutes until we reach the waterfall.”
“Yeah.” I pull away and let him take my hand again as we carry on. Teddy’s talking, but I have no idea what he’s saying as I’m busy trying to calm myself down.
They can’t find me here. I’m safe. I have Teddy, Noah, and Jake. They won’t let anything happen to me.
“Here,” Teddy says a few minutes later. I shake my head, realising I wasn’t even watching where I was walking.
We’re standing in front of a semicircle of rock face.
Small waterfalls cascade over the ledge and splash into a crystal clear pool.
Mountains dominate the landscape behind it. “It’s beautiful,” I murmur.
“Sure is,” Teddy says. When I turn my head, he’s looking right at me.
“Shut up.” I smack his chest, and laughter bubbles up, bursting free. I forget for a moment that this is temporary.
“What are we doing?” I ask.
He rubs the back of his neck and hums. “I get that maybe we’re rushing things, but—”
“I’m going back to Cumbria,” I say, cutting him off.
He frowns. “I know that. You have a life there, and I have a life here. It doesn’t matter to me.
We were never finished, Bay.” He steps into me, cupping my face, forcing me to look up into his dark eyes.
“You ended things between us because Shane forced you to, not because you didn’t love me anymore. ”
I nod without thinking.
“And I ran away from you because I was scared, not because I didn’t love you anymore,” he says with sincerity.
My heart pounds in my chest as I cling to every word that comes out of his mouth.
“Did it ever really stop for you?” he asks, eyes flicking between mine as he holds me prisoner between the palms of his hands.
“No,” I breathe out. I can’t look at him without my chest swelling with want.
The thought of actually leaving him, of having to say goodbye when we head back south …
It makes me feel sick. I’m certain I still love him.
There’s a familiar prickling behind my eyes, and I blink rapidly to try and hold back the tears.
“I wanted to look for you, but I-I couldn’t.
I needed to set you free because I didn’t think I was good for you,” I choke out.
Teddy swipes a thumb across my cheek. He doesn’t look sad at all; he’s got a massive grin on his face that makes me want to smack him.
“But you found me anyway. It took a long time, but you found me, and I never needed to be free of you. I don’t want to be free of you, ever. You’re good for me, Bay. So good.”
I shake my head. I’m not.
You’re never good, Bailey. Never.
“Yes, you are, you’re good, and you’re home,” Teddy says unwaveringly. “Your home is with me. It has been from the moment I met you, and I never should have let you go.”
I try to look away, but he lifts my chin. “Hey …”
“What?”
“Would you do it again?”
I almost laugh, remembering our first kiss in the woods. I cough to clear my scratchy throat. “Would you?” I say with more confidence than I feel.
His lips curl into a beaming smile, and he leans in until I feel just the ghost of his lips against mine as he says, “Always.” Then he kisses me with such force, I stumble backwards slightly. There’s a finality in his kiss, a promise that this time, it will be different.