Chapter 15 Hope
HOPE
Song: Girl Next Door by Justice Wild
Stay with me
I’d cried more tears than any man deserved to have wasted on them. My face felt tight, swollen and flushed.
I wanted to purge Justice from my heart. I wanted to let go of the dream he’d helped me build, wanted to free myself of the ropes that bound me to him.
Instead, I found myself unable to function, weighed down by the memory of his pause.
That stupid pause.
I rolled over, punching my pillow with a violence I hadn’t known I possessed.
If only he’d left after delivering that blow, but that stupid idiot had paused.
And it was that which kept me from cutting all ties.
It was that moment where he’d stared at me, watching me with those big soulful eyes that seemed to beg me to protest, to fight for him, to fight for us, that kept hope alive.
“Stupid,” I muttered, punching my pillow once more. “So stupid.”
I couldn’t be the one who chased him. I couldn’t be the glue keeping us together.
Justice knew my heart and he had to make the choice to believe and trust in me or walk away.
He needed to learn to trust himself.
To trust in us.
I closed my eyes and must have fallen asleep, for when I next opened them my room was bathed in the soft hues of the afternoon light.
I frowned and moved to roll over and return to unconscious bliss when I heard it—music.
The guitar chords whispered through my open window, caught on the gentle spring breeze.
I listened, wondering if Gran had turned the radio—but then a far too familiar voice began to sing. I bolted upright in bed, my heart pounding as the song made its way to me.
“She’s the girl next door
Always on my mind
Lost touch for a while
Now we’re realigning
Her smile’s like peaches
Sweet and divine
In her eyes I see
Stars align.”
My breath caught in my chest as I slowly slid from my bed and padded across the faded carpet to peek out my window.
My hands flew to my lips as a sob slipped free.
There he was, standing on Gran’s lawn in his beaten black boots and faded jeans, wearing a black shirt and the cowboy hat I’d bought him at the rodeo.
Justice.
Surrounded by hundreds—no, thousands—of daisies. He stood in their center looking for all the world like a romance hero.
My hero.
His fingers picked at the chords as he sang lyrics that spoke directly to my heart.
“We were young, just kids back then
Now we’re older, can we try again?
Her laughter’s like apples
Crisp and bright
I’ve never been so scared
Of something so right.”
I pushed the curtains back and threw open the screen to lean out my window.
Justice caught my gaze, holding it as he continued to sing.
“I need her like the earth needs the rain
She’s my sunshine after the pain
In her love, I find my way
As this chapter unfolds
We’re a story written to last
So please
Stay with me.”
I wanted to cry but my tears had vanished, replaced by joyful laughter that threatened to spill out and never stop.
He’d written me a song.
No.
He’d written our song.
“Daisies bloom where her feet touch the ground
Lost in her world, I’m finally found
Her touch is so gentle, like a summer breeze
In her arms, I find my ease.
We were lost, now we’re found,
In each other, we’re forever bound
Her voice is like a sweet melody
In her love, I find my sanctuary.
I need her like the earth needs the rain
She’s my sunshine after the pain
In her love, I find my way
As this chapter unfolds
We’re a story written to last
So please
Stay with me.
She’s the girl next door,
My heart’s desire
In her love, I’ll never tire
With her, I’ve found my home
In her love, I’m never alone.
So please
Stay with me.”
He finished the song and took off the guitar, discarding it on the grass.
“I love you, Hope Higgins,” he called. “I love your kindness and your sass. I love your humor and how you pull me into line. I love your smiles and how they catalog each mood. I love how you’re at once familiar and mysterious.
And I want to spend the rest of my life uncovering every one of your mysteries. ”
I swallowed around the lump in my throat. “What about the books? And the allegations?”
“Nothing matters but us, baby. You can write all the smutty romance in the world and I’m gonna be proud as fuck of you for that. But I’m also going to insist in being involved in the research.”
A laugh burst from me, tears beginning to flow once more.
“And as for the bullying, every single person who has ever met you knows that’s untrue. You deserve better, baby. And we’re gonna hold you tight and help you get through this.”
He ducked his head for a beat before finding and holding my gaze once again.
“I left because I know I can’t protect you from the media and people who would do anything to have their five minutes of fame.
I thought leaving would be safer than staying—but it isn’t.
Cause I know deep in here”—he pumped a fist against his chest—“that we’ll both be hurting for the rest of our lives if we don’t give this a try. ”
I swiped at my tears impatiently. “What are you saying, Justice Wild?”
His lips curved into a grin so gorgeous my heart flipped.
“Be mine, Hope. Today, tomorrow, forever. Stay with me. Please.”
I hesitated then stepped back from the window. “Gran?”
“Yes, dear?” I heard her call from the porch downstairs. No doubt she’d been there the entire time.
“Justice is sleeping over.”
She cackled as he began to cross the yard, his long legs eating up the distance.
He climbed onto the roof and made it across to me in three quick strides. Without waiting to slip through the window, his hand snaked out to capture the back of my head and pull me into him. His lips captured mine in a hard and hungry kiss.
“I love you, Hope,” he whispered. “I’m gonna be an ass time and time again, but don’t give up on me. Please.”
I cupped his face, brushing my thumb across his cheeks. “I love you.” I pressed a chaste kiss to his nose. “Don’t give up on me either. Deal?”
He grinned. “Deal.”
We reached for each other’s clothes at the same time, peeling the layers from our bodies.
“What’s this?” I asked between kisses.
Justice had a bandage over his heart.
He stepped back, slowly peeling the dressing from his chest.
My breath caught, my heart flipping when I saw what he’d done.
“Justice…”
The blank space he’d reserved for his future partner had been filled. The dragon now cradled a book, the title of which read simply, Hope.
I traced the skin on either side of the tattoo, unable to believe he’d done this.
“What if I’d said no?”
“I took a chance,” he whispered. “Knowing you’re the only one who could ever take up this space.”
I sighed. “You’re such a romantic.”
“Yeah?” He pulled me into him, pressing his lower body firmly against mine. “You gonna write some more smutty scenes about us?”
I grinned. “Maybe.”
“Maybe?” he said, in mock outrage. He picked me up, striding to the bed. “Guess I better get to work inspiring you.”
And with that, we began to write the next chapter of our beautiful life together.