Chapter 179 - A Year Later

Lance.

I can't believe he is here in front of me.

Give it to me to plan a last-minute surprise and then be caught. I can't even be disappointed in myself because he is here. That is all that matters to me at this moment. I run into his arms ignoring Jack and the stupid sounds he is making. My lips are on his instantly. Kissing him feels like everything to me.

I missed him so much.

He grabs me around my waist and pulls me closer to him. it feels like nothing has changed. Almost like the two months, we lost never happened and we are just back to where we left off. God, I have never been this happy in my life.

"You are here,'' I mutter in between kisses. Right now, I don't know what I want. I want to keep kissing him, I want to stare at his beautiful face. I want everything at this moment.

"I should leave you guys,'' jack coughs nervously as ford pushes my back to the wall. I don't even care that Jack is in the room.

We both stay on each other. Our lips still pressed to each other. I don't care about the door as it closes. He will see Jack later. Right now, all I care about is him. we keep kissing and soon enough, our clothes are off, in the middle of the living room. The only sounds that come from us are our moans and grunts as we devour each other. The second he enters me slowly, I feel my world collide with his. I feel all the love I have for him. everything that we have shared together flashes through my eyes. He keeps his eyes on me, his expression is as intense as mine. I love this man so much. I love him because he is who he is. All his flaws and everything.

******************

"Why didn't you call me,'' I ask him.

We are both sprawled on the floor in the living room, naked and sweaty. He smiles at my question, probably remembering earlier.

I hit his chest playfully and he grabs my hand in his "I didn't have my phone. I just assumed that you and dad had talked about everything.''

It was stupid of me not to check my phone. Yeah, I was very excited and then jack convinced me to do a welcome home surprise for him, which he ended up not seeing, so at the end of it all, it was pointless.

"I bought a cake and everything,'' I tell him sadly.

I imagined his expression as he walked in through the doors. I thought about it so much after I agreed to do it and I just had to mess it up.

"I don't care about a cake. You are the only thing I care about,'' he tells me with a serious expression on his face. I roll my eyes because everyone cares about cake.

I mean, come on, it's cake.

"Your favorite flavor?'' I tease him with a raised brow.

He laughs and pulls me closer to him "You're my favorite flavor,'' he licks the side of my face and I close my eyes.

"You want us to still eat it?'' he asks.

I open my eyes and nod "Do you want to decorate the place up and I could act surprised? That could work.''

I smile.

It defeats the point of the surprise but I just wanted him to feel missed. He stands up from the floor and pulls me up. We are both naked. Our underwear is in a corner in the room. He grabs both of them and throws mine at me. I watch him as he puts his on hurriedly and runs into the kitchen.

He reaches for the bag and I watch him as he unravels the contents inside. There are balloons, streamers, and a banner that took most of the time.

He opens the banner wider and the contents come out on display "Welcome back boyfriend?'' he reads the contents with a smile on his face.

"The man at the mall was so slow at it, I almost had a fight to hurry him up,'' I tell him of my ordeal. He laughs as he drops the banner on the counter and pulls out more stuff from the bag. Once the bags are empty, we start to decorate the apartment together. almost the same way I envisioned. I know this might look pointless to anyone but here I am with the man I thought I would lose. He almost slipped out of my fingers and now he is happily decorating my apartment for his own welcome party.

Life couldn't get any better.

A YEAR LATER. 

It has been a year.

A year of pure bliss.

I have never been happier with anyone than I am with Ford. Things have been great—yeah, there are rocky days. Days where his disorder will get the best of him and on those days, I do what I have been trained to do. I stay with him, I try to be there for him and if he needs space, I give it to him. at first, it was very hard to handle him when he was in a mood but now, I have come to embrace his moods as part of him.

We graduated a couple of months ago. He gave up on basketball and applied to numerous colleges to study English. I didn't apply to any colleges, because I want to take a year off school. That year will be spent with him.

Mom wasn't too happy about it because she wanted me to get a head start but with everything that has happened, I just felt like I needed it. I just needed the break and after a lot of pleading, she has gotten used to it.

I park my car in the lot of the coffee shop. Ford has been spending a lot of time at this coffee shop near the house. He has been doing a lot of writing. Something that he has come to love. I have been encouraging him with it and it was my idea to take some time to help him with his creative writing.

I send him a quick text and it takes him a couple of minutes to come out of the building. His laptop is in his grip and there is a smile on his face as he walks into the car. I plant a kiss on his lips as he puts on his seatbelt.

"How was writing?'' I ask him with a smile on his face.

He shrugs "A little on the dark side today,'' he tells me and shakes his head, almost like he is brushing away the thoughts in his head. He writes whatever he feels. That idea came from his doctor. He showed him the journal that I kept and Dr. Mathew suggested that he continue writing as he is very good at it.

I have been so supportive and I will continue being that for him. with whatever he decides.

"can we make a stop,'' he asks me hopefully.

I nod and he gives me the address. The minute I see that he wants to go to the cemetery, I can't help but ask 

"Are you ready?''

He told me the day he got out of the hospital that he tried doing it with his father but he couldn't. he hasn't tried again. I told him I would always be there for him, so I guess he wants to today.

"I don't know but I want to try one last time before college. I need to do this.''

I nod grabbing his hand and giving it a squeeze. He closes his eyes as I start the drive. Right now, he is meditating. Trying to control his nerves. This is something he has been doing and it seems to help him a lot. We drive in silence until we get there and I watch him as he looks out the window to the entrance. He nods his head immediately and we both get down from the car. I have never been a fan of cemeteries.

I am a firm believer in ghosts and body possessions, so it means a lot that I am here right now. this was supposed to be something that he was supposed to do with his father but if he wants to share this moment with me first, then I will take it wholeheartedly.

We walk until we get to her tombstone. He remembers the location which means he has been wanting to come here again. His mother is the only part of him yet, that he hasn't gotten closure. He needs this before he can fully move on from all the guilt.

It might take some time but the first step is visiting her.

He closes his eyes and I grab his hand again. This time he turns to me and I smile at him "You got this,'' I give him encouragement and this gets a smile on his face.