Light Me Up

Chapter 16 ~A Letter To My Love~

Over the next week, my days felt like something out of Groundhog Day. I repeated the same daily tasks each day. Every day I would involuntarily look up to the door to see if Aiden would walk in, but the whole week Aiden never showed.

"Grace, have you heard from your brother?" She looks up to me "yes, why?" she looks curious. "Oh, just been meaning to thank him for taking me home when I had a panic attack."

Grace smiled "right place right time hey". Yeah, I guess she was right. "I need to take Friday off I can work remotely if I'm needed, I just need to deal with some matters a few hours from here".

She nods and hands me another manuscript to read. I smile and leave for the day. I get home pack my bags and drive back to the beach house, when I arrive the lights are on, I don't remember leaving the lights on.

I open the front door and the smell of lasagna sends my senses wild, "Hello!" I slowly walk through the house peeking into the kitchen "helloo!" I say again, a figure jumps out in front of me making me jump and squeal. "Aahh" my hands are in front of me as if I'm about to but out some karate.

"Oh Luci, I thought no one would be here". "What the hell are you doing in my house, cooking COLIN!?" he stood still making sure not to startle me his hand in front of him. "I can explain, please sit down I will get you a drink and we will talk about it."

I take a seat on the sofa in front of the fireplace. its burning perfectly and the view of the moon over the ocean is just dreamy. Colin sits opposite me and explains. "For a few years now I've been maintaining your beach house, my dad did before me when your parents owned it, i make dinner for myself because I usually spend Thursdays and Fridays here to maintain the gardens the deck the house, so I cook myself a meal clean up and go home".

No wonder why the house is in such great condition when I arrived last week, but who is paying him to do this. "Are my parents paying you to maintain the house"? I wait for him to answer me, he looks at me like I am missing something, "Yes, they do". Why didn't I know about this when I took over it? "I appreciate everything, and you have done an amazing job I'm just shocked"

"Come let's have dinner, I will set a spot for you and we can talk some more". That night me and Colin talked for hours, I helped him clean, sat outside laughed and went for a walk along the beach.

"We should go back inside it's getting late and I'm pretty tired from my drive down, did you want to stay tonight seeing as you have to be here tomorrow, there is a spare bed upstairs" he looks to me and smiles," sure thanks I don't think I could drive anyways from all the bottles of wine we've had".

We walk back inside, I look over to Aiden's house and its dark, no lights are on and the blinds closed shut I wonder where he is. Colin kindly grabbed my bags for me from the car and we walked up to my room.

"Thank you for tonight it was great". I take my bags from him and walk into my room. I open the door again "Colin!". "Yeah?" and he turned around walking back to me "Goodnight", He looked at me and smiled "goodnight".

The next morning is gloomy and dark I grab a jumper and head down to the kitchen. "Good morning beautiful" a cheery man said while cooking pancakes "coffee is ready and the tea has brewed, I don't know which you have so I done both".

How is this guy single? he is what every girl dreams about his good with his hands, cooks, cleans what else could you ask for. "Good morning, those pancakes look great. How is it you're a jack of all trades but your single?" He looks at me and sighs.

He finished the pancakes and we sit for breakfast, he pours my tea and then serves himself. "To answer your questions, I was in love once long, long ago, I was a teen and I met a beautiful girl here on this beach, me and some mates were having a bonfire on the beach and this girl sat with us the whole night, from that day when I laid my eyes on her for the first time, my heart knew she was the one.

From then our families met here each summer and we grew closer and closer. I knew she loved me and I her, this went on for many years till we all hit prime age (working age) we said our final goodbyes, they stopped coming to the beach and I've never been able to find another like her".

I sit there listening to the heartfelt words come from Colin I could see the pain in his eyes when he talks about her and as he tries to forget and move on.

"Anyways don't look at me like you feel sorry for me this was a long time ago, I've got work to do we will clean up later". "No its fine I will clean up, I say, if you need me, I will be upstairs in the study I have some work to do myself". He nods and walks away.

I make a new cup of tea and take it up with me. I turn on my laptop and grab the manuscript. i look out of my window across to the window the pretty girl was leaning over when I caught him having sex. It plays back in mind and stumble over falling to the floor, I'm laughing, hard on the floor I didn't even bother to get up.

I'm such an idiot and so clumsy, I lay on my stomach and start to read a book titled A LETTER TO MY LOVE, I'm drawn in page after page it's a true romance, but somehow this book just seems too familiar, like I've been told the story before.

I look for the authors name but it's not there, I get a pencil and start to circle key points, paragraphs, sayings and bookmark them.

Colin knocks on the door and hands me a new cup of tea and walks out silently with the old cup, "WAIT, STOP" I yell at him. I get up off the floor and pull his hand to seat him next to me on the sofa in the study (office) "You have to read this story, there is no authors name but you have to read it, it's so familiar to the story you told me this morning" Colin's face dropped with confusion could it be a sign or just pure coincidence.

Colin starts to read and his eyes widen. We were young the night was perfect and they were having a bonfire out on the beach in front of the beach house. My brothers' friends' all sat around drinking and listening to music, as I watch from my bedroom window, I felt trapped and alone. So, I got changed and walked out to the beach, I couldn't see my brother he must have been off with another girl at the time.

I take a seat next to a tall handsome guy sitting by the fire, Colin. At that moment when he touched my hand, I knew he was the one. As summers went by, we got to know each other and we grew close our feelings got deeper, until my parents thought it was time for me to step up and become a boss. it was the last summer at the beach house, I had no choice but to say goodbye to my true love, and watched him fade into the sunset.

Colin dropped the script, covering his face with his hands his crying, I pick it up and continue to read. A Letter to My Love, if this finds you, I want you to know that from the moment I met you our souls became one, I knew that you were the one for me and that you are the man I want to grow with. I am sorry I left you I think about you every day in hopes our paths cross soon. I love you and will continue to love you till my last breath no matter our distance I still feel you next to me.

I need to know who this author is I wonder if I could get these two souls back together, they have unfinished business. I put the script down and kneel in front of Colin, wiping his eyes from the tiers coming from his soft green eyes.

"Let's go have some lunch and if you want to talk, we can but you can't sit here like this" Colin looks up to me, grabs my hand and we walk down stairs grab some food. We enjoy the peace of the waves crashing along the shore. I sneak another look over to next door and the house is still closed.

You keep looking next door are you waiting forsomeone to show? Shit, he caught me "something happened last week when I leftfrom here with Aiden and I haven't heard from him since". Colin looks at me"you know Aiden?" I nod "Yeah, it's quite a funny story how we met, but I workfor his sister" the conversation went quiet we sat there awkwardly waiting forone another to break the ice