Waves - Book #2 [completed]

49 ~ Saorsa

Saorsa
noun
freedom, liberty

It's like a glitch in the matrix.

My mind can't compute the picture in front of me.

I thought that when I blinked, she'd be gone. That my mind played a dirty trick on me. That I hallucinated.

But I blink. Once. Twice.

She's still there.

Lauren, Kacey and Mom stopped in their tracks and watch me crumble. My siblings are still carrying their kids. I imagine them staring at me with raised brows and open mouths, ready to ask what's going on. But I don't really see what they're doing. My eyes are being held captive by Riley.

Her lips open when she swallows visibly, then sucking in a sharp inhale through them. She's here, stunningly disheveled and looks like she hasn't slept in days with deep shadows under her eyes. It takes my breath away. Cheap sweatshirt that she surely bought at the airport as an afterthought, torn jeans and beat-up Doc Martens. Countless flyaway hairs stick up every which way, her dark tresses hanging limp around her shoulders. Tired eyes staring back at me.

She's so fucking beautiful, I'm staggering.

"New York is cold, Mason."

Her voice. The tiny hitch when she pronounces the S in my name. A sob of a laugh rips from my tongue. My feet carry me towards her without my command, drawing me close like an undercurrent pulling me out to the open sea – and I'm going.

"Riley..." My voice breaks when I reach her but my heart mends.

Only when my arms are around her shoulders, when her arms drop the handle of her suitcase and sling around my neck, I allow myself to believe she's real. I pull her against my chest, squeeze her tight and lift her up, and up until her legs go around my waist and her ankles lock behind my back to get as close as possible. Clutching my shirt, her face falls to the crook of my neck, her cold nose pressing against my skin, and I feel her inhale deeply. I do the same, sucking in her scent, her warmth, all the while the only thought in my head is 'home'. Wherever she is, that's where my home is. She's my home. She's the happiness I never realized I needed.

I never want to be separated from her again.

"My crabby girl, you're here."

Riley's body trembles against mine and I don't know if it's because of New York's frigid cold my sunshine girl isn't used to or if she's crying or laughing. Needing to see her face and look into her eyes, I set her down carefully. But I don't stop touching her. My fingers loop through her hair, terrified still that if I let her go, she'd disappear.

There are tears in her ocean eyes when she looks up to me, but they're tears of relief. My bottom lip is trapped between my teeth, as I let my gaze glide over the dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose. I want to count each one of them just to make sure she's complete.