Camryn Quinn is finally getting what she wants...sort of. Moving into a dorm and away from her not so supportive father is a good first step, but like everything with him, it comes with strings. She must attend the college of his choosing for at lea...
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Taylor and I walk ungracefully as one across the threshold of the room. The plan was better in theory than in actual execution considering I'm tiptoeing through each microstep we take. I stumble over his feet while trying to maintain the makeshift blindfold I've created with my hands, and the laugh he gives vibrates throughout my entire body.
I take a deep breath. The smokey pine scent threaded into the fabric of his sweatshirt calms my nerves and keeps me moving. It's all the reminder I need to know it will work out. Even if Taylor doesn't like surprises, his soul isn't capable of hate. He'll forgive me if I misstepped.
When we're parallel to the closet right inside the door, I make him stop.
"Am I going to have to play with your hands on my face tomorrow, Quinn?" I reach a knee forward, connecting it with his bottom. I ignore his fake pleas of pain and continue on my mission.
"Are you ready, or do you have any other complaints?"
Taylor chuckles, his breath hot on my hands. "Ready as I'll ever be for a surprise."
I count it down.
Three...
Two...
One...
I remove my hands from his face and reposition myself to get a better look at him.
"Surprise!" Shea and Zoey shout in unison.
I've let myself imagine his reaction to the hardest kept secret all week long, but the real thing isn't even close to what I let myself think up. His features fall to the ground, his head drooping in disbelief. His body begins to shake, and his palms press hard into his eyes.
Tears begin to streak his perfect cheeks as Taylor sobs.
His mom and sister are on him in an instant. Arms wrapped around his middle, gripping and squeezing until their knuckles are white. Like they too, can't quite believe it's actually happening. Like they too, I have been picturing this moment since I first reached out to them six days ago.
The anticipatory buzz that filled the room when I first met Shea and Zoey has been replaced with the type of weeping that can only come from pure joy. Tears are falling in full force from everyone, myself included at the heartfelt reunion.
In a way, I feel like an outsider who's stepped into a house uninvited. With the way Shea pulls back every few seconds to press a kiss to some part of her children. She's so small next to their long and lean bodies, but her frail frame grips onto them like the slightest gust of wind will rip them away from her again.
At the same time, I feel like I'm right where I belong. I've spent months listening to Taylor talk about these two and what they mean to him. I've been there for him when they couldn't be. I feel like I know them, and it feels fitting to be the one to bring them back together again.
