I'll Be Seeing You

Fourteen.

Once I was able to calm myself down, I stood and reached for the door. "Please, just let me get some fresh air," I said, my voice shaky but steady enough. "I just need a minute to breathe."

"Take your time," Rene replied gently, her eyes flicking to Mark. I swear those two had their own language—communicating entire conversations with just a glance.

The wind hit my face the moment I stepped out onto the breezeway. It was cool, sharp, and grounding. I was grateful neither of them followed me. I needed space. Just a few minutes to collect my thoughts and try to process everything. This past month had been one gut punch after another, and now this? It was too much.

I needed to get away. Somewhere quiet. Somewhere I could think without being pulled in a thousand different directions. My car keys were in my pocket. A habit I picked up from living with Jackson—always keep them on me, just in case. I debated whether leaving was a good idea, but I knew myself. I wasn't running... not really. I just handled things better in solitude. That wasn't a crime.

I could hear Mark and Rene talking behind the door, their voices muffled but intense. That was my cue. I slipped quietly down the stairs, moving quickly across the parking lot to my car. The keys jingled softly as I unlocked the door, and once I was in and the engine started, I glanced back to make sure no one had seen me. They hadn't.

The road ahead stretched long and empty, just how I needed it. I cranked the radio to drown out the noise in my head and let the tires hum against the pavement. Five minutes in, my phone started blowing up. I didn't even check. Just silenced it and tossed it into the passenger seat. I needed to breathe.

Almost an hour later, I pulled into the gravel drive of the one place that had always brought me peace: the pond. It felt strange being here without Mark, but also right—like I needed to be here to remember, to feel something real again. I walked along the water's edge until I reached the far side. Mark's spot. His quiet little haven. I sat down slowly, letting out a long, aching breath.

I remembered the first time he brought me here. How serene it was. How he'd joked about catching more fish than me—and how I'd tried to keep a straight face while he hopelessly tangled his line. The sun had been bright that day, glinting off his eyes in a way that stopped me cold. I'd been caught staring, totally flustered. He laughed it off. I pretended it meant nothing. But it did. God, it did.

I looked out across the water and pictured him there, on the opposite bank, determined as ever to out-fish me. And as I sat in his favorite spot, the memories came flooding back—not just of that day, but of everything. The way he moved me into his home without hesitation. How he refused to let me pay for anything, no matter how much I argued. That Christmas when he secretly paid all my bills just so I'd have one less thing to worry about. The way his eyes lit up when he brought me here and told me no one else had ever seen this place.

He took me to meet his family and proudly introduced me—even if it was just as a friend. And that night... when I threw myself at him, he was nothing but a gentleman. He asked me over and over if it was what I really wanted. He didn't take advantage. He never has. Mark has always had my back. Always looked out for me. Never once made me feel unsafe or unsure. And now, knowing how he truly feels... it changed everything. Or maybe it just revealed everything I'd been too scared to see.

Then there was the whole situation with Kasey. That night—when Mark found out I'd been hiding our relationship—it broke something in him. I saw a side of him I never thought I would. He was hurt, gutted, and angry. But now it all makes sense. It wasn't just that he didn't like how she treated me. It went deeper than that. He didn't like how she was treating the woman he loved.