Thursday (Sequel to 'From Eden')

and salt the earth behind you

**TIME SKIP TO ONE MONTH LATER

I waited nervously on the park bench, my leg moving at an uncontrollable, anxious speed. It had only been five days since I was discharged from rehab, and it truly was a struggle adjusting to everyday life again. Being at the park was an easier location on the dome, though, just because the last time I was here was with Brooke and Chloe, sober. Other places were harder to swallow, like when I drove through the city. I remembered the taste of the sidewalks and the smell of the sewage that gathered next to the bars I would frequent.

The only reason I was nervous now was because Chloe had flown in this morning, and we had planned to meet at the bench I sat on in ten minutes. I knew I would need some time to ground myself before I saw her face for the first time since July, so I was early. We had been speaking more frequently since the new year, and I felt myself falling for her again before I could control it. I knew she felt the same.

The birds seemed to know something was up first; they stopped chirping like someone was near. I lifted my head and saw her walking towards me once it was time, and I bit my lip, letting a gasp of air out. I rose to greet her, unsure of what to say or do. Thankfully, she filled in the gaps for me.

"Paige," she whispered, smiling gently. "Hey."

"Hey." I breathed, taking her in. She looked just as gorgeous as I remembered her, but there was a different glow about her. Something promising, and healed. I knew then I was getting back the very energy I had been putting out since I flushed the pill down the toilet a month ago.

And then it seemed she couldn't help but hug me, and my knees went weak within her grasp. We sat on the bench with our heads buried in each other's necks for a while before finally catching up on everything we had missed out on over the last six months.

When we finished, I talked to her about how though I was out of rehab, there were still struggles, and I wasn't perfect. She teared up when I told her I still had cravings sometimes. When I told her I wasn't sure if I wanted to date or be romantic yet, she said she understood. But when I told her I left the old version of me behind, destroyed her even, she beamed, and said, "And salt the earth behind you".

- -

**TIME SKIP TO JULY, THREE YEARS LATER

"Chloe, what--" I giggled as my girlfriend wrapped a blindfold around my head, and shut my mouth obediently when she placed a delicate finger upon my lips. My heart still leapt at her touch, years after accepting her offer to go out as more than friends once I was ready.

"Shh," she said, amusement alive in her tone. "Come on, follow me."

I had no fucking idea what she was up to, but I trusted her. She lead me from our bedroom down what felt like the hallway of our apartment, and into the living room. I heard scuffling around, but I didn't say anything, just waited for her to take the fabric off my face. When I was met with an eerie silence, I said, "Chloe? For God's sake, what is this?"

The fabric was taken off my eyes gently, and I was met with blinding light. My living room was full of people I loved, all yelling, "Surprise!"

"What is this?" I laughed, turning to Chloe. My dad, my brother and sister, their wife and husband, Christi, Marc, and Clara...my mom was even there, who I thought was in Florida! Sneaky bitch!

"Happy three years sober," Chloe kissed my cheek gently, and my heart swelled. I had been so caught up in my new marketing job recently that I forgot about the anniversary of going to rehab three years ago. It felt like eons, after so much growth.

"Thank you," I smiled, and everyone cheered again. I spotted a cupcake and some water, and turned to face Chloe again. It was exactly what she had brought me all those years ago, when I tried to be sober the first time. "You...are just wonderful."

"About that..." she trailed off, and our families fell silent. She looked nervous, like she had something to tell me. Everyone's gazes were locked on us, their faces blank and almost...sad? I furrowed my brows in worry, taking her soft hands. She cleared her throat, cracked her knuckles, and chuckled, "About that, um..."

Life moved fast after that moment. Before I could process, Chloe was on one knee, bearing a ring. She confessed that she had loved me for all of our lives, and I got down with her and cried. I told her I had loved her for longer. We celebrated, and got married six months later.

A day after the wedding day, in bed, before we left on our honeymoon, I was thinking deeply about my past. How far I had come. How far both of us had come. I clutched the pillow and the woman beside me tigher as I thought, Every time I feel good, I think it will last forever. But it doesn't. Until it does.