Wonderland

❄B66❄ Endlessly

Chapter Sixty-Six

Brayden's POV

Endlessly

January 2

I arrived at Worcester Regional Airport at approximately 2pm. Heather's service wasn't until six, so I took a taxi to Rutland, where her family lived, and passed my time there by taking a small stroll.

The town was very forestry. There were a lot of trees there, which reminded me of Washington. I passed by the church where Heather's service was going to be. It was a large, one-floored, white building with stained glass windows.

Not wanting to go in there just yet, I turned around and headed towards Mr. Forde's house. He had given me his address last night, and I had saved it on my phone so that I could use Google Maps to guide me there.

Mr. Forde lived in a modest, two-story, red house. It wasn't as large as my house, and it looked to be less than 1,500 square feet. Climbing up the steps to their house, I knocked on it a few times and waited patiently for someone to open the door. I heard two kids yelling excitedly in the house, and then a woman telling them to calm down.

A few seconds later, the door opened, and I almost tumbled down the stairs when I saw who it was that had opened it.

My eyes widened, my body frozen to the spot. I felt like I couldn't breathe. The world spun before me.

I'm hallucinating. I am most definitely hallucinating. There's no way. There's no way...

Dammit, Brayden. What did you have today? 

"H-Heather?" I choked out, my voice barely above a whisper.

Her cheeks grew rosy, and she looked at me, shyly. "Hey."

I couldn't stop looking at her. I was afraid that if I stopped, she wouldn't be here anymore. I needed this to last. I pinched myself, silently praying that if this were a dream, I wouldn't wake up.

But this wasn't a dream, because I didn't wake up.

Heather closed the door behind her and stepped outside. She didn't look real. She had on a white sweater and black skinny jeans. Her hair was in a ponytail. She looked regal. Beautiful.

I extended a shaking hand out to touch her. When I felt her body respond to mine, I knew then that this was real. That this was Heather in front of me. Alive. Well. Breathing. Here-

I threw my arms around her and pulled her to me, hugging her tightly. A million different emotions swarmed through me, so much that tears started spilling from my eyes. "Heather," I sobbed.

"Brayden..." Her voice was like music to my ears. How I thought I'd never be able to hear it again; it tugged on my heartstrings. My heart swelled, so much that I thought it would burst. I moved my hands up so that I could cup her cheeks. They were as wet as mine were.

"You suck, you know that?" I croaked. "I swear to God, Heather, you'll be the end of me. You literally tore me apart!"

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her eyes glistening.

I tried to wipe her tears away, dry her face, but her tears kept falling. Mine were, too. I leaned down and touched foreheads with her. She held onto my arms, sniveling. I kissed her tears, her eyes, her nose, her cheeks... God, I've missed her.

When I reached her mouth, I practically crushed my lips onto hers. I kissed her hard, but gentle enough so that she wouldn't break under me. She was fragile, beautiful, mesmerizing... She was my other half. 

I pulled her as close to me as I could, until our hips touched, afraid that she'd disappear. I kept telling myself that this wasn't a dream. That Heather was actually here in front of me, alive.

When she pulled back from me to catch her breath, I clung onto her like a child, resting my head on her shoulder, not letting her go. I caught sight of a head poking out from behind the curtains of a window beside the front door, and I recognized it to be Mr. Forde. There were tears in his eyes, and when he caught me staring at him, he smiled timorously before letting the curtains fall back into place.

That bastard, I thought, affectionately, thinking of Mr. Forde. That fucking bastard.

"I love you, Heather," I whispered, nuzzling her neck.

I could feel her heart stop for a moment, her breath hitching. She buried her face deeper into the crook of my neck and whispered back, "I love you, too."