First Crush, My Forever

Chapter 131

  I am already crying before Taytum finishes.

  Not quiet tears. Not polite ones. The kind that blur everything and make my chest ache like something is being pulled open and rewired right in front of everyone.

  Taytum's voice is still ringing in my ears. First love. Forever. Choosing me. Choosing KK. Choosing this life we built without asking for permission. Every word lands heavy and true and undeniable.

  I feel exposed in the best way. Seen all the way through.

  When she presses her hand over my belly, grounding herself, grounding me, I lose it completely. I bring my free hand up to cover my mouth and laugh through the tears because if I do not laugh, I might fall apart entirely.

  This woman has loved me since she was seventeen.

  Loved me quietly. Patiently. Without entitlement. Without expectation.

  Loved my child before she ever knew she would be mine forever.

  I squeeze her hands tight when she finishes and she looks at me like I am the only thing left in the world. Like she just handed me her entire heart and is standing there waiting for me to hold it. I take a breath. Then another. My baby shifts low in my belly, heavy and steady, like he knows this moment matters.

  Okay.

  I can do this.

  "Taytum," I say, and my voice wobbles immediately. She smiles at me through her own tears and nods once like she is telling me to take my time. Like she will stand here forever if she has to.

  "I don't want to remember a version of my life where you weren't there," I say softly. "Even before I understood what you were to me."

  Her throat works and she swallows hard.

  "You showed up when my world was small and scared and closed in. You showed up when I didn't know how to ask for help and when I didn't believe I deserved it."

  I feel the weight of my dad's hand leaving my arm earlier. The memory of being walked down the aisle. The way Taytum caught me the second he placed my hand in hers.

  "You loved KK before you ever loved me out loud," I continue. "You loved her like it was instinct. Like it was easy. Like it was an honor."

  KK sits in the front row, feet swinging, flower petals clinging to her dress and cape. She looks up at us like this is exactly where she expected us to be.

  "I watched you become her safe place," I say. "I watched her trust you with her whole heart. And somewhere along the way, I realized I was doing the same."

  Taytum's eyes shine and she shakes her head slightly like she cannot believe this is real.

  "You love me in ways that are quiet and loud. Steady and fierce. You love me when I am strong and when I am tired. When I am overwhelmed. When I am scared."

  "I promise to sit with you on the hard mornings and the long nights, even when neither of us has the right words."

  I press her hands into my belly gently, deliberately.

  "You love our son already. You talk to him like he can hear you. Like he belongs here. Like he is already home."

  My voice breaks fully now.

  "I promise to choose you every day. To protect your heart the way you protect mine. To build a life with you that is honest and soft and full. I promise to stand beside you and never make you wonder if you are alone." Tears slide down my cheeks and I do not wipe them away.