Belief

7.6

Maddie's POV

My internal senses are at war, the numbing cold of the rain pounding against my back is freezing my body solid, but every touch from Ashton warms a spot of my body. The battle between the ice and the fire. The ice reminds me of the pain I had just gone through, the narrow loss, the prospect of living a life without my other half. The fire shows me the passion, it is a wild fire, one that springs up in the middle of the night without a warning and devouring everything in its path. My feelings for Ashton have been hidden under the dirt waiting to spring up into a raging fire that is now quickly feasting my body.

His arms wrap around my waist effortlessly, pulling me closer to him as his forehead rests against mine. I can feel his chest rising and falling unevenly, his body still in shock from the kiss we had only a moment before. He closes his eyes, mouth dauntingly close to mine, his breath against my lips, just holding onto the feeling. The feeling of having me.

I close my eyes, this feeling, the numbing coldness fading and being replaced with burning warmth, this feeling is what I hold onto. The feeling of being in Ash's arms feels so right, I feel so - complete.

"Should we get out of the rain?" I look up at him as a raindrop falls down his nose and drips onto my lip. My voice is half drowned out by the night traffic behind us.

Ashton nods, grabbing my hands and trying to hover over me to protect me from getting wet, but with the downpour it is a lost cause. Once the thunder starts we make a run for the car, collapsing inside, out of breath and soaking wet. We catch our breath, sitting in silence.

Ashton watches me with a bashful smile. He shakes his hair out, sprits of water hitting me. The sounds of the rain pounding against the hood of the car is amplified in the small space. His eyes fall to his letter resting on the dashboard, the letter that led me to him.

"You read this?" His eyes scan the paper.

"Well I couldn't find the second page," I shrug, unable to keep my eyes off of him as he reads his writing. I watch his eyes soften as he reads the words he forgot he had written, a smile coming to his lips.

"There is no second page," he glances back up at me, his smile widening when he sees me watching him.

"Why not?"

Ashton lets out a half sigh, half chuckle, "I couldn't admit to myself that I love you. It hurt too much to admit it at the time."

I reach over, finding his hands and clutching them in mine. "This whole time?" Is all I can manage to say.

"Ever since that night," Ashton looks away.

"How did you hide it for so long?" I whisper, reaching up to brush some of the leftover drops of rain from his face.

Ashton lets out a shaky breath, "I saw how happy you were with Luke and I couldn't bring myself to take that from you. I wanted you to be happy, even if it wasn't with me. Telling you would have been selfish of me."

He kept his feelings inside for over a year just to keep me happy, just to put me first. "That is what real love is." I rub my thumb against his cheek. He loves me in his actions, not in fake words or touches. He loves me in the way he helped me through every stumble in my life, the way he knew every little thing about me, the way he masked his feelings on my behalf.

Ashton grins, reaching over and tracing my jawline slowly with his finger, stopping on my chin and leaning over to press his lips against mine. I close my eyes, taking in the feeling, but I can't help but smile against his lips. Before I know it I start giggling, Ashton's lips pausing against my own as I continue to laugh.