Three Little Words

The Window

Lauren's POV:

After my confession that wasn't supposed to occur, I walked Matt to the front door at about nine thirty. I kissed him lightly and looked into his eyes. "Drive safe" I whispered.

He smiled down at me and pressed his lips to mine again. As he pulled away, a smile was already on his face. "I will" he said with a smile. I stood on the porch and watched as he turned and walked down the stairs of our front porch. He stopped at the bottom step and turned to look at me. "I'll be here tomorrow morning to wake you up" he said with a wink before turning back and walking to his car.

I smiled and shook my head slightly, walking back inside. Mum was doing dishes while dad sat on the couch with a beer and eyes glued to the football. "I'm going to bed, I have a feeling that tomorrow is going to be a big day" I said with a sigh, walking over to mum and giving her a hug from behind as she washed the dishes.

"Night night sweetheart" She said continuing to scrub away at a plate.

I let go and stood near the dining table for a second "Night dad" I smiled as he sat on the edge of the couch, intensely focusing on the TV.

"Shh" he frowned but still kept his gaze on the footy. I smiled and walked down the hall, but I stopped and took a few steps back towards the living area. "Go, go. Yes, Mark it! Yes! GOAL!!!" I heard dad shout.

I laughed to myself and continued walking down the hall towards my room. I stopped outside the door and looked at Erin's door.  I took a step towards her door and reached for the door handle. I slowly opened it and was engulfed with the scent of coconut. I switched the light on and watched as the room suddenly lit up with a dim yellow glow.

I looked around her room. Everything was tidy and clean leaving her coconut scent fresh in the air.  I sat on the edge of her bed and looked at a photo sitting in a diamante frame on her bedside table. It was of her and me at Henley beach three years ago. I smiled at the photo and picked it up gently, because to me, it was a fragile and special object. I swiped my thumb gently across the glass, removing a thin layer of dust that had begun to settle. Our faces became brighter as we smiled into the camera with our sunglasses reflecting the bright sun into the camera lens. I smiled as I looked at how happy we looked. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes and as I blinked, I caused one single tear to fall. It was a tear of mixed emotions. It wasn't a happy tear yet it was not a sad tear.

I wiped it away from my cheek and took a deep breath in, placing the photograph back down onto the counter top. I rose from her bed and quickly dashed out of her room, shutting the door gently behind me. I walked across the hall and into the bathroom where I twisted the cold tap on and cupped my hands under the icy water. I splashed it onto my face, gasping at the intense and sudden cold feeling. I grabbed my hand towel and wiped away the extra droplets that trickled down my face and I shut the tap off.

I calmed myself down and thoroughly cleaned my teeth before making my way into my room. I grabbed my pajama pants and a t-shirt before climbing into bed.

I curled up in my bed and just laid there awake. I stared at my wall and smiled to myself. I'm really glad that I told him because it was true and I know that I have never said anything more honest in my entire life. Even though I was worried at what his reaction was going to be, he seemed to be ecstatic. You could see it in his eyes. He didn't say that he loved me back, but from the love he shows in every action and the way he looks at me, I can tell he does.

I thought about that for a while before slowly drifting to sleep with those happy thoughts slowly drifting with me.

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