You, Minus the Fame

Chapter 32

      I tied the laces of my shoes and looked at myself in the mirror. This time, I saw a girl. A girl who wasn't perfect, but wasn't hideous either. She had long blonde hair, brown eyes, and smooth skin. She was me and for the first time, I was okay with that girl being who I was. To me she wasn't someone who needed to wear a bag over her head, but instead show her face to the world and be fine with people seeing it. 

      I couldn't help but smile. A week had passed since Britney and I's talk, and things had changed. At first I had ignored what she said. I went on with my misery until I finally realized I couldn't bare to have a life without Reece. A life without the very guy who made me so happy. Britney was right, it was stupid to give him up because of other irrelevant people.

       She was also right about the fact that people will always judge you. No matter who you were or where you were, people will judge you. It's a part of life and there was no avoiding it. That thought made me realize that Reece's life would be manageable. Now knowing that no matter what you do people would judge, I knew to ignore what they say. All I had to do was believe in myself and know my place here on this world, and go on with life. Otherwise, I'd be making stupid mistakes like the one I made.

     My smile grew as I turned around and grabbed the doorknob, leading to outside. The second I did that, the doorbell ring. Moving back quickly, I frowned and then opened the door, expecting a salesman. To my shock, it wasn't.

     There in front of me was Reece. Reece with a fiery determination in his eyes and his body stiff as he stared at me. My jaw couldn't help but drop, knowing I hadn't seen him ever since our break up. He hadn't called, texted, or anything since the break up, and I was just about to go talk to him about my mistake. This was a strange turn of events.

     "Hey," Reece said, breathless. "Uh... I need to talk to you."

     "About?" I asked, tilting my head in confusion.

     I couldn't believe he was here. Honestly, I had expected him to be done with me. After everything I had put him through, I expected him to give up on me. This sent chills through me.

     "Us," Reece answered, stepping forward. "I think you made a mistake and - wait. Are you going out now? Do you think we could talk for a bit?"

     "I was going to go out," I said, smiling shyly. "To see you."

     His eyes widened in surprise. As blush filled his cheeks, my heart skipped a beat. I had to mentally tell myself not to kiss him as we stood there, staring at each other.

     "Really?" Reece didn't bother to hide his shock. "You were going to see me?"

     "Yeah." I smiled, taking his hand in mine. "Come in."

     I led him inside and my heart skipped a beat as he intertwined our fingers together. The fear of seeing him vanished as I noticed how perfectly we fit together still. Even with our break up, I could tell Reece still wanted me. Britney was right. Reece was the guy to make me feel good about myself.

     I led him to the couch that lay against a wall. We both sat down in unison, leaving little space between us. I had missed him. I had missed him so much.

     "Reece," I said, smiling at the fact that Reece hadn't let go of my hand. "I'm sorry. I am so sorry."

     "I am too," he said, staring at me with sad eyes. "I should have done something to control my fans. I should have lectured them and told them what they were doing was wrong. Instead I did nothing, and that led to your feelings being hurt. Any human would be hurt by their words, and I was too ignorant when I thought you could just ignore it. I'm sorry."

     I stared at him, surprised he was apologizing. But to my surprise, his words made me relax. I knew I wasn't perfect, but it was nice knowing he knew he wasn't either. We had both played our parts in our break up, and it was good to know we were owing up to them now.

     "Yeah," I said. "And I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have broken up with you just because of what other's were saying. My sister told me that people will always judge you. No matter what, there will be people who won't like you in this world. That made me realize I needed to stop worrying. Not everyone in the world is going to treat you right and you're going to have to ignore that and focus on the positives. I know that now."

       Reece began to smile, which made my rapidly beating heart calm down. I hadn't expected this to be so easy, but I guess it was because I loved him. With Reece, I could be whoever I was without a care. Soon I needed to learn to do that with everyone.

       "And you know what," I continued on. "You're not someone I want to ever give up on. I won't lie to you, the thought of having attention on me terrifies me. But honestly, if it means keeping the one guy who makes me happy - the one guy who makes me feel almost perfect, I'm going to ignore what others say. This time, I'll actually try to become a better me."

      "Are you sure?" Reece asked breathlessly. "You don't have to do this for me."

       "Reece, I've been miserable since the break up." I looked down shyly. "More miserable than how any stranger could make me feel. I thought I was protecting myself, but in the end I ended up filled with regret and misery. I want this. I really do."

       "Really?" Reece whispered, his eyes uncertain.

      Shaking my head, a stab of pain shot through me. Somehow, I made Reece insecure. Smiling, confident Reece. Staring at those uncertain eyes, I suddenly cupped his face. For once I would make my own bold move.

      Leaning in, I kissed him. Gently and with all the passion I could muster, I let our lips mould together. He sighed in relief as I did that and began to kiss me back, showing me he loved me too by the passion of his lips. I couldn't but smile as we fit perfectly with each other.

       Before I knew it, we were kissing more passionately. There was no space between us as I had my fingers in his hair and he had his hands running down my back. My breathing became uneven as nothing but Reece mattered at that moment. With him and I as one person, I felt happier than I had been in a while.

      I moved away from him for a second and pressed my lips to his jaw. I trailed kisses along his jawline and he mumbled something incoherent, which brought a smile to my lips. Blush filled my cheeks as I knew around him I was free to do whatever I wanted. He was mine and I was his, and Reece was a pallet I could draw across. I brought my lips to his neck then, wanting to draw on him some more.

             Before I could bring my lips to his neck however, he grabbed my shoulders and pushed me away gently. His eyes were wide and I noticed how dilated his pupils were. More blush filled my cheeks at the thought of how I did that to Reece.

       "Whoa," Reece said, shocked. "You weren't kidding about changing.

      I giggled, slightly embarrassed. "Sorry, I should relax. It's just been so long since we've been together."     

       "I know." He smiled, pressing his lips against my forehead quickly. "But we will have many days ahead of us. Days where..."

       He didn't finish off his sentence. Instead he brought his lips to mine, kissing me so passionately I felt like I would burst from how much love he was expressing. Closing my eyes, I knew I had done the right thing. I knew that I loved him more than anything in the world as he had the ability to make me feel secure for the first time in eighteen years.

      "Oh my god," he said, pulling away from me suddenly. "I love you Cara Daniels."

       "And I love you," I whispered, pulling him towards me for another kiss.

       As we began to kiss again, I suddenly felt emotional. Finally. Finally after so long did I feel secure being with him. There was no fear in me. I didn't care about anything but us. The thought left me kissing Reece harder, knowing life was definitely looking bright.