The One and Only [COMPLETED]

Chapter 35

Guess who's back from the dead?! Not me, that's for sure. So yeah, here is the final chapter to The One and Only! Yay! I just want to say thank you thank you thank you to ALL of you! If you hate this book, if you love this book, it doesn't matter, because you gave it a try and that in itself means so much to me! So thank you! I'm going to rant a little more in my author's note, but I'll let you get to reading right now. Enjoy :)

The song above is WILD by Troye Sivan. Doesn't really have anything to do with the chapter, I just love him so much!

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Chapter 35

Andrew's POV

I wake up with a throbbing ache in my neck. I'm in the same position as when I fell asleep last night, but the cake and my jacket that were beside me are now gone. There's a numbness in my legs from the knee down, and when I try to lift one it feels like dead weight. It's not until I see the sunlight streaming through the window that I realize that Hailey might still be out there. And when my heartbeat picks up, I realize that I want her to be there.

Slowly and carefully, I rise to my feet while my once-numb legs begin to tingle back to life. I do a quick stretch and walk to the window at the front of the room and peel back the curtain just enough to see the porch. There's the potted green plant that Karen keeps by the front door, the welcome mat, the small circular table that Karen keeps beside the porch swing where she puts a few magazines, and then there's the cushioned wooden porch swing, and on it sat Hailey. A book was in her hands and her bare feet were propped up on one arm of the swing, her back pressed against the other. Her hair was now thrown up messily into a bun, and black smudges of eyeliner marked under her eyes.

But she's here. That's all I care about.

Walking barefoot to the door in a crumpled button-down and slacks, I rip the door open and take determined steps in Hailey's direction. She looks up when she sees me coming and closes her book right as I reach her. And without thinking twice I pull her to her feet, her book falling to the ground, and brace my hands on either side of her face and crash my parted lips onto hers. A surprised squeak comes from her throat, but the sound doesn't make it past her lips, because soon she's relaxing into the kiss and wrapping her arms around my waist to pull me flush against her. I slip my tongue between her slightly parted lips to meet hers, and in response she turns her head moderately to deepen the kiss.

We stay like that for a moment, tangled limbs and lips, and then I pull away and rest my forehead on hers while we both catch our breaths. Only a few seconds have gone by when Hailey says, "You made me drop my book."

I smile and plant dozens of kisses all over her face, making her laugh. Once I stop, I pull away from her completely, besides taking her hand, and ask the question that's been going through my head. "Did you stay here all night?"

She smiles and places a lighthearted kiss on my nose. "Of course I did. I said I would, didn't I?"

I find myself blushing, thinking of the other words she said as well. "Yeah, but I didn't think you would actually do it. I mean, did you sleep at all? Were you cold?"

"Not so much cold as I was scared an axe murderer would see a lonely teenage girl and take the opportunity to slaughter me. And as far as sleeping goes, I maybe got two or three hours worth, but not because of the axe murderer." The tone of her voice is all I need to hear to know she's talking about me.

"Look," I avert my eyes to her hand in mine and began to fiddle with her fingers. "I'm really sorry about walking away like that. I was a complete idiot and I promise it will never happen again."