One Day Series: Life Changes (Book One) #Wattys2016

Chapter Thirty

Hey!! Thanks so much for all of the reads and likes! You guys are awesome! With all the stress I've been filling this past week I've decided to not update next week. I need to spend all the time I can studying for my finals so I can actually graduate. I'll update when finals are over with. Thanks for understanding!! Enjoy!!!-expressionwriter

My eyes fluttered opened. I was in my bed. When did I get here? How did I get here? Michael stepped closer to the bed. Oh. I guess that explains all of my questions.

I positioned myself onto the wheelchair and pushed myself out of the room. Michael followed me. Right now isn't a good time for us to talk about us. A note was left for us on the countertop in the kitchen. Reese and Lillian were going to be running errands for the day. That means I really am stuck with Michael.

"How are you feeling?" Michael asked. I shrugged my shoulders. "Okay. So, tomorrow we're supposed to go back home. I'm trying not to push, but I want to talk."

"If I go back, then all of this won't feel real. But if I stay I know I'll be making a poor choice. I just have no idea what to do, Michael. How can we have a relationship back home? School is ending and you'll have to continue your life. Everyday we're together I feel like I hold you back. I hate feeling like that." I said.

"You aren't holding me back, Emily. What if my future is with you? Just think about that. Break down your walls and think. Let your heart lead your life. You're so much more than you give yourself." Michael cupped my face in his hands. We smiled at each other. Let your heart lead you. "What are you thinking about?"

"Us. I-I don't know, Michael. Nobody wants me. I don't even want me. Being here is such a life changing experience. This is the life I was supposed to have. We weren't even supposed to know each other."

"I want you and your birth family wants you. Who cares about the people who neglected you? Who cares that you never got to grow up here? The thing, Emily, is that you didn't. Don't let the fact that you should've dictate your future. I feel something when I'm with you. And I can't be the only feeling it. Open up to me. Look into your heart and tell me what you feel, Emily."

For a few minutes I stared off into space. One by one my walls were falling. I could actually feel something besides alienated. I felt accepted.

"What do you feel when you're with me, Michael?"

"I feel completed."

"For as long as I could remember I finally feel accepted. You accept me for me." I started crying. Michael wrapped himself around me. "I guess we finally talked, huh?" He nodded, tightening his grip on me.

"Yes, we did. What do you want to do today?" I shrugged my shoulders. There wasn't much I wanted to do besides stay in the house.

"We're home!" Reese yelled. They walked into the living room. All we were doing was watching TV. But I wasn't paying any attention to it. "I see you two have accomplished so much today. How about you two heat up the leftovers and we eat at the table?"

"Or we could go out?" Michael suggested. "Come on. We can even go down to the plaza and downtown. It'll be fun."

"Great idea! Emily, are you up for it?" Lillian asked. I nodded. We all got ready and left for the plaza. The drive was a little crazy because all the stupid drivers decided to drive around us.

Once we found a parking spot, Michael helped me into my wheelchair and pushed me around, while following Reese and Lillian. They walked into a nice restaurant. It was pretty nice. The waiter took our orders and left. We stayed there for about two hours.

After dinner, Michael continued pushing me as we went into a few stores, and looked around downtown. Everywhere was lit up. It looked so beautiful. We didn't have this back home. At least that I know of we don't. 

"This was a lot of fun. Thanks for taking us." Michael said. We went back into the car and left for home. It really was a lot of fun. It helped me take my mind off certain things. "So, tomorrow we leave, I guess. Anything else you want to do tomorrow, Emily?"

"Yeah, there is actually." I answered. Michael gave me a weird look. "Who knows when I'll come back to this amazing place? We're going to take a bunch of pictures of the entire house and create a panorama. I want to have this place with me forever. Can you help me?" He nodded. "Great. Let's get started then."

The rest of the night we took pictures of a few of the rooms in the house. Tomorrow we'd finish the rest. I'm excited. This project is another way for me to be at peace with myself. So much has happened. I would have never thought that I was actually kidnapped. Being adopted I can believe, but being taken away like I was, that's something I'm still trying to cope with.

We slept on my bed. I felt happy being in Michael's arms. His warmth comforted me. This was something I have never been given the chance to feel. It was exciting to feel something new.

"Emily...?" Michael whispered.

"Yeah?"

"It's morning."

"I know."

"We have to finish taking the pictures, pack, and make it to the airport on time. I have a problem."

"What's that?"

"Make that two, actually. One, I don't want to get up. Two, if we go back home, then this won't feel real. I don't want to forget about these past few days because they have been the best days in forever."

"I know. Maybe, just maybe, we can still have this feeling when we go back. It'll always feel real to me, Michael." We got up and continued taking the pictures. 

After a couple of hours, we finally finished the panorama of the house. Michael helped me pack my stuff into my bag after he finished packing his stuff.

"Come out when you're ready, Emily." Reese said. I nodded and looked into the house. Michael was waiting at the bottom of the steps.

This was my home. I was taken away from it. But that's not what I want to remember this house by. I want to remember it as a new beginning of hope for my future. That this was the house I finally broke down my walls and let my heart lead me on this difficult trail to the path I belong on. This time I get to say goodbye to what should've been mine. So...

"Goodbye."

Michael helped me into the car and we left for the airport. We boarded our plane. Not long later we took off into the bright sky for the trip back home. I'm glad I got to experience the power of family and love.