Love Me Back

Chapter 22

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Finn set down his pen and rubbed his aching wrists. He couldn't believe the irony--why would he write to someone that has always put him as their second choice?

Folding the letter delicately into the envelope, he collapsed onto his bed, not bothering to take off his shoes, and lay there for hours, until the moon was once again replaced with the sun, and sunlight once again lit up the world.

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Dear Cara,

I know I should probably stop writing these letters, but I can't fucking do it. I wish I could.

Cara, do you still love me?

You were the only person that has ever bothered to treat me like I actually existed in front of everyone else. Even Cal and Wilson would avoid me sometimes.

You knew I had no real friends, and yet you still loved me. It had been like that, ever since I was the new kid in second grade. You had stood up for me in front of those bullies that took my lunch every day, even though it made no difference.

You cared.

It's too bad that I only realized how much I needed you after you left.

Forever yours,

Finn

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Cara woke up to the feeling of someone repeatedly tapping her shoulder. She shrugged it off, but after a moment's hesitation, it came back.

"Cara." Ace's gentle voice woke her from her slumber. She struggled to lift herself up and rubbed her groggy eyes.

"What?" Her voice croaked, and she squinted at the blinding sunlight streaming in through the uncovered window.

Instead of answering, Ace handed her a letter.

"You woke me up so you could give me a letter?" Cara rolled her eyes at him exasperatedly.

"Not just any letter," he responded, curling her fingers around the envelope.

Cara turned the envelope over, and in Finn's--Finn's--godawful handwriting, the envelope told her that it was for her.

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Finn sat in the booth nearest the door, the steam from his warm coffee mug wafting upwards, and the heat from the cup warming his hands. Ace had left half an hour ago, with the task of delivering a letter from Finn, and he hadn't returned.

He impatiently tapped his fingers on the table and stared out of the window at the pedestrians walking through the fading sunlight. He heard the ding-a-ling of the chimes above the cafe door, saw the barista look up, sigh, and look back down at the coffee machines as Ace walked back in through the door. Finn shot out of his chair and raced towards him.

"How'd it go?" Finn asked, running his fingers through his hair.

"I mean, I gave her the letter," said Ace. "I don't know if she's read it yet."

"Oh."

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Cara almost ripped the letter in half the instant she saw his handwriting. What was this? Was he trying to guilt-trip her? She stormed her way downstairs and left Ace's apartment. She sat down on a rock under the shade of a tree and she scrutinized the letter from every angle, debating whether or not to open it. The more she looked at the letter, the more memories of Finn flooded her mind. She couldn't stand it any longer. Cara ripped to letter in tiny vertical stripes and watched them float down to the pavement, watching as the wind gently pick up the scraps of paper and carry them away into the sky.

Cara turned around and began to walk back to Ace's apartment when she felt something sticking to the edge of her shoulder. She plucked it out.

It was a piece of paper from the letter she had torn apart. Cara flipped the blank side over and felt a wave of sympathy wash over her as she read.

"It's too bad that I only realized how much I needed you after you left."

Cara cried.