18 Letters to You [Completed]

SEVEN

Stella

I'm drifting in and out of sleep when I hear the front door open and shut, footsteps creaking on the old floor, and something being dropped, along with a muted curse word.

My heart is beating too loudly and my throat feels like it is closing up on me. I frantically look for my cell phone but it is not where I normally keep it. So I grab a hard cover book from my nightstand. I'm walking slowly over to my bedroom door, I'm hoping if I can hit them with the book they will be stunned enough for me to make a run for it or scream loud enough that someone will help me.

The door to my room opens before I have a chance to open it so the book is just covering my face and not being used in the way I intended.

I hear a deep familiar laugh as the book is gently taken from my hands, "what were you planning on doing with that?" I finally look up at the intruder and am met with a face I know by heart.

"What are you doing here?" I ask Rory. My mind is racing and I can't seem to catch my breath. I turn on the lights in the room and sit on the edge of my bed with my hands covering my face.

I hear Rory move closer to me, he kneels in front of me and removes my hands, kisses my forehead, "I missed you," he says quietly.

I shake my head, "stop."

Rory looks hurt for a second before he nods and leaves my room. I'm about to call him back but I can't find my voice.

I follow him out to make sure he isn't leaving because that is the last thing I want him to do.

He isn't. He is setting up a makeshift bed on the old lumpy couch. He smiles at me like this isn't strange. Like he hasn't spent the last five years in the same bed as me and now he is fine sleeping apart from me. Maybe in the time we've been away from each other he's become used to being without me and it doesn't hurt him every single time he sees his bed empty.

"I'm not okay with this," I say and I'm not sure what I mean. Rory raises his eyebrows like he is just as confused as I am.

"What aren't you okay with?" he asks.

I shrug, "all of it. You leaving me here and not speaking to me. You just showing up here, that is really not okay with me, Rory."

He walks over to me, his steps are cautious. We have never been cautious around each other before and it hurts. I hate seeing the fear in his eyes as he places his hand on my cheek, "I'm going to make this better. I promise."

I take a step back, his hand falls to his side, he looks like he is going to cry, "God, Stella, this isn't the reunion I was hoping for," he sounds so tired and he looks so tired.

I want to wipe away the bags from under his eyes, force him to get his haircut, make sure his diet doesn't consist of only coffee and french fries.

But now it is like we running on two parallel lines hoping that one day they might intersect again.

"I don't know what you expected when you just showed up here unannounced," I say.

He shakes his head, "I'm not leaving until we figure all of this out. No more letters, no more missed phone calls, we are fixing this, Stella. We have to," he is desperate.

I nod and retreat back into our bedroom, wondering how it became ours again so quickly.

***

I still can't sleep hours later so I venture out to the kitchen to get a glass of water. Rory is sleeping on the couch, his long legs stretched over the arm rest.

Rory's phone sits on the countertop and a text comes in from Perry right as I set my glass down,

Have you convinced her to come to Nashville yet? We need her.

I look at Rory and wonder if everything he is saying is a lie.

***

Well that was not the reunion we wanted!!

Do you think they will work everything out before Rory goes back?

Will Stella go to Nashville with him?!

Thanks for reading <3

Updates will now be Monday, Wednesday, and Friday!

-Brooke