A Perfect Fluke

Eight

A month later, we sold the restaurant. Liam didn't accept my part of the money. He was bent on that it was his brother's wish that I had it, and there was no argument strong enough to change his mind.

I officially moved out of Missoula and was now a permanent resident in Ballard. My tiny house was located right in front of Rosie's diner, but to be honest, I didn't spend much time home. Every week, I spent one more night at Liam's. It was like an addiction. The more time we spent together, the more we wanted to be as one.

Tonight was no exception. Liam lit the chimney in the living room and I made s'mores with Noah. We took a lot of pictures for my blog. Loki included. Noah was a bit hyper from the sweet treats, so Liam had to make him take a longer shower.

I was such a bad influence.

Loki and I were like best friends now. He didn't leave my side whenever I was in Liam's house. While we waited for Liam, I sat on the sofa, with Loki's head on my lap. My hand brushed against his back absentmindedly as I gazed at the dancing flames. The logs crackled as I reached out for a pen on my bag and I accidentally grabbed Caiden's letter instead.

I stared at it for a moment with a small smile on my lips. I always postponed reading it because I wanted to do it in a quiet moment. Only that quiet didn't seem to exist in my vocabulary anymore. Smiling to myself, I opened the envelope.

Dear Elle,

Thank you for taking the time to be here. It means a lot to me, even if I'm not there.

You're one of the people that made a difference in my life. Our time together was too short, but I know that you're intelligent, kind and sweet, and you have a great heart.

That's why I've reached out to you.

I couldn't talk to you before because I'm scared. And I don't like to be scared. But most of all, I don't like letting people know that I'm scared.

I don't know what's going to happen. If there's something more out there. I want to think there is. I want to believe that our lives are just a means to an end. But I'm not sure if I deserve it. If I've been good. If I've done something meaningful with my life.

All I know is that I want to make the best of the few weeks I have left.

And I want to ask you for a favor. It's a big favor. One of those favors that might change your life. In exchange, I want you to have half of my life's work. And I know it won't make it up to you. I might be asking too much, but I know how kind you are, so I'm asking, anyway.

Take care of my brother.

He might seem strong, but he's not. He's a great man. A devoted father. But he's lonely. He needs someone like you. And I know him. If I didn't force his stubborn ass to spend some time with you, he wouldn't.

I'm sorry I made you stay with him. Okay. I'm not sorry. At all. I'm hopeful. Hopeful that you'll see the good in him, that you'll fall in love with Noah, the brightest soul out there, and that you'll spend time with them. I can't ask you to be with Liam. I can hope that you two find each other, but I do ask you to be his friend, to be there for them both. They're all I've got and even if I were a crappy brother, Liam is here for me.

I want to make sure that he finds a friend, a true friend. One that will actually care for him. One that will open his eyes and turn his life upside down.

That's you.

I know I can count on you. I also know that you'll make sure he's okay.

So, thank you. Thank you for being there for me even if you didn't know me. I wrote you once to your blog. I told you I was sick, and I remember your kind words, how you made me feel hopeful, how you made me feel like I mattered. And you didn't know it was me, and that didn't stop you to be kind. Thank you.

Have a great life, Ella.

Live. Be happy. You deserve it.

Love,

Caiden

(Confined345 in your blog)

Tears rolled down my cheeks as I closed the letter. My heart felt warm. I leaned on Loki, who looked up and nuzzled against my arm.

Oh Caiden. Thank you. So much.

"Hey," Liam sat beside me. "Are you okay?"

Sitting up, I sniffled some more unshed tears. "I read Caiden's letter."

His gaze was mesmerizing as he stared at me. He leaned closer and kissed me on the forehead before passing an arm around my shoulders and pulling me to him. "I take it he actually wrote you a letter, then."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

His chest reverberated as he chuckled. "He wrote me something along the line of don't you fucking let her go, you dimwit. Actually, those were his actual words."

Smiling, I pulled away to look at him. "For real?"

"Yes." He nodded before those dimples appeared again. "Caiden was something, huh?"

"He's like a modern guardian angel."

"Or a crappy cupid," he raised an eyebrow, and I rolled my eyes playfully. "But I'll always be thankful that he brought you to my life. Even if you're a hazard in the kitchen or you're making Rosie cook healthy stuff." I opened my mouth to protest when he leaned in and kissed me lightly. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Truthfully, me neither. 

Thank you so much for reading this story!! Don't forget that it's part of the Weak in the Knees anthology!! 

It has 7 short stories by 7 different Authors!

The Anthology is Free on Smashwords!!! You will be able to pick your format when you click on the Smashwords link. This includes: for kobo, mobi for kindle, ibooks, PDF, and even through an online viewer!!Check out my profile for the links!It is also available for Amazon for kindle for $0.99, and all royalties will go to charity! The charity will be picked by the readers that attend the anthology's release event Sunday 4/23/17.Thank you guys and I hope you enjoy it!!