Finishing Crazy

Finishing Crazy (14)

I stand there, completely frozen.

He’s surprised, I can tell. I don’t think he expected me to see him just yet- or maybe I wasn’t supposed to see him at all.

Once the thought enters my brain, I know it’s true. I am not supposed to know that Bryan is my donor.

He looks at me with a curious expression, waiting to see what I’ll do. I’m frozen for a long moment, though, and time seems to slow down as I give my brain a moment to process what just happened. All the frustration, anger and confusion at his disappearance slowly melt away, dissipating until there’s nothing left but happiness and gratitude.

Bryan is the reason I’m living. He’s my donor.

 I keep telling myself this until it embeds itself in my brain, and I am overcome with emotions so strong I think I may just collapse.

Without any further hesitation, I throw my arms around Bryan, wrapping him in a tight hug. It throws him off balance a little bit- he’s not recovered yet- but he returns it with just as much verve. I bury my head in his chest as I feel tears of gratitude and happiness streaming down my face. His head automatically rests on top of mine and I hear him let out a contented sigh.

“I don’t know what the heck I would do without you.” I whisper, pulling my head away to look at him, but keeping my arms around his neck.

“You’d be even crazier.” Bryan whispers back, smiling and gently wiping my tears with his thumb.

I laugh. “I know.” I say. “I just… can’t even begin to say how much this means to me.” I pause for a moment, overwhelmed completely. “I… you saved my life.”

I reach up on my tiptoes so we’re the same height. Pausing slightly, I kiss his cheek. Heat rises up from where my lips brushed his skin and I feel chills run throughout my body. Bryan pulls me into him even closer, our foreheads touching.

“So, does this change things?” He whispers.

“Yes, but you’ll always drive me crazy.” I say breathlessly.

He stares at me for a long moment before saying anything.

“What?” I ask curiously, wanting to know what he’s thinking about.

“I’ve never noticed how beautifully blue your eyes are.” he whispers as his hand withdraws itself from around me to brush a strand of hair away from my face. His hands take place in my hair to hold me captive as his lips meet mine halfway. The butterflies in my stomach free themselves and my own hands reach up to him, one on his shoulder and one on his chest. He pulls me in closer, and I feel all my defenses come down as I give into him completely, entirely.

Then, all too soon, he releases himself from me, a pained look in his eyes.

“You’ve always been so beautiful.” He says quietly. “When you told me that we… couldn’t happen, I tried to stop liking you, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t do it.”

“Then don’t.” I tell him softly, reaching my hand out to trace his lower lip.

“Why?” His head tilts to the side, waiting for my confession.

“Because I can’t stop liking you either,” I whisper, realizing its truth the moment the words slip out of my mouth. I’ve liked Bryan this whole summer; I’ve just been pushing it away because I thought I was going to die. With everything he’s done for me, and how much he truly cares, how could I not? He’s perfect.

Bryan takes his arms and scoops me up in them, standing upright and kissing me again, hard and passionately. I can feel my whole body go limp and my brain go fuzzy as heat rises to the surface of my lips. I feel chills course throughout my entire body and the butterflies in my stomach go crazy at the verve he’s kissing me with. It’s one of those kisses that makes you feel dizzy and want more. When he finally breaks away, he looks at me with a smile in his eyes.