Because I Love You

Chapter 5: Happy Ending

She had escaped from the house while they were busy yelling at each other, trudging up through the park, clouds of her breath showing in the early morning air.

She sat at the edge of the lake shivering, looking out over the grey waters bitterly. Morning mist hung over the water, obscuring the rocks and boulders on the opposite shore. It reminded her of a story she had read once, about a place called Avalon during King Arthur's time. It was supposed to be a place of great mystery and magic, and for a moment she wished it would appear before her so she could leave this place forever.

She had had him. For one night, Michael had been hers, he had told her he had loved her, and then reality crashed through the door wearing a silk robe.

There was a large rock lying on the ground and she threw it with all her might, sending up a big splash, droplets cascading in the air. She found a slightly smaller one and threw that as well. Then another, and another and another. After a while she ran out of big rocks and scrabbled for smaller pebbles and threw in a handful of them, each making tiny splashes out on the water.

And then she cried. She cried for the pain she had endured when she had been raped, she cried for the loss of her innocence. But most of all she cried because she loved Michael with all her heart, and he was probably considering their night to be one of the biggest mistakes of his life. She was still sobbing when she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, and realized someone had come up quietly behind her, and was just sitting down by her side.

"Michael," she said, wiping tears away with the back of her hand. "I didn't hear you coming, I just wanted some time alone."

"Do you always come here when you feel the need to bawl your eyes out?" he asked, and she looked up into the soft blue eyes that had made her heart pound since freshman year of high school.

"Only when I'm in the area," she said, sniffing, and wiping her runny nose on her sleeve. He pulled a crumpled tissue from his pocket and gave it to her. She blew her nose loudly.

"Did you honestly think having Emma show up would make anything that happened between us last night meaningless?" he asked, and she froze, trying to keep her face neutral.

"Well, she's your girlfriend, right?" She said, looking out over the water. "And I'm just someone you had to watch for the weekend." Michael turned her head so she was looking directly into his eyes.

"Jamie, you are not just someone who I had to look after. You have been my best friend, my confidant and the love of my life since the first day I met you."

"Michael I-"

" I said that I loved you. More than once. Why did you run away? Doesn't that mean anything to you?" He demanded, roughly.

Jamie looked away, tossing some more pebbles into the water. Michael grabbed her head in both hands and turned her to face him. "Look at me!" he demanded, his voice sharp. "What were you thinking?" To his surprise he saw a tear well up in her eye and her chin quivered, as she tried to hold back tears.

"I was thinking," she said slowly, "that maybe you let down your guard feeling sorry for me, and that you weren't thinking clearly. I was thinking you don't deserve a basket-case like me who is still going to have to go through a lot of therapy and who ruins your current relationship without thinking of the consequences. And I was thinking, that you thought the whole thing was a mistake and wanted to tell me that you wished the whole thing had never happened. So, go on," She challenged him, "just get it over with already."

Michael let go of her and she went beck to throwing pebbles back in the water. She heard his sharp exhale of exasperation.

"If that's what you think of yourself then maybe I should." He said, and Jamie felt her heart twinge painfully. "The only problem is, you made me feel happier then I have ever felt in my life, and I would be an idiot to throw that away."

"What about Emma?" she asked, turning her head slightly to look at him. He brushed his bangs out of his eyes and look off into the distance.

"Emma...may have mentioned a few things when she was tearing a strip into me that made me realize she was not as faithful to me as she pretended to be. She also cannot hold a candle to the person I want to spend the rest of my life with." He glanced at Jamie and she looked away, blushing furiously. Her voice sounded hoarse as she protested.

"Michael, I still have a lot of problems, I jump at every small sound, I'm terrified of going anywhere with people, I'm probably going to drive you crazy waking up from nightmares, and if they ever catch those guys I'll have to go to court and testify..." Michael grabbed her roughly by the shoulders and turned her to face him again.

"I want you to remember two things Jamie. First: I decide what makes me happy. Not you. And two: We will get through everything together. So long as we trust and rely on each other. Understand?

Jamie nodded numbly, a tear running down her cheek. And then Michael's arms were around her and he was hugging her fiercely. "Don't ever do that again," he said, his voice muffled in her hair. She simply nodded, at loss for words, a large lump in her throat.

She felt his hand tilting her chin up, and then he was kissing her gently, cradling her head in his hands. Jamie's arms were around his neck and she clung to him, kissing him back and feeling as she would burst from happiness in his arms.

The sun rose bright and golden as the mist disappeared, shinning down on the couple on the lakeshore. It was going to be a beautiful clear day, and for the moment, all was right in the world.

Authors Note: Hello everyone. So in case you are wondering, yes, this is the end of the story. There was a time when I was considering developing it more, adding in a few chapters to let Jamie heal more and give Michael a storyline where he actually sees Emma's infidelity in person, but honestly the point of the story is clear.

A girl goes through a horrible event, and true love saves her. The end.

Is it unrealistic? Yes. But there are times when I wish that my problems could've been solved as easily. Perhaps there will be other readers who wish for the same thing. Regardless, this story is over, but I hoped you enjoyed it!