Chapter 23

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I shut my phone, the butterflies in my stomach growing as my brain wraps around what I’d just done. We’d decided to meet at the park so I quickly start packing up my backpack so I could get home and change before heading over there.

“Are you going to talk to him?” a voice asks causing me to jump. I look over and see Haley’s eyes on me. “That was him on the phone right?” she asks. I nod.

“The video today…” I say trailing off in explanation. She nods her head in understanding, sitting up with a yawn.

“Go get him girl” she says with a wink. I laugh slightly, shaking my head as I sling my backpack over my shoulder.

“I’ll see you at school on Monday” I say with a smile as I walk out the door, picking up my pace as I hurry home.

I get to the park and I see Harry sitting on the bench fidgeting nervously. I hesitate a moment, trying to calm the butterflies that had seemed to have multiplied by a hundred.

“Hey” I say softly walking the couple steps over to the bench. He jumps up nervously and I think I see a trace of fear in his eyes.

“Look if this is about the song, I wasn’t trying to make it seem like you were to blame or anything.” He says rushed. A smile cracks my face.

“Sit down Harry” I say as I sit down on the bench, patting the seat. He hesitates for a second before sitting down. He looks down at his fingers, picking the skin around the nail bed, as if waiting to hear bad news. “Harry, these videos are the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me—“

“And I meant it. Every word” he says interrupting me, looking up at me. I nod, seeing the sincerity in his eyes.

“I know Haz. It’s just…what you did that made you do those videos” I say, feeling a lump form in my throat. I clear my throat, determined to say all that I’d been thinking without breaking down. “Harry, you don’t understand how hard this has been for me. I move to a new place where I know no one and have no family, and then when I finally think I’ve met someone, he goes and breaks my heart. How am I supposed to trust you after this Harry?” I ask, feeling the tears prick my eyes. I look down at my hands hoping he doesn’t notice.

“Maedbh” he says softly. When I don’t respond he takes my hand and I look up seeing the sorry written all over his expression. My eyes flick back to the ground. I hated seeing him look so hurt. “Maedbh I’m so sorry. I don’t know how I can make you understand. If I could take back everything, I’d do it in a heartbeat. But you need to realize, everything I told you, every thing we spoke about. That was me. I never lied to you. I never told anyone any of the things you told me. I know it’s a lot to ask, but all I want is a second chance.” I nod my head.

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about” I say taking a deep breath and looking up into those bright green eyes. “I’m giving you a second chance.” His expression instantly brightens, all pain leaving his eyes. He opens his mouth to speak but I hold up a finger telling him to wait a moment. “On two conditions.” He nods his head quickly, agreeing to them before I even say them. “One, we’ll go slow. Just because I forgave you, doesn’t mean I don’t need time to rebuild the trust.” He nods his head quickly agreeing.

“I’ll earn back your trust, I swear,” he promises. I nod my head before continuing.

“Two, if you ever lie to me again, ever break my heart, it’s over.” He nods his head again.

“That’ll never happen” he swears. I give him a small smile standing up.

“Where are you going?” he asks curiously.

“To visit Caellum, and aren’t you supposed to be at the bakery right now?” I ask raising an eyebrow watching guilt flash across his expression.

“This was more important” he says. I laugh slightly, shaking my head.

“We’ll see if Uncle Si agrees” I say as he stands up also.

“Oh god…” Harry groans. “Your Uncle probably hates me.” I chuckle, nodding my head.

“Looks like I’m not the only one that you’ll have to win back over. Maybe you should make him some videos” I say teasingly. He laughs and I smile, glad to see the old happy Harry again.

“Maybe I will” he says jokingly. We get to the edge of the park where we were going opposite directions. Before I have time to react, he’s pulled me into his arms. My eyes flutter closed as I breathe in his scent, my head against his chest. Safe. That’s what it felt like. For the first time in a long time.

“Bye Haz” I say softly.

“I’ll call you tonight” he says softly and I nod before pulling back and starting the walk towards the hospital. I glance back over my shoulder seeing Harry standing there still. A smile breaks out on my face as I look back forward shaking my head.

I get to the hospital and stop by the nurse’s station to say hello to the nurse on staff and to check up on how Caellum has been. She updates me on his treatment, telling me how they started him on a new medicine that has proven effective so far in waking people from similar situations. I feel a flutter of hope but the look on her face tells me it’s unwarranted. The treatment was still relatively new and most of the people in the study hadn’t been in a coma for as long as Caellum has been, she explains. I nod, but the hope doesn’t leave and as I walk to Caellum’s room, there is an extra bounce in my step.

“Hey bud, how ya doing?” I ask him, sitting down in the chair beside him like normal. “Ready to hear Harry’s new song?” I ask, pulling out my laptop. I glance up at him, looking for any trace of response but there isn’t one. “It was really beautiful. I talked to him today. I decided I’d give him a second chance.” I tell him as I pull up the video. I smile and push play, letting Harry’s voice ring out throughout the room. A smile forms on my face as I watch him sing again. This time it doesn’t make me sad to watch. It makes me happy. Happy he cared enough to do this for me. Cared enough to try to get me back. The song ends and I look up at Caellum. My eyes widen and I freeze before I’m out of my seat, running out the door calling for a doctor.

“What’s wrong Maedbh?” Caellum’s doctor asks, grabbing my arms to stop me.

“It’s Caellum” I gasp, out of breath. “His eyes, they’re open”

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:-O So what did you all think? So we all knew that Maedbh would forgive Harry eventually because otherwise this story would go absolutely no where. But what do you think about Caellum? Let me know what you all think in the comments and please don't forget to vote!

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