I Found Home [Completed]

Chapter Thirty Four

Not once did Rebecca and I speak of the loving kiss last night. I was too ashamed to bring it up, especially because I had admitted straight to her face about my feelings, leaving her to do the same. I didn't mean to give her that burden. As well as this, Rebecca had become a compact figure of embarrassment, blushing every time we made eye contact or even brushed past each other. It was a mistake on my behalf, but at the same time, she and I had some tension cleared up.

"How much farther until we get there?" I asked her.

We woke up early in the morning to start packing. I suggested staying later, but Rebecca insisted that we continued moving. She said she had a weird feeling in her stomach, but she couldn't tell if it was good or bad. I decided to take her advice, knowing that she was right about a weird feeling before.

"Uhh.. I'm guessing if we walked, it would take another day or so," she responded, staring intently at her map. "Looks like it's just a city over, but we're pretty close." She looked up at me with a smile. "It's pretty exciting, don't you think?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"We should find another cafe to eat at," she suggested, slipping into a pair of boots. "I don't want to bother the hotel employees here. We've already caused so much trouble by asking them to keep our location a secret if Papa asked."

"Good idea. The food here isn't enough to fill me up anyway."

~~~

Walking out of the hotel, I noticed how much brighter and warmer it was. The sun was out, and the sky was clear of any clouds, only bare smears of white against the skies. Rebecca had worn a white romper out with a sun hat, which was a good choice on her part. I had pulled on a pair of tan khaki shorts and a white button-up. She was right about the weather.

Something tells me that today is going to better than the past few weeks.

I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, letting the air cleanse all the stress in my mind. For the first time in a year, I felt like I was relieved from all of my inner stresses. I was finding myself somewhere. It was a little feeling of comfort.

I'm retracing my steps.. back home.

"Sam!"

My eyes opened slowly, and I saw Rebecca up ahead on the sidewalk, waving to me excitedly. Beneath her sun hat, her eyes shined brightly. She stood beside her luggage, standing with a spunky confidence.

An angel.

A smile pulled onto my lips.

"Alright, alright! I'm coming!"

~~~

We sat down at a table outside of a cafe, eating our breakfast. Rebecca decided to eat a fruit salad with a glass of cranberry juice (a weird flavor she loved other than cherry). As for me, I had gotten a bagel with cream cheese and a bowl of assorted butter cookies with a vanilla ice cream dip.

"Stop stealing my food!!" Rebecca exclaimed, swatting my fork away from her salad.

"You literally took three cookies from me, hypocrite," I responded, stabbing a strawberry and pulling away before she could hit me again. I grinned at her amusing annoyance.

She snatched another cookie, saying defiantly, "Because you offered them to me."

"Same difference," I drawled sarcastically, eating the strawberry. Changing the topic, I added, "You should eat the ice cream with the cookie. It'd be a waste not to."

I picked up another cookie, dipping it into the ice cream. Leaning over, I put it in front of her. Rebecca grasped my wrist with her hands, guiding my hand to her mouth. I noticed how much smaller her hands were compared to mind, my ears tingling pink just the slightest bit. She's so.. small and petite. We continued eating until we finished up, moving on. We ended up on the streets again, moving along with the crowds of people. I was staring at the map in Rebecca's hands, only for my eyes to widen when I heard a familiar voice behind us.

"Rebecca!"

The two of us turned around, and my breath hitched in my throat, a bubbly feeling in my stomach. They escaped too. They came. They're here with us. Standing just a bit away from us were Rebecca's mother and Xander, both with smiles on their faces, though Xander seemed to be more subtle. They also had luggage beside them.

"Mama!" Rebecca squealed, running up to her mother. "You took my advice!"

I followed close after her, weaving through the crowd of people. As Rebecca embraced the two, I stayed about a meter away, letting them stay in their own little bubble. She seemed ecstatic about seeing the two. Over their ranting, apparently, her mother and Xander also escaped as well, legally of course.

"I knew you guys would find us!" Rebecca exclaimed, clutching her mother once again before pulling back.

"I couldn't just stay there with your cheating bastard of a father," her mother responded coldly when referring to her ex-husband. I was a little surprised when she turned to look at me. "Sam, darling! What're you doing all the way over there?" She waved me over enthusiastically. "Come here!"

"No, it's fine," I replied quietly, a little quieter than intended. "I should probably leave you three alone, so you can discuss what to do after I make my way home." I tried to smile, but I could only muster a small one. "I'll go on and find a cafe where we can all catch up at."

"I'll go with you."

I looked over at Xander, who had stepped out of the circle. I nodded to him, and the two of us set off, dragging our own luggage with us. Once far enough, he began to start a conversation.

"You know, you don't need to feel like the odd one out," he said.

"How so?"

"You know what I mean," he replied, turning to look at me. His eyes flickered behind us then back at me. "Because you don't know Rebecca as much as I do or her mother does, you feel left out. Like you don't deserve to be the one with her. I can see it, from the way you look at her whenever she's with her family or me."

"Can't blame me though," I muttered, admitting to what he said, "can you? If we didn't know each other, it wouldn't have made a difference from this outcome." I turned away, not letting him read my face. "I would've just been.. lonelier."

Xander wasn't done with the conversation, refusing to let me feel this. "If you didn't know each other, she could be starving now. Homeless. Possibly dead. I would still be a cold-hearted bitch. Her mother wouldn't have known that her husband was a cheating little shit."

I remained silent.

He.. has a point.

"You deserve her as much as she deserves you," he said finally, his voice quiet. For some reason, it only emphasized his point. "The two of you need each other. So don't give me that sentimental bullshit."

I chuckled a little at his last little comment, murmuring, "Ah.. guess you're right."

"Let's go," Xander said. He gave me a grin as I glanced at him, saying, "They're waiting for us."