To Brooklyn, With Love (Completed) - Finding You Book 2

Brooklyn

I'm nervous. More nervous than the first time I walked into his home or the first time I danced with him in front of a crowd of his admirers. More nervous than the moment I realized I was in too deep to ever get out without my heart getting broken.

The plane ride wasn't long enough to calm these feelings. Three months in a completely different state didn't get me far enough away from the situation to move past it even a little.

I left in a hurry, before I had too much time to think. I've always been good at running, but this is the first time I might actually regret not fighting. The thing is, I'm not sure either one of us meant what we said that night. Emotions were high. We'd just been through hell with our daughter. We'd been going through the motions for too long, and finally it snapped. 

I've never loved anyone the way I loved Harrison, and I'm not sure I ever will again. I don't know what that means, but I'd like to think it will one day lead to us at least being on talking terms again. We'll always be connected through Sophie and I think we both know we can't go on like this forever. I just haven't found a way to work through it.

Now I'm here, forcing myself to work through it. I shouldn't have waited so long to see my daughter. I'm selfish and it's not fair to her. But it's taken everything in my soul to get get here today; this was not easy. My heart pounds at the thought of seeing him again for the first time since I walked away. I'm scared of what it will feel like when he finally really looks at me again.

Maybe I'm scared he'll look right through me, as if I never meant anything at all. 

I grab my luggage and pull my phone and get ready to Uber, ready to face my demons if it means seeing my little girl in person. Tablets are great, but she's getting bigger by the minute and I can't stand that what I've done has put us in this situation.

"Get over here, girl!" A familiar voice calls and I look up. A rush of warmth washes over me as Layla charges over through the crowds of people and throws her arms around me.

"What are you doing here?" I ask, hugging her back. I'll never understand Layla's coolness with this whole situation, but it's nice.

"Harry told me you'd be in," she says, pulling back and looking me in the eyes. "My boyfriend had to catch a flight about an hour ago, so I thought why not stick around and pick you up?" her smile is contagious. I missed her more than I knew.

"Boyfriend?" I raise my eyebrows. Last I heard her heart was in shreds over the guy in the coffeehouse. Is it him? Did she finally work it out?

 For a moment, I'm so intrigued about her life I almost forget that I'm nervous.

"Yeah," she smiles. That's all she'll give me for now, and I won't ask for details. At least not yet.

"C'mon," she says, grabbing one of my bags. "I'll take you home,"

"I was going to get a hotel," I tell her quickly. 

"Because of Harry?" she asks sadly. "You won't need to worry about that. He's away. Sophie's been staying with me, but he was clear that you two should stay at his house while you're in town. Insisted on it, even,"

I let out a breath. I'm not sure if I'm relieved or upset that I won't see him, and surprised at the thoughtfulness behind arranging it so Sophie and I can have time together in a familiar place.

"Okay," I say simply as we hop into her car. 

"It's okay, you know," she says as she starts the ignition. "It won't be like this forever. One day we'll look back at these as the dark times, but we'll be on the other side," she jokes.