I sat there and cried for about an hour until I heard the sound of the door creaking open. I didn’t bother to look up because, frankly, I didn’t care who was coming in, even if it might have been a murderer. To my surprise, it was not.
“Hayley, what are you doing here?” Riker asked in a soothing voice. I heard him kick some glass away and then sit down in what I guessed was in front of me. I looked up at him and wiped my eyes with the back of my hand, smudging my makeup even more.
“I dunno.” I said, answering him.
“Why’d you run off?” He asked, handing me a tissue. I took it from him and blotted my eyes a little.
“Because- I dunno. I guess it was because I couldn’t bear with the fact that you loved someone else. I broke up with Dylan tonight because I’m in love with someone who isn’t him. I’ve known it since the day we first met; I just never admitted it because I was scared. Riker, that someone is you.” I said. Then I sighed. “I guess there’s no point in telling you anyway. You probably already told that girl that you’re crazy for her. You can leave, Riker. I’m fine by myself.”
I looked down, but was caught off guard when Riker pushed a stray curl behind my ear. Next thing I knew, Riker leaned in and crashed his lips against mine. Suddenly, that feeling I’ve been longing for was there, the feeling that I felt when we kissed the first time at that restaurant a few weeks ago. The kiss deepened and before I knew it, Riker lifted me up from the floor and carried me bridal style to an old sofa in the corner of the room. Laying me down, he gently got on top of me. All this and the kiss never broke.
“I love you.” He murmured against my lips.
“W-what?”
“Hayley, I am completely, utterly, head over heals, crazy in love with you.” He said, moving his lips to my neck.
“I love you, too.” I breathed. With that, our night was drowned in pure love with each other and I don’t regret any of it.
*1 year later*
I fastened the necklace with the shell Riker had given me when we first met on my neck. I can’t believe it’s been a whole year. I closed my jewelry box and looked at myself in the mirror. My appearance hadn’t changed a bit, but my mind surely did. Glancing down at my wrist, I looked at the scars that have been newly covered with a really pretty butterfly tattoo I had recently gotten. I was officially one year clean of self harm. I had Riker to thank because of that.
“Boo!” Riker said behind me, making me jump a little.
“Riker! Don’t scare me like that.” I said, playfully hitting his chest. Riker snaked his arms around my waist from behind and turned me so that I was facing the mirror again.
“You look beautiful, as always.” He whispered before kissing my neck.
“Oh, Riker. Thank you.” I said.
“You ready?” He asked. I stood up on my toes and kissed him on the cheek.
“Yep!”
Holding hands, we walked out of the house we shared together. We recently bought it a few months ago since it was abandoned and spent a lot of time reconverting it, but it was all worth it. Riker opened the passenger seat of his car and I stepped in. As soon as he got into the drivers seat, we were on our way.
We arrived at the beach in no time. The sun was just about to set so the sky was a beautiful orange. We held hands as we walked down to the shore together. The light breeze made my summer dress flow. We stopped when we got to the water and again Riker wrapped his strong arms around me making me feel safe.
“Go ahead, babe.’ He said in my ear. I nodded and then flung the small heart shaped locket with both our names inside of it into the ocean. Once I was done, I wrapped my own arms around him.
“Happy anniversary, babe. I love you.” Riker whispered.
“I love you, too.” I whispered back. He kissed me sweetly on the lips just as the sun started to set and everything was perfect.
The End
