Finding You

Chapter 18

A/N: Kind of a long author's note underneath but please read it. Some of it does have some information that you may or may not want to read. Enjoy Chapter 18 <3

...

"I just got off the phone with my mom. She told me to say hi to you and to give you a humongous kiss from them," Justin chuckles, his voice's pitch raising an octave when he imitates his mother's words. He plops himself down next to me onto the couch with his arms stretched out behind him on the back of the couch, planting a small kiss on my lips. My eyes flutter at the contact, the butterflies still ever-present in my stomach, even after all of these years.

"Hi back. How's everyone doing in LA?" I ask, closing The Great Gatsby—a book I've read at least 50 times—and resting it on the grey woodland coffee table.

"They're doing okay. Angie, Bella and John just left from having dinner at our house tonight apparently." Justin wraps his arm around my waist and brings my upper body down so that my head rests on his lap, stroking my hair gently.

"Yeah, I heard. Do you think they miss us?"

"It's only been a few hours without us," he laughs. "Beth messaged me this evening just to point out that she's going to miss you more than she is me. Clearly, we can tell who she favourites."

I cackle with laughter and Justin rolls his eyes, moving his hand over my mouth to stop my amusement. Instead, I bite his hand and he scrunches his nose playfully.

"If it makes you feel any better, Isabella told me not to tell you that she missed you as well."

"Isabella also almost broke my back when she wrestled me onto your bed on our second last day. I'd say it's a love-hate relationship," he shakes his head and my face breaks out into another gleaming smile as I look up at his chiseled jaw.

"Do you like the apartment? I wanted to get us something that you'd feel comfortable with and something that was your type of vibe. I know that you didn't want something fancy so I tried to find something in between-"

"Justin," my hands grab the sides of his face and I force him to look down at me. When he looks at me, his eyebrows are furrowed slightly, almost as if he was a bit nervous. Seeing him this way was unusual, considering his usual cool, collected demeanor. It melts my heart to know how much thought he put into choosing the place we now call home, and that he cared so much about making me feel as comfortable and happy with it as possible.

"I love it. I absolutely love it and I love you, and this apartment is... perfect," I lift my head to meet his lips softly, "Thank you."

Our apartment is big. It's not so big that you could get lost in it, but certainly much bigger than your average fresh-out-of-high school couple could afford. With the upscale job Justin currently had as running a part of his father's business, he's been able to fund the entire rent of the apartment and still have a lot of money to spare, which is crazy to me since, a) our apartment was in one of the pricier neighborhoods of Manhattan, b) he was just 19 years of age, and c) he also had his studies to focus on, on top of working. He is my Superman.

When him and I decided to move in together, I didn't want him to pay for everything. Our nights back home would end in huge arguments because I didn't want to sit around like some sucker who's just looking for a free place to stay. I told him that I wanted to get a job so that I could contribute to the apartment. In the end, Justin had won the argument and I had won the grocery shopping bill, which I wasn't entirely happy with but it was better than nothing at all. I guess I should be happy that I have a man who takes care of me the way that Justin does. And I am; I'm truly grateful for him everyday of my life. People would never be able to understand what he does for me and how terrible my life would be without him in it.