Meet in The Space Between ✔️

32

Don't wanna give my heart to someone new
Won't be anybody after you
And even if one day, our time is through
Won't be anybody after you, after you
I'll never find another lover after you
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THE DEPARTURE was brief. Emma kissed her mom on the cheek. A bittersweet goodbye. I watched from afar, my mind running circles around what Brisa had said to me earlier.

"We'll meet in the space between. I promise."

Emma looked like she was close to bawling. Suddenly, Brisa waved me over.

"My two girls." She smiled, taking both our hands, "Take care of each other."

And she was gone.

I left the cottage to breathe. These past weeks have been a beautiful whirlwind of adventure and chaos. There were so many interpretations of family now, and so many things for me to think of. The love and space in my heart has grown. I have a sister to take care of now. Everything seemed perfectly in place.

I still have one more thing to fix though.

"Hey."

"Oh hey." He blinked at me, before glancing around the room.

He looked nervous, confused, unprepared. His laptop was open on his desk with Dude snuggled on it. I missed that. I missed him.

"Sorry for showing up out of no where." I smiled shyly, "Brisa left a little over a while ago."

He nodded, already aware. "You okay?"

Already concerned. What a guy.

"Can we go somewhere?" I asked, "I'm kinda dying to talk to you."

The corners of his mouth twitched into a hopeful smile. "Only if you want to."

"I want to."

"Well. Then I'm down." He said easily, running his fingers through his hair as he closed the door.

"You're not gonna close your laptop?"

"Nah." He replied, "Dude likes it warm to sleep in."

We had no specific destination. We just strolled down wherever the path took us, his hands in his pockets, and somehow ended up deep in the forest. No one said anything. We let the comfortable silence do the talking. It felt natural being with him. It always has.

"What is this place?" He said as we stood at a small cliff overlooking a lake.

The water was jade in color, clear and shimmering in the sunlight. There was a stone platform near the edge with a half collapsed white pillar.

"I dunno." I answered.

I watched him lower himself to the ground, letting his legs dangle off the edge. Then he looked back up at me with a meek look that said join me?

I happily obliged, taking a seat next to him.

"So how was the whole Brisa leaving thing?" He asked.

I licked my lips. "Bittersweet. She... told me some stuff about my dad... and I think I finally understand her."

"That's good." He replied. And he didn't interrogate me any further because he was the kind of decent human who understood space and privacy.

I turned towards him. "You didn't tell me you were off to the store every morning. I would've tagged along."

For a second he looked surprised that I knew, then he shrugged. "I didn't know if you knew they were moving. And I didn't want to make you uncomfortable by forcing you to come with me." He said innocently.

I lowered my gaze to the water, smiling blissfully. "So even after I left you, you still found a way to care for me. Wow."

His face dissolved into a light shade of pink, then he turned to me and said in all seriousness "Brae. Please don't-"

"I love you too."

It came out without warning. It just rolled off my tongue. I guess something inside me was dying to say it. Something deep down inside me that only he could ever reach. His whole body stilled in front of me, mid sentence. I couldn't tell if he had stiffened or relaxed.

When he finally managed to process my words, he said, barely above a whisper, "You mean it?"

He sounded so small and fragile. I mentally kicked myself. How bad did I hurt him?

"I mean it. I'm sorry."

I watched the boy in front of me crack and crumble. I didn't expect the tears that followed. He looked away.

"Carlos-"

"I'm sorry." He managed, "I don't know why I'm crying... Well I do- I just-"

"God, Carlos. How bad did I hurt you?"

His teary eyes turned to face me again. "A- a little... Maybe more than a little." He took a deep breath. "When you told me you couldn't do it anymore, I thought that was it. I thought- you know- it's the end. I love you. The least I could do after that was help your family out. At least that was something. I love you, Brae. I didn't expect you to show up at my door again after that. But I do. I love you. You're everything."

I cursed, more loudly than I ever had, then carefully wrapped my arms around him. "I'm sorry. God, Carlos. What have I done? I'm so sorry. I'm never doing that to you ever again. I love you. I'm sorry."

He buried his face in my neck, and I held him tighter than ever before because this morning I woke up thinking I'd never be able to hold him again. He was crying softly. They were either tears of relief or tears he's been holding back for two weeks. I couldn't tell.

"I'm sorry, Carlos. I'm so sorry. I've never been so sorry in my life." I whispered sweet nothings to him over and over again as the guilt consumed me. "I'm here. I'm always here. I love you. I'm yours, okay? Always yours."

Gradually his breathing slowed and his body became less tense. His sobs reduced to small sniffles and I didn't stop comforting him until he stopped crying all together, running fingers in his hair, down his jawline. Then he was still, and he rested against me like the world depended on it. I kissed his forehead. When he eventually pulled away, I wiped the tear stains on his face. He watched me, and I could feel all the love he was showering me with just by the way he was staring at me.

I cupped his warm cheeks with both hands, holding his face close. Then it happened again. I saw his eyes dart from my eyes to my lips.

I couldn't help but smile gently. "You can kiss me now, freckles."

He was still hesitant.

"Are you sure? Cause-"

So I shut him up.

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heck yeah she did
I spoil y'all too much with new chapters