More Than Friends?

Chapter 24

"We have a lot to talk about." I say once we order our food.

"I've said what I needed to. It's your turn." Mark smiles and reaches across the table to squeeze my hand lightly.

"I was a fucking bitch." I start and Mark just shakes his head.

"Tanner-"

"I let you talk, now it's my turn. What I did to you was so, so wrong and you never deserved to be treated the way I treated you. We've know each other forever, you've always been there for me and I didn't just push you away. I tortured you because I didn't know how to shed a fucking tear. I regret not having the greatest relationship with my parents when they died. But I regret hurting you even more. I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive myself for what I did to you." I say looking down at the table.

"Listen to me." Mark says sternly, grabbing a hold of both of my hands. "I'm going to be honest with you. I was absolutely crushed. I hated you for weeks. The thought of you made me sick and I never wanted to see you again." Mark's words hurt, but I don't blame him. "It took me a very long time to realize that the person I hated wasn't you Tanner. The days after your parents' funeral, you weren't you. The girl I love would never do that to me."

"But I did." I interrupt, pain in my voice.

"But YOU didn't. Don't you see, if you were yourself that day you wouldn't feel as bad as you do now. And I'm at just as much fault. Once I finally realized that I don’t hate you, that I love you, and finally stopped blaming you for something you did when you weren't yourself, I realized how horrible I was. I was your boyfriend, your best friend, and you lost both your parents, and I ran away the second it got hard. I left you all alone when you needed me the most. I'm always going to regret that. Because no matter how hard things got for me and even Craig, you were always there. It wasn’t fair of me to expect you to always be the strong one.” I listen carefully to Mark's words. I did need him, but I couldn't be mad at him for leaving.

"I guess we both did things we regret."

"I guess so."

“So..." I say fiddling with my silverware. I still can’t bring myself to look at him.

"So..."

"Where do we go from here?" I ask, my head shooting up. I know what I want now.

"Well, I love you. And I would really love to give it another shot, but if you just want to be friends I completely understand."

"Mark" I start.

"Before you tell me you should know, I will be okay with whatever you choose."

"I still love you." I finally blurt out.

"Really?"

"Of course. If you can forgive me for the things I've done, then that makes you the most patient, loving, kind man in the world. And there's no one I'd rather be with." I say as tears start flowing down my face, this time they are happy tears. Happy tears because I'm getting my best friend back.

"God, I've missed you so much!" Mark exclaims as he grabs my face and kisses me. When he does this it's like nothing has changed. His lips are so familiar and move in perfect sync with mine. When we finally part, I'm breathless.

"So um, how long are you planning to be in town?”

“I wanted to stay maybe a week or so but you know how much I hate hotels.” he says and I can hear the playfulness in his voice.

“Well I have some room at my place if you want to stay with me.” I say casually, playing along with his little game.

“You have a guest room?”

“Nope. There’s only one bed, but it’s pretty big.” I say as I allow a little smirk to form.

“You should know that I sleep in just my boxers.” this makes me laugh really hard.

“I don’t think that’ll be a problem.”

“Oh really?” Mark whispers as he raises an eyebrow and leans in to kiss me again, and it feels like everything is right.

A/N: I hope y’all liked the chapter! This is the last one, but if you want me to write an epilogue all you need to do is leave a comment letting me know how far in the future you want it to be! Happy reading xx.