After giving his order to the waitress, Amo’s appetite seemed to disappear. It had actually disappeared in the elevator with Lucca.
Sitting at the end of the table, he didn’t engage in the laughing from his group. He didn’t even particularly want to be here, but he had cancelled on them so many times since Chloe had left for California that he didn’t want them to think he had become broken. Even though he had.
It was like a piece of him had left with her, never to return until she did.
Amo replayed the night that went to shit over and over in his head. The night that only made her leave for California sooner…
Amo watched Chloe from the other side of the mall while she bought her suitcase. She was leaving tomorrow, and he hadn’t even told her how he felt about her yet. He was a dumbass for waiting this long, but he was terrified of scaring her away. It had to be at the right time.
Seeing Chloe begin to exit the store, he couldn’t believe he had spent three and a half years at high school with her and not once looked past her scars. He would regret those three and half years until the day he died.
He felt a moment of peace as he stared at her from afar. She took his breath away, but it was only for a moment.
Bang. Bang.
The calm before the storm had passed, and the beauty he had felt washed away. Now, all that was left was dread and terror…
He stood up abruptly, and the table went quiet.
“I’ll be right back.”
Amo headed out of the diner, needing fresh air on his face. As soon as it was, he felt like he could breathe again…
He opened his arms wide, watching Chloe run toward him. He was so close … so close to saving her. It wasn’t until her body collided with his that he realized he had been holding his breath.
Wrapping his arms around her was the first time he was blessed with being able to touch the girl who had stolen his heart. The storm had passed, and in its place was true beauty, the kind you never thought to exist.
He held on to her, planning to never let go.
“I’ve got you.”
This was the sign he had needed to tell her his feelings. She had chosen him…
The door opening beside him had him turning to see Elle coming outside.
“The food should be done any minute.”
“You go on in; I’ll be there in a minute,” he told her.
She didn’t make a move to go inside. Instead, she looked down at her feet. “I’m sorry she won’t talk to you.”
“It’s not your fault, Elle. It’s mine.” There was a minute of silence between the two before he spoke again, “Is she really doing okay?” It was killing him not knowing if she really was or not.
Her voice became pained. “I think so. I text her every day, but I can’t get her to talk on the phone with me yet.”
“You haven’t talked to her on the phone at all?”
Elle shook her head.
A small alarm went off in his head.
“Get her to talk to you on the phone. Make sure she’s okay.”
“Okay,” she whispered.
“Go on in; it’s cold out here. I’ll be right in.”
Going for the door, Elle then stopped with tears brimming her eyes. “I thought you were going to get her to stay. I thought you were actually going to do it when I failed. Turns out, neither of us were capable of saving her.”
He had to turn away, his own vision becoming blurry …
“Wait,” he stopped her from leaving his car so suddenly. “Stay and go to college here … with Elle and Lake. I can take some classes. Who is going to walk you to class when Elle or I aren’t there?”
Chloe wasn’t even able to look at him. “I’ll have to get used to being on my own.”
He tried again, “But if you stayed here, you won’t have to.”
“Elle won’t have to watch out for me anymore. She can finally enjoy school without me getting in her way. I want that for her.”
With each word she spoke, he was slowly starting to realize that whatever had happened back there, when she had run into his arms, it wasn’t turning out like he had thought.
“What about you? What about me?”
Still, she couldn’t bring herself to look at him. “I’ll adjust. It will be good for me. You have Nero and Vincent and your job at the casino to keep you so busy you won’t even remember me.”
“I’ll remember you …” He was barely able to speak.
The change in her started then. “That you walked me to class for a few months? That my best friend is your friend’s girlfriend?”
Slamming his hand on the steering wheel, it all started coming out. “You’re not like any other girl I know, Chloe.” He took a breath to calm himself before whispering why she needed … why she had to stay here with him, “I love you.”