Brighter Than The Stars: Book One

𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝒮𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓃𝓉𝑒𝑒𝓃: 𝒜 𝒲𝒶𝓁𝓀 𝐼𝓃 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒩𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉

Elijah had spent his first three years away working as an auto mechanic in Brookfield; a small city, the next state over. He'd kept to himself there, climbing the ranks at work, starting as an oil tech, and eventually learned all aspects of the business. It was his boss who'd given him a place to stay when he found out Elijah was staying at the motel turned apartments meant for the freshly divorced.

When the owner passed away from a heart attack, Elijah moved back within the state's limits, just along the edge, in a cluster of small communities. It was there he'd learned construction, and made a few friends. He'd met his first girlfriend there, though they broke up after eight months. She wanted him to meet her family, and at least discuss moving in together. Elijah declined, and they went their separate ways.

After a couple of run-ins with the law for assault, Elijah took up boxing, therapy, and began a journal as a way for him to control his anger. But seeing as small communities had big mouths, he'd moved once again. This time, he chose the much larger city of Canton, which was a four-hour drive from where they found themselves now, and where many of her friends, including her ex-boyfriend, had gone to college.

Elijah kept his head above water there, making more friends and throwing himself into his job. He'd dated, but never got too serious with anyone. But after five years in that city, he was growing tired of the crime rate and traffic, and made the move to Brentwood.

Madeline had chosen Brentwood to go to college because it was a city with a small-town feel. Most of the neighborhoods were charming brick homes. There were small communities within the city, with cobblestone and quaint locally owned shops. Never was there a time when Madeline felt unsafe in the city leading up to picking it. It just had this beautiful energy. She'd felt the city calling her.

What she hadn't known until that lunch was that Elijah had felt the same energy when he visited there a year prior to the move. He'd imagined setting up a life there, creating a home for himself. He'd felt the city calling him, just as it had her. And once he had made the move, Elijah admitted to finally feeling like his life was falling into place.

Their North Star hadn't been defective at all. While it may have taken them two years to finally find one another, they were together now.

"You look happy," Elijah noticed aloud as they walked the cobblestone path behind her parents.

They'd all spent the entire day together. First lunch, then touring all the small communities within the city, picking out nice things for Elijah's apartment, and filling her family's SUV three times, dropping it all off at his place.

Even when the day became more serious at dinner, when her dad asked about Elijah's anger issues and trouble with the law because of it, both her parents had been completely understanding. He'd had so many emotions building up inside of him for so many years, it was all bound to come out. And it was also how they learned he'd kept out of trouble for the last seven years, even volunteering some of his time with at-risk youth.

He'd taken something so heartbreaking and made something beautiful out of it.

"You're back in my life," Madeline told him with a big smile. "I can't imagine being any happier than I am right now. And my parents look like they're walking on air."

Elijah chuckled and pulled her to his side as they continued the walk. "I'm still having a hard time believing all this is real," he admitted. "When I sat down at my computer and looked you up, I swear I forgot to breathe for a solid ten seconds. Then I saw where you lived and nearly fell out of my chair.

"I started that day wondering if I was being selfish by showing up at that funeral. I told you in the letter that I promised myself I wouldn't be in your life unless I could be in it completely. And while I was getting my stuff packed that morning, I wondered if I'd even be able to say goodbye to you come Sunday, or if I'd be packing up the rest of my shit just to follow you wherever you'd ended up. That's the thought I had before I found you on Facebook."

Madeline stopped walking, causing him to stop, since his arm was around her. The cold air nipped at her parted lips as she stared up at the towering man, who looked back at her with so much gentleness. "Do you think you would have?"

Elijah swallowed hard before his chin dipped toward his chest, and his shallow breaths created small white clouds in the cold air. "You weren't just my best friend, M&M, you were the best part of me. It doesn't make sense, because you were just a child when I left, but for a long time, you were the only source of joy I had in my life. With your parents, it felt like they took care of me, but you made me better. You were like the parallel. My father had this intense hatred for me, and you had this intense love.

"You'd helped me through the worst parts of my life, and through so many struggles, even after I left. When my anger started coming out, and I felt like I was turning into a version of myself I didn't want to be, I thought about you. How would Maddie feel about me right now? How terrified would she be seeing me like this?"

Then Elijah looked back up at her, into her soul, with clouded eyes. "I didn't even know if I still mattered to you. If you barely even remembered me, I still owed you a thank you. I owed it to myself to finally close that chapter of my life, wish you well, and just see how you turned out.

"But if I was still your best friend, even after all these years, then there wasn't any question. Like I said, you deserved a friend who was all in. I've lived my life with one foot out the door, because I knew if the time ever came when you could ask me to stay, I would."

While there were tears in her eyes from his confession, the bright smile on her face was beyond euphoric. Never in a million years could she ever forget him, even when it would have made her life easier. Her father was right. Everything in her life felt just a little dimmer without Elijah there to share it with her. "As it turns out, I don't have to ask."

"No," Elijah agreed with a smile. "No, you don't."