Open Heart One Shots (Choices)

Too Late for Regrets

He trailed off and Cassie understood his hesitation.

"But as the one that was harmed, you're not sure if it's too late for regrets," she concluded. "The person who deserves to be asked for forgiveness is the eleven-year-old boy who had his entire childhood ripped apart. You're not him, not anymore."

"No, I'm not," he nodded. "I made something of myself because it was what I needed. It might have started as a reaction to the whispers that followed my dad and I those first few years after she left. But, somewhere along the way, it stopped being about her and became about the person I wanted to be."

"Are you worried that saying that today would derail her treatment?" she asked.

"Yes. She can't make amends to someone that no longer exists."

Before she could follow through on that, she saw Alan Ramsey's car pull in beside Ethan's. He waved at them through the window before exiting the car.

Ethan twisted in his seat to give his father the signal that he needed a few more minutes. Alan nodded and leaned against the trunk while he waited.

"Do you want to know what I think? Semi-professionally?" she said, referring to her background in psychology.

When he nodded, staring ahead rather than at her, she continued. "That little boy is still inside you and he needs to hear her apology and her regrets, even if the man you've become doesn't. And Louise needs to say the words to both of you because she has to own up to her mistakes. The steps exist for a reason and the process must be respected. But Ethan..."

He turned to face her when she tightened her grip on their joined hands and he heard the urgency in her voice.

"Your father needs to hear her make amends to you," she said. "This is as much for him as it is for you. As a parent, he might feel that he failed you. But you need to show him that he didn't."

"Of course, he didn't fail me," scoffed Ethan. "He did the best he could as a single parent."

"He is still a parent and he might see his failure to keep Louise happy as not protecting you," she told him. "My parents are always in sync, but they blamed themselves for not protecting me from the poison attack. That's what parents do. So, when you find yourself doubting the process, think about him."

Cassie wondered if she might have gone too far, but the grim expression on his face lightened and his lips curved into a small smile.

"You're right," he said. "I promise I'll keep an open mind this weekend."

"That's all you can do, Ethan," she said. "Take it one day at a time. No one is asking for more than that of you."

He reached across the console to cup her cheek, pulling her in for a long kiss. His lips glided over hers, parting them with his tongue and she met him halfway. Her hands clutched his shoulders as he deepened the kiss. It was over all too soon as he let her go, his forehead coming to rest against hers.

"Thank you," he murmured. "You give me strength, Cassie. I hope you know that."

"It goes both ways," she said. "I told you a year ago when you were still fighting the inevitability of us that we're better together."

"Are you seriously saying, 'I told you so' right now?" he said with a smirk, his eyes twinkling with silent laughter.

"Gotta get my digs where I can, babe," she retorted. "How many times will I get the chance to tell the Ethan Ramsey that I was right and he was wrong?"

He shook his head in amusement before turning to popping open the trunk, unfastening his seatbelt and swinging open the car door.

"Don't speed on your way back to the city," he warned, handing her the car keys.

"Please," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand as she too exited the car. "The cops will never catch me."

"Not the point, Rookie," he said, glaring at her across the car roof. "This car has never been pulled over for anything, and we're not breaking that record now."

"Fine," she said, rolling her eyes in mock annoyance.

She had never received a speeding ticket either. Not that Mister Responsible believed her. Besides, what he didn't know couldn't get her into trouble.

Alan Ramsey walked over and Cassie exchanged pleasantries as Ethan grabbed his overnight bag from the trunk. She watched father and son walk inside—Ethan's stride more certain than it had been this morning when they left his apartment—and knew that everything would be alright.

Maybe not today or tomorrow; but one day, he would look back on this moment and know that it was never too late to make amends for regrets.