My Greatest Escape

ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝔽𝕚𝕗𝕥𝕪-𝕆𝕟𝕖

It doesn't work.

"Why didn't you tell me Jeremiah was your ex? Or at least Kol." she finally asks after a long pause.

"Because I didn't want to ruin brunch. You don't like me which is understandable and I wanted brunch to go well," I explain. "It would only be an hour or so to win you over. I didn't see the issue in keeping Jeremiah and I's past a secret."

But I clearly forgot how terrible Jeremiah is.

"If you had told Kol, he would've understood," she reasons.

"Yeah, I know. He would cancel the brunch, not telling you the real reason and you would be even more annoyed."

Amanda opens her mouth to speak, but then quickly closes it. "You're right. He never would've outed you like that. That's why...he felt absolutely horrible when you left earlier. I think that was the only thing keeping him from beating Jeremiah to a pulp."

I smile softly. 

"What about you and Jere?" I croak.

Amanda's face gets visibly lighter and her eyes narrow at the sound of his name. "I hate cheaters with all of my heart," she said. "If he cheated on somebody else, what makes me any different? So, I dumped him."

"You deserve better than him anyway."

Another beat of silence.

"I wasn't in a good place back then," I explain. "I was a heartbroken party girl and you're brother completely took me by surprise. I didn't want to admit it, but I was falling for him as much as he was falling for me. During the holidays I went back home where I saw Jeremiah again. He said some---"

You were fucking unlovable.

"Harsh words and they really resonated with me. Then Kol told me he loved me. And I completely freaked out. I ditched and ghosted him. I tried to reset my life and move on but every single inch of me contained Kol. I realized I loved him before it was too late. I went back to him, talked to him, and set it right. He forgave me and at the end of the day..."

I glance up at Angela who gives me an encouraging nod. "That's enough for me. But I will say sorry to you. I am so, so, very, deeply sorry about what I did to Kol. If I had known...that he would distance himself like that, I would've never done what I had done. I wish I could go back, but I can't. But, I do ask for your forgiveness, so we can move on."

"So, that means, you're not leaving Kol?" Amanda asks.

"No, I'm not. Why?"

Amanda sighs. "You left and have been dodging his calls. He thinks he screwed everything up."

Guilt racks through me. I could've answered a couple of calls. "He didn't mess anything up."

"You tell him that. He said he wanted to take you some place after brunch. Meet him there and set things right. Once you do that, I'll forgive you," Amanda beems.

I think for a moment. 

"What's the address?"

---------------------

The Memorial Edge Garden is one of those places you go to look at flowers with your college class as a mandatory assignment.

It's not that I think flowers are ugly or something, but do I want to look at flowers for hours?

Not really.

"Excuse me?" I say to the receptionist who's busy on her phone. "Have you seen a guy named Kol Smith? Very tall, dirty blond, sharp jaw."