Take My Hand

Epilogue: Eight Months Later

“Rae?” His voice rang in my ear as he snapped in front of my face. I turned to look at him, his perfect teeth hidden behind his half frown.

I realised why. I was doing it again. I turned away from the window where I had been watching the rain pour down, lost in a dream – no, a nightmare – of that day.

That terrible day last summer.

“Sorry,” I said, biting my lip. I knew it hurt him when this happened, and it wasn’t the first time. I’m sure it wasn’t going to be the last either. He had been there, he knew what this weather did to me, the flashbacks, the pain… But he made it all easier, bearable almost. He made sure to hide how much it really hurt him. 

In the future, I knew he would continue to erase the pain that was caused, hopefully completely.

He put an arm around me. “Don’t be sorry, I understand. But we’re getting past it. How far did you get?” he asked quietly.

“The whole thing,” I said looking down, embarrassed that I had been through the whole memory. I almost never made it that far.

He pulled my face up and planted a kiss on my lips. He was beaming at me, pure happiness on his face. I was confused.

He started to laugh his infectious laugh causing me to smile. “What?” I asked, at a total loss.

“The whole thing, you’re positive? You’re sure?” he questioned, excitement in his voice.

“Yes!” I replied. Why was he excited about this?

“You haven’t realised, Rae! You made it through without crying!” 

My hands flew up to my face, and he was right, my cheeks were dry. Maybe I was going to get through this after all.

I, who after all the events of the previous summer was very awkward and cautious about any sort of displays of affection, couldn’t help it. I reached out and kissed him again, much like he had kissed me.

“I can get through this!” I said, smiling at him.

“I know,” he said, smiling back. “We can get through this.”

“I love you,” I said, knowing my words were true.

“It gets stronger every day.” He grinned, scrunching his nose. “And I love you.”

He pulled me against him, arm around my shoulder as we looked out the window at the storm. I reached up and held onto my necklace, the solo charm that remained. I felt the four rounded edges and the stem. I thought about the inscription.

I could only imagine how lost I would be if it hadn’t been for Declan. He had taken my broken heart and patched it up. He’d brought the sun back to my life and been the compass to guide me, but never the anchor to hold me down. Maybe one day Declan would be able to take my heart.