It's still early in the morning when I rap my knuckles against Riley's door. I know I'm probably waking him up, but something inside of me wants to see him right now and can't wait a couple more hours. I know I have the rest of my life here and in The Life-After to spend with him, but part of me needs to be sure everything that's happened today isn't just my mind playing some huge prank. If I can see Riley and hold him, then I'll know this is real.
I've barely touched the door when it opens. He's disheveled from sleep and bleary-eyed, but Riley's face still lights up when he sees me. His smile sends warmth through me from head to toe. I take a step forward into his arms. He smells good, like sleep and fabric softener and a hint of soap. The scents mingle together and comfort me in a way I know nothing else can.
"Did I wake you up?" I ask him, burying my head in his shoulder.
His arms tighten around me. I feel him shake his head. "Something woke me up a while ago, and I couldn't get back to sleep." He takes my hand and leads me inside. I push the door closed behind us.
We stop by the kitchen, where Riley presses his lips against my forehead. "Coffee?" he asks.
I bring a finger up to his bottom lip, touching it gently. He kisses my finger, and then wraps his arms around my waist.
"Let's go back to sleep," I suggest.
He nods, taking my hand again and leading me past the kitchen and into his bedroom. I sink down onto his bed, burrowing under the covers and holding them up for him to slide in next to me. Lying beside him was all I wanted to do last night when I thought I was leaving. Now I know I'll be doing this for the rest of our lives.
He doesn't ask me why I've shown up at his door not long after dawn. And then I realize something. I'm not sure if I get it on my own, or if it's Noah who puts the thought into my head, but it doesn't matter. Riley wants me to be here, and he doesn't care what time it is or why I came. And here is where I always want to be, snuggled up like we are right now, so close I can feel the rise and fall of his chest. I relax against him.
"Comfortable?" he asks.
"Very," I say, yawning.
He kisses the top of my head and then lets his chin come to rest there. After a minute or two his breathing becomes deep and even, and I know he's fallen asleep.
When he wakes up, I'll tell him about the yoga weekend Lauren mentioned. I'll ask him if he wants to come with me, and if he wants to come to Amarleen's class some time. The thought of introducing the boyfriend I never thought I'd have to the new friends I also never thought I'd have makes me want to laugh. Not because it's funny, but because the surprises I've been given make me happy in a way I never could have imagined before. I have years of this happiness ahead of me now, and I'm grateful.
I shift my eyes to the window, just in time to see an indigo feather float by. It stays suspended in the air for a few seconds, held up against the glass.
Thank you, Noah, I think.
Now that I've finished my job as a second-timer, I don't know if I'll be able to see or hear Noah until we meet again in The Life-After. He'll always be here, though, watching over me.
A sunbeam streams in through the window, falling over Riley and me. The beautiful light of this new day is the last thing I see before my eyes close and I fall asleep in the place where I know I'm meant to be.
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Thank you to all of you out there who've read, commented, and voted!❤️ If you'd like more of Cassidy and Riley, there are 6 bonus chapters I wrote a while ago coming right up—keep reading! These chapters pick up right where this chapter leaves off on the first day of what I call Cassidy's "Life Actually."