A Brand New Ending

Chapter 69

Braeden



Having her in my arms again felt abnormal. I almost didn't believe that she was standing before me. I take time to observe her state, her eyes telling me that she hasn't slept much. She's still breathtakingly beautiful.

"Braeden," her voice calls out so softly that I swear I imagined it.

We both stare at each other for a second until her eyes start to shift, looking at every direction but mine. I immediately drop my hands from her shoulders. She's not mine anymore.

"How did you find me?" she asks quietly, as though she is ashamed.

"My father told me," I answer. "He sent Rain to come take care of you."

She looks up at me. "I figured. But why would he do that?" she asks, her tone slightly irritated.

"Because we all care about you, Ser…" I stop and swallow. "Phoenix. Did you really think we would just let you go like that and at least not make sure you are OK?"

I remove my eyes from hers and look at the house behind her.

"I'm glad that you have found comfort here," I say softly.

Phoenix turns around to face it for a second before turning attention back to me. The air between us is thick and I don't know what to say or do.

"I just wanted to know that you were safe," I utter, swallowing the lump in my throat. "And now that I see that you are, I guess I can go now."

I turn around, feeling as though my emotions are betraying me. Each step I take away from her is painful, the tie between us stretching dangerously thin with every movement.

"Braeden!" I hear her call out from behind me.

I stop but I remain facing away from her. I can hear her move so that she is right behind me. I can feel the heat radiating off of her body. As I slowly turn around to face her, I am met with her wet cheeks, her eyes staring into mine. Reaching up with my finger, I wipe away the tears that are traveling down her face.

"Don't cry, Seraph," I whisper into the darkness.

Her beautiful eyes continue to look into mine and we have a silent conversation. All the pain and agony that was caused is gone and we are simply two people. With my palm still caressing her cheek I lean down, placing my lips gently on top of hers. I am afraid that she will pull back and reject me, but she doesn't. Instead, she pushes into me, our kiss turning from timid to passionate. Her hands come around my backside and fist into my shirt and my free arm falls onto her lower back, pushing her even closer into me, my other arm caught between us. F*cking cast.

The taste of her mouth is better than I ever remembered, her scent swirling all around us. I don't know how long the kiss lasts but I wanted it to never stop. I wanted to live in this moment forever.

When we both pull back I feel like there is no oxygen left in my body. Phoenix remains silent, her fingertips pressed against her lips, a small smile hiding behind them.

"I've never been able to explain that feeling," she says softly.

Reaching out I take her hand in mine and press it against my chest, my heartbeat thumping underneath her fingertips.

"My heart only does this when you are near, Seraph, and it feels f*cking incredible," I say.

She looks up at me, her eyes serious. "Will you take a walk with me?" she asks.

"I would follow you to the end of the earth if you'd allow me."

With our hands intertwined, she passes by me and pulls me in her direction. She is moving so fast that I have to make my strides wider to keep up, but I don't complain. We walk into the thick forest and the temperature drops immensely, the sun hiding behind the branches of the trees. I soon become lost of our direction but Phoenix seems to know exactly where she is headed.

When we break through a patch of trees, my eyes fall upon one massive tree. Phoenix stops at my side, her eyes looking up to the sky. I follow and see a large playhouse nestled high in the center of branches.

"This was one of my favorite places to be." She smiles. "I used to spend so much time in this tree that my father began building this playhouse for me. I kept asking him to add things and he told me that it would never be done." She pauses. "Unfortunately, that came true," she says with pain behind her voice.

I look up at the tree house again, noticing its diminished look.

"Follow me," she says and walks over to the tree trunk, her eyes looking over the branches. With her left arm first, she grabs the nearest one, trying to pull herself up. She puts her foot up and immediately slips, with only her fingers still gripping the bark. I rush over to her and grab onto her hips, trying to balance her. And then I hear her laugh and it's like f*cking music to my ears. Pushing her up, she grips her other arm onto the branch and swings herself onto it. Once she is settled, I reach up high and pull myself up. It's a lot more complicated with one arm in a cast.

"You're not the only one who climbed trees as a kid." I laugh.

We sit side-by-side and stare out into a break in the trees. We are both silent for a while, allowing her to gather her thoughts. The sound of flapping wings and cries of nearby birds in the air reaches my ears. After what seems like an eternity, she speaks.

"I used to sit here for hours by myself thinking about what my life would be like when I got older," she states before pausing. "And never in a million years would I have ever imagined it would turn out like this."

Hey eyes are facing outward, as though she is declaring this statement to the forest itself.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

She finally looks over and her eyes are lost, yet so in love.

"Well," she starts, her teeth nibbling on her lip. "I never imagined you."

I take her hand in mine, my fingertips playing delicately against the top of her hand.

"I never thought someone like you could love someone like me," she adds.

"Seraph," I say quietly. "You are perfect to me in every single way. You were what I was looking for all along. I never had to think twice about my love for you. I was yours from the moment you broke my glasses."

She laughs but looks back out into the sky.

"But I ran away," she said. "I ran from you when you were the only thing that never hurt me. I gave up on us."

My father's conversation flows through my mind.

"But I did hurt you," I admit.

She looks back over at me, her brow furrowed.

"Phoenix, I allowed you to become hurt because of me. If I didn't leave you alone…"

Her hand squeezes onto mine.

"Stop that," she says. "It was nothing you did. It was just another unfortunate time in my life."

My stomach churns thinking about all the "unfortunate" times in her life.

"But I couldn't keep seeing you hurt because of me. My own pain I can deal with, but pain brought upon you…I can't bear it," she says just above a whisper.

I don't know how to respond. We both fall silent.

"So, what do we do know?" I ask.

"Well, there is something I haven't told you," she says, making my heart skip a few beats.

She swings her leg over so that she is now straddling the branch.

"I'm not going back to San Francisco," she states. "I can't ask you to give up your whole life to be with me but it was never truly my home."

"And here is," I say softly.

She nods. "Being here for the past few days reminded me where I truly belong. I could never hate the time I spent in California though, because it brought me to you."

Reaching out I run my fingertips through her hair.

"Then, let's stay," I say quietly.

Her eyes become wide and I can't stop a smile from coming onto my face.

"I can't ask you to do that," she says shaking her head.

"I know you weren't asking, but I will stay…if you want me to. You are my life, Seraph, and the past forty-eight hours have been the worse of my life. I never want to experience that again. It comes down to if you love me or not, the rest is just details."