Page 54 of Always Been Yours

Neither of those outcomes would be worse than my mom finding out, and inevitably my siblings, that Brody left me crying in my gorgeous emerald-green gown that my mom almost didn’t buy me because it was so expensive.

I’ve never hated Brody more than I did in that moment and that only made me cry harder.

Sometimes I didn’t know if I loved Brody at all. Or if I was just attached to the idea of him.

But we had been together for two years by that point. And I really believed that he loved me. Otherwise, why would he come back even after I disappointed him, or after he didn’t talk to me for days? He’d always tell me he just needed some space sometimes and nothing would keep him away from me for long.

It felt so romantic and addicting at that age.

I don’t remember if it was the thought of Brody leaving me or the thought of being alone that caused the horrible sob that crawled outof the deepest part of my chest, but it couldn’t have been worse timing.

I heard the gate between our backyards unlock but I’d been too emotional to really process what was happening.

Until I felt the hand on my cheek and heard the soft, familiar voice that I hardly recognized. “Vivi?”

His gentle tone and even gentler touch only made me cry more.

“Are you hurt?” I didn’t have to look at him to feel the fire in his eyes. “What did he do to you?”

Shuddering breaths and gasping sobs were his only answer. Aggressively shaking my head was the only answer I could give at that moment.

I wasn’t physically hurt—Brody never laid a hand on me—but emotionally, I was broken. Partly due to the boy standing in front of me.

He was still holding my cheek, brushing the tears away that were falling too quickly. “Stand up, Viv.”

Viv. It had been so long since I heard him call me that. Since I heard him call me anything. It was shocking enough to break me out of my emotional stupor.

The gasping and sobbing slowly receded but the tears were still flowing.

I couldn’t form the word, but I mouthed silently, “What?”

“There’s something I promised you a very long time ago, and this is my last chance to make it happen.”I stared up at him for a long moment.

I shook my head again.

Not in argument but in disbelief.

There was only one thing that Grady promised me he’d do that night.

“Please.“ The desperation was apparent in his eyes.

Evenwhen I hated him, I didn’t have the strength to deny Grady anything.

And I didn’t want to deny him this. I didn’t want to denymyselfthis.

I moved to stand up and grabbed his hand that was waiting for me. We stood a few feet apart while he searched for the song.

He dropped his phone in the front pocket of his suit jacket, leaving the volume just loud enough that we could hear it but not get attention from either of our parents.

He pulled me toward him, wrapping his other hand around the middle of my back.

“You remembered,” I whispered into his chest.

“Kiss Me” by Sixpence None the Richer was playing, and I was taken back to the summer before I started middle school. It was the girls turn to choose the movie, and Lyp, Blake and I were on a Freddie Prinze Jr. kick. Ten years too late.

After everyone else had gone to bed, Grady and I were awake and left whispering secrets for only us to know. Movie nights usually ended like that.

I told him that the final prom scene of She’s All That was the most romantic thing I had ever seen.

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