Page 37 of Anteros' Return

But that was the thing. The organ in my chest wasn't pulsing out beats. Not since she broke it. .

I didn’t want anyone else. I wanted Emily.

Over the next few days, I called her more times than usual but all I got was her voicemail. I had to accept it was over, and that the girl didn’t want me anymore. That’s what cut the most.

Present day…

My parents confirmed it. They said she’d moved on, and that it was in my best interest to focus on my career and not someone like Emily. They never gave me a reason to doubt them before, so of course I believed them. And now, I saw it all for what it was, one big fucking game to Mike.

Those shitty memories faded the second I neared the house and saw Em and Liam waiting at the bottom of the hill. She held up her hand, waving in my direction.

“Hey, mate.” I smiled at Liam. “You joining us, Em?”

“Not today. I thought I’d bring him down here to wait rather than you struggling up the hill.”

I would have struggled a million times over if it meant I got to see them.

“Alright, well, we’ll come back straight after. Unless we can go for a burger?”

“Oh, can I, Mum?” Liam pleaded, giving her that puppy dog look. One he probably knew worked all too well.

“Alright.” She looked up at me and smiled. One that I remembered every single time I closed my eyes over the years we were apart. “On one condition.”

“Name it.” Liam responded.

“Bring me something back.”

“Of course.” I stepped closer to her as Liam practised his tricks with the ball.

“I’ll have—” she started to say.

“I remember what you like, Em.” I was close enough that I got hints of sweet vanilla cookies wrapped around the floral hues of her perfume. “Unless that’s changed?”

“N-no, it hasn’t.” She averted her eyes and let out a breath, small puffs of cold air leaving her perfectly shaped lips.

“Beckett, can we go already?” Liam called to me, breaking the connection that was trying to come back to life between Em and me.

“Yeah, one second, mate.”

I inched closer to Emily after checking Liam was still preoccupied, bringing my hand up towards her face.

“Beckett, what are you doing?” she questioned, hesitancy clear in her voice. She didn’t back away, though.

“You’ve got a little icing sugar right here.” I brushed the apple of her cheek with the pad of my thumb before bringing it to my mouth. “It always did taste better this way.” I couldn't help myself. And even if I could, would I want to?

No, no I wouldn’t.

“We’ll see you when we get back.” I looked over at Liam, who was still enjoying himself and kicking his ball around. “Ready when you are,” I called towards him.

“About time. It’s freezing.” He demonstrated just how cold he was by breathing like a dragon, his breath as clear as day in the early light of dawn. I looked back at Emily as we started to walk away, but she was trying her best to look anywhere else.

Call it cliché but I was like a moth to a flame when it came to her.

Always was.

Always would be.

I must have been getting a better handle on my crutches because we arrived at training earlier than anticipated.

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