ELLIOT

That next day, mom looked traumatized after I retold the story about what happened on the 1st September of 2017.

"So that's why she...," mom trailed off, her face pale.

We were currently at the hospital and mom was getting discharged in a half an hour. I took my hand in hers and nodded.

"Are you going to miss her?" She asked, gently.

Her green eyes were fixed on me. She had finally got out of the hospital gown and was back to her jeans and white sweater, her bandaged wrist hidden.

"Of course I will. She was one of a kind, because she combined a kind devil and a mean angel," I admitted, remembering back to all our memories together.

Mom smiled. I couldn't believe today was my last day at the boarding school. Mom was coming with me to help me pack and say goodbye to Rachel. I had a feeling Rachel hated goodbyes. I guess everyone did.

Our conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door before a nurse stepped inside with a soft smile across her face. The slim young woman with her blonde hair in a tight bun, walked over to us and offered mom an envelope.

"This is for you," she said.

Taking it, mom smiled, politely. "Thank you."

After the nurse left, mom opened the envelope and took out a letter, gently unfolding it.

"It's from your school," she said, confusion clouding her face.

Flustered, I sat still on the edge of the bed while mom with narrowed eyes read the letter.

"I have been offered a position as a teacher at your school?!" She exclaimed, shocked.

"What?" I stood up rapidly, completely stunned.

Mom was shocked as well while her voice was so shaky as she read the letter once more of disbelief.

"It's true. It's written right here," she whispered, tears brimming in her eyes.

"Mom". I sat down again and took the letter out of her hands, reading it twice. However, the words on the paper never changed.

Mom got a job...as a teacher....at the boarding school?

And then suddenly, mom squealed of happiness before she pulled me into a extremely joyful hug. I laughed and wrapped my arms around her.

This was real? Shit, this was real.

"That means I'll live at the boarding school with you. And...," she paused.

"And?" I whispered, not believing the words about to come out of her mouths.

"And you don't have to leave. You can stay, Elliot, with me, your friends and Rachel," she whispers, stunned herself.

Just like that, those were the best words I had heard in a very long time. My heart melted of so much happiness and excitement and I knew mom's did as well. I drew back and cupped her bubbly cheeks in my palms. She smiled, genuinely.

"I'm so excited," she confessed, a single tear rolling down her cheeks. For the first time, that was a happy tear.

I nodded and kissed her forehead. However, one thing bothered me. Who did this? Mom didn't have degree as a teacher. She didn't have a degree at all. Mom didn't go to school nor did she attend college. Then how...?

Out of the blue, a name crossed my mind. No way, it couldn't be possible that she...no. Right?

~
RACHEL

I was drying my hair with a towel after taking a shower when Elliot barged into my room, looking at me with a extremely astonished expression while breathing heavily.

Sighing, I rolled my eyes. "Why do you always run into my room faster than a horse? You're taking this suicide watch way to seriously."

"D-did you...mom..job...here...?" He asked, breathlessly. He looked like a confused kid with his head tilted to the side and eyes blinking several times.

I burst out laughing of his childish and ridiculous expression. I continued to laugh with my arms wrapped around my torso while Elliot walked towards me and hastily cupped my cheeks in his awfully warm palms. His brown admiring eyes looked straight into my eyes. Way into mine.

"A-answer me...," he commanded, the breathlessness slowly thawing from his voice.

My amused expression faded and I tried to peel my gaze off his eyes, but failed, miserably. "Yeah, I-I did," I answered with a hint of shakiness in my tone.

Elliot's tightened jaw twitched, his eyes glimmering of something I couldn't make out the meaning of.

"Why?"

"Because you worked so hard to get here. I didn't want your hard work to be for nothing. So I talked to aunt Bella and she sent her a job offer so you two could stay here together," I whispered, gently.

Slowly, the tension in Elliot eased and his tensed muscles relaxed. His eyes ignited of sudden joy when a small smile tugged on his lips.

"And," I began.

"And?" He whispered, hope and curiosity glimmering in his eyes.

"And I really like your mom and want her to be happy here with...us."

"And," I whispered.

"And?" He whispered, grinning with his forehead resting on mine.

My hands twitched. I never closed my eyes. "I need...you."

A genuine smile broke across his face before he placed his lips on mine with pure gentleness. He kissed me slowly and carefully making my whole body tingle from head to toe. My heart skipped a beat as our breaths mingled. It wasn't long before he drew back and buried his face in my wet hair while his arms wrapped around my back.

Admiring the silence, I exhaled a deep breath and wrapped my arms around Elliot. My face perfectly fit in the space between his neck and shoulder, I inhaled his scent of happiness.

"Rachel?"

"Hmm?"

"I...I need you too," he whispered, honesty echoing in his voice.

A smile formed upon my lips as well and we stood there for sometime. The silence was a beautiful rhythm, which we slowly started to sway to.

~

"Rachel!" Lucy smiled by the sight of me while I walked towards her and she embraced me in a warm hug.

"Thank you so much for talking to your aunt and getting me a job here. This means so much to me and Elliot. We have no idea how to thank you," she confessed, stroking my hair.

While Elliot sat on the bed in Lucy's dorm with a grin plastered across his face, I smiled and drew back to meet Lucy's gaze. Her big green eyes were the most beautiful thing ever. The smile made her bubbly cheeks to come clearly to sight and her silky, dark brown hair was resting loose down her shoulders. She wore black jeans, which were in contrast to her white creamy colored sweater.

"There's nothing you need to thank me for. I like to help the ones I love. An old habit of mine. I guess that habit still exists even in the Rachel I am now," I replied, smiling softly.

Elliot and Lucy exchanged a smile before Lucy met my gaze with happiness sparkling in her eyes. "And we're glad it does. You should be too."

"You know, Rachel, mom always wanted to be a teacher. It was her dream. She used to help the younger kids and sometimes even the older ones with studies at the orphanage. None of them went to school. The orphanage was their school and she often took over for the teacher as well. But all of her dreams and hopes were destroyed when...yeah," Elliot informed.

"I know. Lucy mentioned it once when she visited. That's how I got the idea of getting her a job here," I said, smiling.

"So that's where you got your tutoring skills from?" I asked, grinning.

Elliot flashed me a wide grin in return. Lucy smiled happily when I met her gaze.

"How's your injury?" I asked, gently lifting up the sleeve covering her wrist. When her bandaged wrist came to sight, I lifted my chin and caught a glimpse of a broken fracture in her eyes. A part of her soul which broke and the pain still existed in her eyes.

"Elliot...he um...told me about what that...monster did to you," I whispered, taking her both hands in mine.

Lucy briefly glanced at Elliot who still sat on the bed, watching us. When I looked at her again, sadness and fear dominated in her eyes.

"I am so sorry. You didn't deserve what happened to you. I'm not going to say that what happened to you was a good thing, because what he did is the most absurd and unforgivable sin. But I've heard that in every bad thing, there's something good hidden it. And the good thing about your situation is Elliot. And Elliot Waters is a really, really, really good thing," I confessed, genuinely.

I knew Elliot had a surprised, yet amused smile across his face while I gazed at the bright smile forming upon Lucy's lips. She glanced at him.

"Yes, he is. He really is," she confessed.

Elliot cheeks had turned pinked when I glanced at him and he stood up to embrace his mother into his arms, holding her close to him as if he'd never let go.

I smiled by the sight of them and just for a moment remembered what it was like having a mom. What it was like to love and be loved by a mother.

~

That evening, Elliot and I sat in the library and were studying when Madelaine, Skylar and Will climbed down the stairs from the second floor. They didn't see me and Elliot as they were busy in their own conversation while walking past us.

When I spotted Madelaine and her hand in Skylar's, I opened my mouth to call out to her. However, not a single world left my mouth. It was because of Elliot that my heart filled with relief when they stopped in their tracks.

"Hey, guys," Elliot said as he stood up, dragging me with him towards them.

They all smiled seeing Elliot, but when their eyes stopped on me, the smile faded and something between guilt and sympathy clouded their faces.

Madelaine was the one I stood face to face with. She looked at me with a guilty frown, but a small smile tugged on her lips when I took her both hands in mine, our hazel eyes meeting.

Just like that, tears dwelled up in my eyes. "I'm...I'm so sorry for everything."

"I was hurt, I was in pain and angry at myself the day I returned to school. I needed you so I started looking for you. I needed to open up to you and tell you everything. I needed to tell you that I felt like cutting my wrist. My brain was about to explode. My heart wanted one thing, but my mind wanted something else. I couldn't get that gun I held and shot my...dad with out of my mind. I was scared if I did something to myself, I'd break Will's heart. I was scared of so many things. So...so when I saw you kissing Skylar, I just...it broke my heart. My anger and pain grew and I just couldn't look at you. But the truth is, I was stupid, selfish and a self obsessed idiot who couldn't see anything beyond my pain. I'm so, so, so sorry," I confessed, pleading for forgiveness.

Madelaine burst into tears as she cupped my wet cheeks in her soft palms. "It's okay. I understand. I'm sorry too. Other than knowing that your parents died dad that day, I didn't know how it happened. I said so much to you in the hallway, because I was so angry and sick of you treating us as some criminals. When Elliot told us about how your dad died that day, that's when I realized how foolish I was. I should've known the whole story. I'm so sorry Red," she sobbed.

"It's okay, Maddie," I whispered, reassuringly.

Madelaine's eyes lit up. "Red?"

"Yes, Maddie?"

"I love you," she replied with a tiny voice.

Something lit up inside of me. Something called happiness.

"I love you too," I confessed, genuinely.

And then Madelaine hugged me extremely tightly and so did I. It felt so good to be in her arms again as if a broken part of me just healed. We stayed in each other's embrace for sometime while Elliot, Skylar and Will smiled at us.

When we drew back, Madelaine wiped my tears and I wiped hers, leading us both to chuckle.

My gaze stopped on Skylar who was smiling brightly by the sight of two sister reunited. I stepped towards her and extended my hand to her while putting on a big smile.

"Hi, I'm Rachel. Nice to meet you," I said.

She was short and had light blonde wavy hair pulled into a messy loose bun. Her blue eyes reminded of the ocean and a dimple formed on her pink cheek.

She grinned, shyly. "I'm Skylar. It's nice to meet you too. Your best friend is so hot."

Madelaine's face turned immensely red as she buried her face in her palms. Amused, everyone laughed including me.

"Don't hurt my best friend," I warned, almost grinning.

Still smiling, she nodded. "Warning taken."

And then my eyes met Will's. He looked at me with soft smile and a caring expression. However, the guilt, regret and shame was still there. I needed to take those emotions away. If he lived with that guilt for too long, it would destroy him. And the last thing I wanted was to let that one night destroy the guy who loved me with so much passion.

"Will, could we talk in private?" I asked, gently taking his hand in mine. My heart skipped a beat when our fingers interlaced with each other. His touch felt good. It brought back memories. Beautiful memories.

Surprised and the slightest of confused, Will nodded and we walked out of the library together. Still hand in hand, we stopped in the empty hallway and I turned around to meet his gaze.

"Listen, I'm really sorry. I know what I did can never be forgiven," he began, ashamed of himself.

I shook my head. "No, Will. It's okay. After everything Mads said to me in the hallway, I realized I wasn't only unfair towards Mads, but with you as well. I was just so hurt and heartbroken when you just ran away like that when I needed you to the most. But you were scared and in shock. I...I was scared too when I picked up that...gun and,-"

"It's okay. I know. You don't need to say anything," he assured, giving my hand a light squeeze.

I cocked my head to the side, gazing at him with glassy eyes.

"Elliot told me that you ask how I'm doing everyday. After everything, you still care. I said so much to you in that classroom when I ended everything between us, but still, here you are, being as caring and loving as ever," I sob, guilt brooding over my chest.

"Hey." He hurriedly cupped my face in the palms of his hands before wiping my tears. "No matter what happens between us, I'll always care about you. Always," he promised, honesty igniting in his beautiful sky blue eyes.

That only made me cry harder. However, Will shook his head and continued to wipe the tears rolling down my cheeks. I missed him. I missed this. How he cared and how he loved me unconditionally.

"Is there any chance for us to ever be together again?" He asked, swallowing hard.

My heart abruptly stopped. It took every piece of courage I had left in my broken soul to say my next words out loud.

"Will, I'm...I'm not in love with you anymore. I'm sorry."

As soon as the words were said, Will's hands immediately dropped from my cheeks. The worst part was that I could see his heart slowly, yet agonizingly break when his expression saddened. Holding the tears back, his jaw twitched as he forced out a nod.

His voice hitched. "I...I understand. So we can't even be f-friends?"

"Of course we can!" I quickly placed a hand on his smooth cheek, receiving a trembling sigh and a tear escaping his eye.

My touch. It was hurting him. I hurt him. I broke Will Harris's heart. The guy who I thought I'll marry one day and have kids with and would live happily after with. The guy I would love and who would love me forever.

Nevertheless, I had learned that nothing lasted forever.

"I...I really want us to be friends. Best friends. I still want you to care about me the way you did. I still want to care about you. I want us to care for each other like we always have. Can...can we do that?" I asked, carefully.

Will sighed before nodding. A spark of relief burst through me.

"It's true that I'm hurt and it will definitely take time for me to move on from what we had. But I still want to be your friend. Always. I'll always love you, Rachel. Always," he confessed.

"I'll always love you too," I whispered, truthfully.

I always would, because Will Harris was a huge part of my life.  The memories of my life would be empty without Will. Thus, I would always love him. Always.

And then he smiled. A real genuine smile. A smile I hadn't seen for such a long time. And I smiled back.

"Come here." He pulled me into his embrace, my head resting on his familiar solid chest as his arms wrapped around me. He rubbed a soothing palm on my back and I exhaled a deep breath. I wrapped my arms around him and closed my eyes.

"God, I missed this. I missed you," he whispered, his voice briefly cracking.

"Me too, Will. Me too."

I held onto him a little tighter than a few seconds ago. We stood there in each other's embrace for sometime and that's when I realized I felt a little less broken than I was this morning, waking up from brutal and haunting gunshots.

Will was here and I was in his embrace. For now, in this moment, that's all I needed. That's all I wanted.

*******************

Elliot is staying and Rachel is friends with Will and Madelaine again? Who's happy?❤️

THANK YOU FOR 4K READS 😍

Remember to
vote 💛
comment ❤️
share 🌹
follow me 😊