Fall Me Maybe

by Laney Hatcher

“I just think that sometimes people don’t deserve blind faith and dedication just because of blood. Holding on to the past like a lifeline only drags you backward. The effort of maintaining a relationship should go both ways and be equal. Not one person killing themselves to keep it all together.”

“It’s okay,” she whispered. “Sometimes the people who’ve known you the longest have the hardest time seeing who you really are.” I nodded because that was so very true.

And of fucking course she drove a red Jeep Wrangler. Lu was basically teenage Noah’s fantasy come to life.

Why did happiness need to be suppressed or measured out in careful doses? Declaring your joy to the universe didn’t make it strip away any faster. I wanted to live in this moment with a guy I liked while he flirted with me and made me smile. I wasn’t going to hide it just because it might not last forever.

Moaning into the soft skin of her throat, I felt Lu’s nails scratch gently across my shoulder blades, and she held me tight—so tight. As if I would leave. As if there was anywhere else I could possibly want to go. She was sunlight, air, shelter—everything I’d ever wanted in my most desperate heart.

“You didn’t force me into anything. I wanted to know you. So badly. I just didn’t trust myself. Every time your name popped up for a ride request, I could feel my stomach drop. I wanted to see you and spend time with you. I just wasn’t brave enough to ask for it on my own. I’m glad you kept showing up. You haven’t given up on me once. Even when I probably deserved it. I’m not ever going to be mad about you pretending your Jeep was in the shop. It’s how I got to know you. It’s how I fell in love with you.”

“This is our house,” I confirmed. “We can leave the Christmas lights up till January.”

I was never going to get enough of this girl. She would be the center of my universe until the day I died. Whatever path—whatever journey—we were on, we’d take it together.

It started with a phone call and a ride request. A twist of fate in an unexpected place. I was just glad she was driving off into the sunset with me.