The Escape Plan (Only Magic in the Building)

by Katie Bailey

“Keels,” he says, grabbing my hand and squeezing it. “Mom made a bad choice. And Noeleen made a choice, too. And sure, it worked out in the end for everyone, but it didn’t have to work out that way. Fate brought her and our Gramps together for a time, or whatever it was she said in the letter. But to make it work past that, they both had to choose each other.”

you have the option to choose him back, instead of just leaving him before he can leave you. Because if you live your whole life that way, sure you might have a bunch of happy memories at the end of it… but you’ll be remembering them alone. Like Mom. It’s not about leaving or not leaving, it’s about running away or else choosing to stay and fight for what—who—you love.”

Ezra pauses. And then, he smiles. “You asked me a moment ago how I know that Mae will never leave me, and the simple answer is: I don’t. I don’t know what the future holds. But I wake up every single day and choose her, and will continue to choose her, even when the going gets tough—because it does—because I love her. And when you really love someone, they will always be worth choosing. To the point that your fears of what you could lose in the process will come second to making that choice.