Merry Me

by C.R. Jane

“Natalie, I love you. You’re my girl. My soulmate. People say you can’t meet your forever person when you’re young, but we know that’s not true. You’re my everything. I don’t care about any of that Hollywood crap. I care about you

“No excuses. Play like a champion,” I muttered. “Did you get that from Wedding Crashers?” Riley drawled. “They got it from me,” I mumbled around another handful of gummies.

“Hi,” he said, extending a hand like we were grown-ups meeting for a business deal. “My name’s Easton Maddox, and I’m going to marry you someday

“You should know me better than that to think that just because you said you were done…that it meant I was done too,”

“You’re a badass bitch, Natalie,” I whispered to myself. “You don’t cry in alleys over boys. You cry in bathrooms like a lady

I could practically hear the inner sirens wailing. Danger! Danger! You’re slipping. But they were also saying We ride at dawn. So the situation was complicated.

“You’re my one, Natalie. I’ve always known it. And I won’t mess it up

And sometimes, just sometimes, you don’t have to have the right words. You just have to stay.

“I realized that love isn’t proven in the grand gestures. It’s proven in the staying. In the showing up. In the choosing to be there. Again and again.”

“Then you heal. Then you grow. But love doesn’t always mean pain, sweetheart. Not if it’s the right kind.”

“You deserve to be loved without armor.”

“Because I promise, Nat. No matter what happens, I’ll find you. Always. Even if we’re on opposite ends of the world. Even if we lose touch or get lost or…or hurt each other. I’ll come back. I’ll always come back to you

“You’re a full-time problem with part-time charm.”

“You know,” he said, his voice softer now, “you’re still my favorite person to fall with.”

“Just…sitting next to you. Sharing the fire. Talking about nothing. You…you weren’t just the love of my life. You were my best friend.”

“Because I’ve seen what life is like without you,” he said, pressing his lips gently to my forehead, like I was fragile porcelain he didn’t dare drop. “And I’ll never live it again.”

“Just in case you’re still wondering whether soulmates exist after all this time…I know they do. But not in the perfect, easy way people talk about. I think they’re rare. Messy. Stubborn as hell.” His voice softened, tugging at something deep inside me. “They fight. They break. They find their way back, sometimes more than once.” He shook his head, his eyes never leaving mine. “You’re my soulmate, Natalie Bennett.” A pause. A breath. “And I was made to never stop loving you.”