Dear Ava

by Ilsa Madden-Mills

He takes my hand slowly, almost as if he’s afraid I’m going to turn and run. “My first name is Lee.”

Is the sun brighter? Are birds singing in the trees? My legs feel weird, like I’m not really standing there. I swallow the lump in my throat. The universe just…shifted. “Lee.” Stupid me. I say it again. His full, wicked lips twitch. “Yeah. And you’re Ava, AKA Tulip.”

💜💜💜

“Mercy” by Shawn Mendes.

“I know you’re independent as hell, but I need you with me, Tulip. I let you walk away. I could have chased after you and begged you to come back, but I stuffed everything down and carried on for my family, to get our shit straight, and we did. But there’s no more going slow with me. No more distance. No more time to breathe. It’s our time. Us.”

She’s the girl I wanted the moment she walked in the doors at Camden, and I know we’re young on the outside, but inside, the heart knows when it sees its forever.