Forever in Your Life

The morning came much too quick for Maggie, the sunlight seeping in through the gauzy white curtains on the window next to the bed. She groaned and rolled, realizing that her bed was now empty. Her eyes opened as she sat up, confused. She hadn’t heard Nick leave that morning, and she was certain that he would’ve woken to at least say goodbye. Her vision darted around, looking for some kind of note, something. She didn’t find anything. Maggie crawled out of bed and into the living room, her arms folded across her chest to give herself some kind of decency. Tears welled up in her eyes when she saw that his clothes weren’t in a pile where they had left them the night before.

He had gone without saying goodbye. That stung, and she fell to her knees. She had thought…He had said…It had all meant nothing to him. Nicholas had lied, and used her, all for his own amusements. She had trusted him, and had fallen hard in the short time that she had known him, and now he was gone. Her head whirled, trying to find some kind of explanation, but couldn’t think of any. Shaking, she stood and turned back towards the bedroom. Maggie sniffled as she rifled through her bag and found some clean clothes.

She didn’t understand. What had she done wrong? Had she been too forward? Should she not have slept with him? She had thought…Maggie shoved the handle on the shower, letting the water stream out of the nozzle. She sat on the edge of the tub as the tears leaked out, cascading down her face. She had been so sure that there was something more to what had happened. She had felt it. It had sizzled around them like some weird electricity spurt. Just looking at him had made her weak in the knees. She choked on her tears as the climbed in the shower, letting the warm liquid roll over her, washing away her tears.

She wasn’t sure how long she had stayed in there, but when she got out, her fingers were pruny. Maggie stood in front of the mirror for a good ten minutes, watching as it unsteamed, and her reflection began to show up clearer. She looked a wreck. Her hair hung in strings around her face, limp and soaking wet. Little water rivulets ran down her body. Her eyes were red-rimmed and swollen. Maggie looked like she had been crying for days. She jerked her chin up defiantly. She couldn’t let him get to her. She had cried enough for Nicholas. It was now time to move on, to go home and begin her new life. He wasn’t worth it, was what she told herself, lying through her teeth.

The girl got dressed, and packed her bags. Her plane was due to leave in a few hours, and she wanted to get there early to check in. The taxi wove through London and Maggie stared out her window, forlorn. People walking on the sidewalks seemed so carefree that it made Maggie sick to her stomach. She just wanted to go home. She wanted to forget ever coming to London. She wanted to forget ever meeting him, though she knew that it would be harder than she thought. Already she could feel the hole in her chest, throbbing from rejection. She had felt it before, but it hadn’t hurt like this. She didn’t think anything would ever feel so painful.

Maggie was dropped off in front of the airport, and she lugged her bag out of the trunk, and inside. As if she was walking through a dream, she made her way through customs and got her bag checked. Everything around her was hazy, and she couldn’t honestly remember getting to her seat near the entrance that would lead her out of this damned country. She still had about an hour to spare, and too many thoughts running through her mind. Maybe some sleep would do her good. No, he would be in them. She knew he would. She leaned her head back against the chair, her eyes averting upwards, towards the ceiling. The tears started back up, and she furiously wiped them away. He’s not worth it, she kept telling herself, over and over again. She knew that wasn’t the truth though. He was worth it. He was worth every fucking one of them that fell off of her chin, soaking her shirt.

“I’m sorry.”

Her head jerked down, her eyes angling towards the voice that had spoken. Just a few feet away, looking just as sad as she felt, was Nick. His hands were behind his back, and his eyes were focused on her, like she was the only person in the entire world. Maggie felt her shaking her head. “Why?” she asked quietly. He moved towards her kneeling at her feet, dropping whatever it was that he was holding near her feet, underneath the chair so that she couldn’t see it. Nick grasped her hands into his.

“Because I had thought leaving like that would be easier. A clean separation, ya know? But when I got home, I found that it wasn’t that easy. I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I knew it would hurt you, and I couldn’t bear that. So I came back. Because I know we just met. But I like you. I like you a lot.”

His words seeped through her, instantly warming every inch of her. She felt as if she were flying, her body weightless. Through her tears, a smile grew and she wrapped her arms around him, bringing him into a hug. She didn’t care that she had spent the morning crying over him. She didn’t care that he had ripped her heart out and stomped on it. He had come back, and gently placed it back in her chest with loving hands. She was his, in that moment. Maggie knew as she held him to her, and his lips found her cheeks, her lips, her neck, wherever, that she couldn’t bear to be away from him either. She had gone on this trip to find unexpected things, to be knocked off her feet. And she was. She was completely on her ass because of the man in front of her.

“Maggie?”

She realized that she had closed her eyes in her happiness, and she popped them back open. He was smiling at her, his thumb moving over her chin before he leaned in and kissed her once more.

“Stay with me.”

Maggie gasped, leaning back, staring at him in bewilderment. Was he serious? They had just met. She knew what she felt, but was he certain that he wanted her to stay with him? What if it didn’t work out? What if they found six months down the road that they weren’t happy together anymore? Maggie would be stuck in a foreign country, knowing no one but him. What if he suddenly real-.

Her thought process was cut off by his lips on hers. Nick pulled back, grinning with a shake of his head. “I can see those questions in your eyes. But I know. Maggie, I know. Stay with me. You’re all I want. All I need. I don’t care what we have to do, how much it’ll cost, whatever. I just know that I’ve never met someone who made me feel like this, and I don’t want to lose it.”

All she could do was nod. He wanted her. No questions asked, nothing. He wanted her, and only her. Her face hurt from the smile that was gracing it. It was so wide, she was sure it was going to split it in half. Nick reached down and grabbed her back, shouldering it before taking her hand into his. Together, they walked out of the airport and got into a cab. It took them through the city, but Maggie didn’t look out the window. No, this time, her eyes stayed on one thing, and that was Nick. Nothing else mattered.