Shattered Glass & Broken Hearts

Chapter Title: “Please stay here tonight.”

Emily knew that giving Ronnie a chance was not something that her friends were going to take lightly. Joss and Hanna were some of the only people who knew the devastation that her heart had undergone as a direct result of his walking out on her. For her to give him a second chance wasn't going to be easy - and it wasn't just her that was going to have to give him a second chance.

Max also had to give Ronnie a chance to fix things, and that was perhaps going to be the hardest thing for Emily to get done. She knew how much her brother hated him right now. She couldn't blame him, of course. But that hatred needed to stop. She wasn't comfortable with being Ronnie's girl again if her brother could never move on from the past.

"Em, I've got the spaghetti ready...You wanna eat now or wait for awhile?"

Emily looked up when she heard Ronnie calling her from the doorway to her kitchen. A small smile formed on her face and she couldn't help but to feel her heart swell with hope as he gave her the same smile that she'd gotten every day back when they'd been teenagers. It was the "I'm so in love with you it's ridiculous" smile, and it always made butterflies stir in the pit of her stomach.

"We can eat now while it's hot. Thank you for cooking for me tonight," she smiled up at him as she stood up from the couch, walking over to him. He nodded, leaning over to kiss her forehead before he hesitantly brushed his fingertips along her cheek.

"Trying to make up for lost time," he murmured.

There was sincere regret in his tone of voice, letting her know that he was definitely sorry for missing out on the years he'd been absent. He threaded their fingers together and she didn't stop him, knowing that they both needed it this time.

He led her over to her dining room table and her eyebrow arched when she saw that he'd set a candle up in the middle of the table, a small flower picked from her patio in a glass of water next to it and the lights dimmed down low for a romantic ambience.

"You didn't have to make it so cute," she teased him lightly. Ronnie's cheeks flushed a light shade of red before he shrugged, letting her kiss his jaw before he pulled her chair out for her.

"I thought you deserved it. I didn't do this kind of shit for you back then," he mumbled under his breath. He had been a good boyfriend then; neither one of them would deny that. But he hadn't been an expert at romance, and she'd been too young to really care about having him prepare dinners for her unexpectedly or cover her with blankets when she fell asleep.

Emily smiled softly. She definitely hadn't expected that from him. She didn't blame him for not doing some of those more romantic things when they'd been kids, because they had been much younger. Fifteen and sixteen year olds didn't know what the hell they were doing in relationships most of the time, and even if both she and Ronnie had agreed that they loved one another, it didn't mean they'd acted completely mature.

Ronnie's eyes stayed focused on hers and she reached over, grabbing his hand and squeezing his fingers. His face brightened when she touched him, and she couldn't help but blush. He was so damn cute when he looked at her like that.

"I really did miss you every day, you know," she murmured to Ronnie, biting her bottom lip as she picked up a fork to begin eating.

It was true. Every day that she'd spent without Ronnie by her side, she had missed him. Her whole life had been centered around him before he'd disappeared. She wouldn't hold it against him anymore, but looking back now, she realized that she definitely didn't ever want to go that amount of time without him again.

"I know you did. I'm sorry I ran away."

His voice was cracking at the end of his sentence and she knew to drop it for the moment. It was a sensitive subject for both of them, but especially for him given the fact that he'd been the one to abandon her. Every time he saw her limp, a pang of guilt hit his heart. He was the cause of that limp. And before recently, every time he'd seen the hurt in her eyes, he'd known that it was his fault. He'd broken her heart.

"Ronnie," she whispered, standing up. She sat her fork down and then walked over so that she was standing next to his chair. She could see how tightly he was holding his fork and she hated that he was so upset. All it took for his body to relax was for her to touch her fingers to his shoulder before she crouched down next to him, her eyes connecting to his.

"I hate seeing you like this. Stop blaming yourself," she murmured as she placed her hands on his knee, biting her bottom lip before she leaned in and kissed his jaw. His eyes widened when she kissed him again. The first time, he had honestly just thought that it was an accident or a spur of the moment kind of thing.

"I don't blame you." She continued as she grabbed both of his hands. "I stopped blaming you awhile ago. All I want right now is for you to give us a second chance," she whispered, looking up at him through wide eyes.

He was speechless. He had no idea what he was supposed to say to that. A second chance was something he hadn't honestly expected her to give him. He'd been hopeful, but he had also known that there was still hurt in her heart from him. A part of him had wondered if she'd always hold the fact that he'd run away once in the back of her mind.

He still felt guilty for leaving her. It was something he regretted every single day.

"I just..." He muttered. He was still so speechless over what he'd done and that was something he felt would never go away. He had no idea what words he was supposed to say to her right now. Nothing could take what he'd done back. But he also knew that not letting her have that second chance she was asking for wasn't an option.

They both needed it.

"I'm sorry," he finally whispered as he stood up, pulling her up to her feet with him. Their dinner was all but forgotten as he wrapped his arms around her. He held her tighter than he'd ever held anyone before. He'd missed her for so long and he needed her so much.

She whimpered against his chest and within minutes, tears were falling out of her eyes and soaking up in his shirt. He rubbed her back soothingly, wanting to comfort her.

"I'm not leaving ever again." He promised her, kissing her cheek gently as he tilted her face up after several minutes. "Not unless you want me to, baby girl."

Her heart fluttered at the nickname he'd once had for her when they'd been together so many years ago. He used to say things like that to her all the time, and she'd never thought she'd get it again. To hear it now made her feel even happier.

"Promise?"

He nodded, wiping away her tears with the pads of his thumbs before he kissed the corner of her mouth, his movement almost hesitant. He had no idea whether or not he actually should be kissing her this soon, but he just couldn't stop himself. He'd been craving the feeling of having her lips on his ever since the kiss in Las Vegas.

"I swear," he whispered into her ear.

She looked up at him through wide eyes, hesitation in them before she pressed her lips to his in one split second. In that moment, nothing was the same. All of a sudden, the years of abandonment issues and broken hearts were gone and they were teenagers again, their hearts connected as one and their bodies melting into one another.

"God," he whispered when she finally broke the kiss to get some much-needed air. "I needed that so much. You have no idea."

Her cheeks tinted a dark shade of red and she rested her head back on his chest as his arms looped around her waist before he sat down on the chair again. Neither one of them was hungry anymore. They just wanted each other.

"Stay with me tonight?" She asked him as she looked up at him.

It was a big question, and he knew what it meant. She didn't want him leaving her apartment. A part of him knew what to expect if he didn't go back to his own place, but he knew that he couldn't say no to those eyes. But they couldn't stay at her apartment; not when he knew her friends had keys to the place and could interrupt.

"Not here," he whispered as he pressed his lips to hers in a gentle kiss. "We can go back to my place. I have to make sure Charlie is okay, and your friends can't interrupt us there."

She swallowed, her eyes questioning whether or not he was being honest. Did he actually want to spend the night with her, or would he duck out the first chance he got to? She hated questioning his motives, but how could she not when he'd done it before?

Tonight, though, she knew that she needed to give him the benefit of the doubt. Both of them needed each other too much to not give it a shot. She nodded, letting her fingertips touch the sides of his face.

"Tonight sounds amazing, baby," she whispered as she hugged him tightly. Ronnie grinned. Finally, he had her back in his arms. It wasn't a perfect relationship yet, not by a long shot. They both still had a lot of healing that they needed to do. But he knew that it could be worked out. Any issues the two of them had with one another could still be resolved, and they both wanted this enough to make it work. He couldn't believe she was finally his again. Now, he had to make sure she stayed his.