So Kiss Me Goodbye

The plane ride was pretty uneventful as we touched down in Charleston.

In a blur I grabbed my luggage and turned on my phone.

"Hey Matt I'm ready and waiting."

He chuckled. "Give me twenty minutes or so sis."

Sis.

Oh how I missed being called that.

Not sweetie, not kid, not love or hon, but sis, like someone out there loved me beyond myself because they were a part of me.

I realized after my thoughts that I still had the phone to my ear long after Matt had hung up the phone and quickly followed suit.

A minute later a staked out my position in front of the entrance, biding my time like an inmate about to be released.

Things were nice and quiet for a few minutes when footsteps echoed behind me.

"Lilly?"

That tentative, shy voice could only belong to one man.

I squeezed my eyes closed and prayed it was in my head.

The hand that nervously touched my shoulder couldn't really be cited as my mind, or dementia sadly.

"Lilly?" He asked softer and closer.

I slowly turned around, my breathe catching in my lungs seeing Will standing awkwardly not far behind me, his lankiness not helping him look any more comfortable.

Will nervously shifted his weight from foot to foot, the duffel bag he had being more of a protective shield if anything.

"Please, say something." He pleaded softly.

Under my breath I replied.

"I'm going to visit my family, what are you doing here?"

He sighed and switched his bag over to the opposite shoulder.

"Lilly I don't know if I said all those things on that paper to you last night, I wish I hadn't got so wasted."

"Well you did." I snapped bitterly, turning back toward the street.

Will exhaled sadly.

"You read what was on that paper; I meant every word of it. I want to be there for you and the baby."

My heart lurched up at his words, wanting to hear them for so long, but my mind said otherwise.

"And I'm just supposed to believe you had a change of heart?" I asked sardonically.

I tried to turn away from Will but he stepped in front of me, putting his hands on my shoulders to make sure I saw the honesty in his eyes.

"I did have a change of heart. That day The Butcher came back from your place he sat me down and talked to me. A while later Travis came by and told me about what you'd been going through; he also had fun yelling at me about my stupidity."

I tried to turn away from him but he held me firmly, though I couldn't deny he was gentle about it.

"And which one of them sold me out?"

Will bit his lip.

"It was when I called Pete after you left. He... he brought Ryan and Travis with him. It was Travis's idea for me to follow you out here; he thought it might be good."

My blood began to boil with what Travis did.

Angrily I ripped myself away from Will's grasp, both pissed off and betrayed while I waited for Matt to show up.

The tightness in my chest didn't go away as Will hesitantly stepped closer, still keeping a distance between us.

"Lilly, please, he just wanted to help. Can't we just try to work this out?"

I took a deep breath but still refused to say or do anything.

Will took me by surprise by continuing.

"I remember... I remember you saying last night we needed to talk. Well I'm here Lilly, and I'm not going anywhere, so let's talk."

I nervously threaded my fingers and almost painfully twisted them with what Will said.

He actually remembered something I had said, though deep down I realized that was pretty much all he remembered.

My thoughts were conflicted from detaching myself from Will to having him fight to change my mind.

He was trying hard, he really was, and as much as a part of me wanted to forgive him and just get back with him, I wasn't giving in that easily when he had put me through so much.

"I agree we need to talk, but don't think things are going to be back to how they were. You left me after I found out I was pregnant and now you want back in. I'm not ready to let my heart get caught up in what you do for you."

Will looked down guiltily at my words, obviously hitting him hard, but he continued to try one last time.

"I know I screwed up; I screwed up big." He sighed, looking up at me in genuine honesty. "But I will do whatever it takes, however long it takes, to make things right with you. And there's nothing you can say to change my mind."

Any girl hearing that from a guy like William Beckett would've melted into him, a scene straight out of a Danielle Steele book, but I stood strong, barely.

"What about the baby? Will you make things right by it?" I asked, my hand wandering down to my belly, the bump becoming more obvious.

Will followed my hand with his eyes, not looking anywhere else as he replied with a solid, "Yes."

I couldn't help but feel a little more assured and closer to Will as a voice behind us interrupted the moment.

"Lilly!"

I turned to see Matt quickly getting closer as I turned to Will.

"You said whatever it takes; step one is getting through my family, do you think you can do that?"

Will smiled with his eyes as he put his arm around me.

"Don't worry, you're stuck with me now."