Willow
I’m standing in front of the clinic Noah’s currently in, and I am feeling incredibly nervous. I haven’t seen him in over a month, and I hope my presence doesn’t cause a trigger.
Breathing out a final sigh, I straighten my shoulders and walk through the glass doors. As expected, Noah set up a visitation for me, but he was still under high care, so I was only allowed in for about two hours.
I was in the visitors’ area, and as soon as I saw him passing through the door, I ran over to him.
“Woah, Specs!” He exclaims, wrapping his arms around me when I slam into him. He chuckles but then remains quiet, and we just stand in silence. I don’t think we needed to say anything to convey our feelings.
“Let’s sit down, yeah?” he finally says and leads me over to a table. It’s when he sits down that I finally get a proper look at him.
His black hair dye looks like it’s lightening up, and his blonde hair is starting to show; h
Willow It’s my last day at Thomas, Grayson and Sawyer. The week flew by so quickly, that I’m not sure if I should laugh or cry. This was the end of my journey here and I wasn’t even sad about it. I knew the time would come where I had to leave here, and five years is a pretty damn long time, don’t you think? Michael wanted to go all out and have a farewell dinner for all the staff members, but I respectfully declined. I just wanted to make a clean exit without the fuss. Reid hasn’t been in the office since he confessed his secret to me. I have a feeling he’ll return next Monday, just so he doesn’t have to see my face again. Honestly, this is so much easier than facing one another right now, especially after what I know now. Oh, did I mention that today would be the first session with a psychologist? I’ll be working until 12 pm, which is in about an hour’s time, then I have my session at 1 pm. Am I scared? Yeah, very much so bu
Reid These dreams have been haunting me since I got here - day after day, she taunts me with a smile, only to disappear. I see her again, just within reach, but as soon as I think I have her in my arms, she slips away again. How did this happen? How did I get here? I wake with a start, jumping up a little too quickly, and white spots cloud my eyes. How long has it been? A week? Two? Walking towards the windows in my room, I look out towards the frozen lake and sigh. Reid Grayson, you have become a coward hiding out at this lake house as if it genuinely were your sanctuary when you know your true sanctuary lay with her. Staying away from her proved nothing; I was as miserable as ever. My family have been trying to contact me since I arrived here, and to be honest, I wish they would all leave me alone. I chose to die, and they need to come to terms with it. My brother River will still be here, and he’s a better, more mat
Reid I open my eyes and immediately I am assaulted by the blinding headache that plagues me daily. These past few days have been nerve-wracking, the pain coming and going in waves and the fever dreams lasting even longer. As soon as my eyes adjusted, I found myself staring into the sleeping face of the woman with who I had involuntarily fallen in love with. Willow Creed looked even more beautiful as she slept, her brunette curls framing her heart-shaped face. She had a small frown forming on her brows and she was pouting; all these little things made my heart beat just a little bit faster. It takes me a second to realise that last night wasn’t in fact a dream. She was here, she confessed her love for me and said she would stay next to me regardless of the outcome. I know fighting her on this would prove futile as she would just annoy me with her own facts but the thought alone made me smile. I fell in love with her smart mouth
Willow I watch as Reid heads to his wardrobe to get dressed, admiring his firm butt as he walks away. How did this happen? How did we end up here when last week we were both in tatters with broken hearts? I suppose that it started with that phone call from River; I should thank him when I see him again. I get up and walk towards the bathroom to clean up, grabbing my overnight bag on the way there. Currently, I stank of sex and Reid, something I wouldn't mind on any other day, but we needed to talk right now. When I am done in the bathroom, I notice that Reid has put clean bedding on and could hear the washing machine going down the hall. Smiling, I grab my glasses from the bedside table and head out to meet him. He stood in the kitchen with a frown on his face, deepening as he saw me walking toward him. "Did you get all of this?" he asks, pointing toward the grocery bags on the counter. I packed all the frozen stuff away but wasn't su
Willow I’m watching Reid from the passenger seat and noting how completely calm he looks. Instead of the rigid lawyer now sat a man with his mind made up and chatting happily while sitting slightly slumped in his seat. I can’t help but think how much his decision weighed on him, knowing he could die at any given moment. Allowing myself to smile a little, I take in this different side of him with a happy heart. “My mom is looking forward to seeing you, as usual,” he says with a snicker, his eyes flickering towards me, then back to the road. “I’m a bit nervous about seeing your family after all this time,” I admit while fidgeting in my seat a bit. Yeah, it was all good and well that Reid had changed his mind about the surgery, but I had literally cut them all out of my life since we ‘broke up’ after Aspen. Would they still hold a grudge? Reid looks over at me and grins. “I can promise you now that you have nothing to be
Reid My father watches me with a glare, and before he even opens his mouth, I know what is coming. “Do you know how you’ve made your mother feel with this stunt you’ve pulled, Reid?” He says, the fake smile dropping from his face as promptly as he put it there. I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose before straightening my back to answer him. “And I have apologised to her profusely for going MIA on all of you, have I not?” I say, leaning against the kitchen counter. River shakes his head. “That’s not what dad means, Reid.” He says, the joy in his eyes earlier replaced by disappointment. “Don’t think for one minute that we’re not happy you’ve decided to live. But how do you think mom feels knowing that she wasn’t the one to make you change your mind?” I look at both of them, dumbfounded that this would be the conclusion they would come to after all this time. “So you guys are happy that I’ve chosen to live, but not that
Willow I watch Reid slump against the car door and wrench the steering wheel from his hands, with my heart beating right out of my chest. Thank God that this is an automatic, or I probably would be dead right now. After I bring the car to a stop, I check Reid’s pulse and breathing, then pull out my cell phone to call River. Fuck their differences right now. I have no idea how I am remaining so calm, but I have a feeling that this will all probably hit me once the adrenaline leaves my body. I exhale, then dial River’s number, who answers on the first ring. “Willow! Hey, listen,-” “No, I don’t have time for that now, River. There’s been an accident and Reid has passed out.” I say and go on to tell him where we were currently before putting the phone down and actually calling an ambulance. When my eyes fall on Reid, I notice the side of his mouth is a bit turned down and realise what could have happened. He was so angry, so pissed off at his fami
Reid My father is standing in front of me, sobbing his heart out because apparently, he blamed himself for my stroke. River said the same thing, even after I told them it was okay. What’s the point in whining over a death that would have ultimately come? Yes, they pissed me off with what they said, but that didn’t mean that I hated them for it. “You’re not a defective son, Reid. Please don’t ever think that about yourself! I am proud of what you’ve accomplished with your life, but I don’t want you to live your life to please me anymore. When you’re 100%, we can go over what you want to do from now on, okay?” My dad says while gripping my shoulder. I nod and give him a wan smile before he walks away again. My meningioma has grown no larger than my last check-up, so they have prepped me for an operation on the 30th, which was a few days away. I have to admit that I am terrified; even though everything still seems a bit hazy to me, I am still aw