~ ~ ~ ~ SAM’S POV ~ ~ ~ ~

The next morning came quickly as I smelt coffee brewing in the kitchen, figuring Shawn was probably up typing away on his laptop. He was always the early bird, and I was simply not.

My thoughts wandered back to last night and I recalled the fact that I had burned down someone’s house and gotten him most likely life in prison. Really it didn’t feel real, like it had all been this twisted dream but deep down in my heart I knew I had done something pretty terrible. Although I actually didn’t feel bad all, most likely because I was partially insane, but I felt absolutely no sympathy towards the man that had attempted at controlling and ruining my life.

I believed he deserved it, honestly.

He had stalked me, he had threatened my only means of happiness, and maybe that’s why I had no sympathy. How could someone do that? It was inhumane, the whole ordeal with Robert was immoral but I knew I had finally won.

I had beaten him at his own game and now he was probably sitting in a jail cell while his house stood in a pile of ash…

And it was all because of me.

I wasn’t proud of what I had done but I was relieved that I had done it. It felt good to breathe again knowing that I had absolutely nothing to worry about anymore. Megan was safe and I was safe to attempt to mend our relationship.

Which reminded me, Shawn was still in the dark about the entire situation and had no idea what the hell was going on.

I figured Megan had to have told him something, at least that we had a fight or I had cheated on her or told her I didn’t love her. Megan had to give in at least a little bit, unlike me who had been avoiding absolutely everyone for the last week and a half.

But everything was okay now.

I pulled myself out of bed because I knew I would have to explain the truth to Shawn somehow, but I wouldn’t be able to do that without telling him the absolute truth about Robert. Thinking about him made me cringe but I knew everything was safe now, even if I had committed a crime.

I walked out of my room and joined Shawn in the kitchen, seeing him look up for his laptop and at me, “You were home early last night.”

I nodded, “Party wasn’t my thing.”

“Sure Sam, wanna talk?”

I looked at him, shrugging, “Not really, but I guess you deserve to know the truth...”

His blue eyes studied me intensely, as if he was trying to decipher how to go about whatever the hell he was about to ask me. I glanced at the clock behind him as I sipped my coffee, noticing I had gotten up before noon which was insanely weird.

But good, I guess.

He spoke before I could continue explaining my situation, “And you deserve to know this… because I know you would absolutely hate me if I didn’t tell you.”

I snapped my eyes back up to Shawn as I gave him a worried look, “What?”

He sighed, closing his laptop, “Megan is leaving for Miami at noon.”

I nodded, “Yea I called her last night and she told me she wouldn’t be back in town for a few weeks.”

He looked up from his coffee mug and responded with a seriously sad response, “She’s going meet Nikki, Sam.”

It was like something inside me was lit on fire as I came to terms with what Shawn had just told me. Megan hadn’t mentioned Miami or Nikki to me over the phone last night, which meant she hadn’t planned to tell me but she had told Shawn for a reason.

Had she told him specifically to see if he would tell me? And was this to see if I would chase her before it was too late?

I bolted to my room, tugging on my jeans I had worn last night and a fresh T-shirt. I needed to get the hell out of this house and to the airport as soon as possible if I wanted to catch her before she left.

It was already 11:30

I took a mouthful of mouthwash as I darted for the door, hearing Shawn call behind me, “Sam!”

I looked back, seeing him flash my keys as he threw them to me allowing me to catch them.

He nodded, “Fight for her, Sam.”

I darted down the street towards the airport, knowing it would take me maybe fifteen minutes to get there but I was wasting no time. I needed to catch her before she got on that plane because I couldn’t let her go to Miami to meet with Nikki. If that happened I knew we would be over by the time she came back.

Nikki would take her away from me for sure.

I could feel my heart hammering hard in my chest as I sped down the highway, nearly running every red light I passed. I couldn’t stop, and there was no way I was letting her board that plane, not without her knowing the truth.

I needed her to know at least that…

What was I going to say? She believed I had cheated on her, which was something I knew she had an absolute problem with considering her past. I had destroyed her and left her broken without attempting to fix it, only because I couldn’t.

Would she even listen to me?

The reality of her shutting me out scared the living shit out of me, and if I didn’t catch her in time she would already be on the plane. I wouldn’t be able to talk to her and she wouldn’t listen if I asked to see her one last time before they took off. If I was too late…

No, don’t think about that. Just focus on getting yourself to the airport.

I pulled into the parking lot and flew out of my car, running as fast as I could and attempting not to get hit by another car. I felt my heart screaming from the high amounts of adrenaline running through my veins as I barged in through the sliding doors, and soon I was standing in the lobby.

I ran up to the counter, cutting off about fifty people and spoke in an impatient tone, “Where’s the Miami flight for noon?”

The lady pointed to the board behind her and spoke, “Terminal B.”

I looked around and realized I had about ten minutes, and if I was lucky I would catch her before she boarded. I raced up the escalator, nearly shoving people out of my way as I darted across the carpeted floor, searching for Megan.

I scanned the crowd like a maniac, watching the people pass as I searched. I wanted to cry, break down, and scream all at the same time because if I didn’t find her in time I knew this would be it. I needed to calm down and gather myself so I could find her because there were too many people to be freaking out and searching frantically.

I wouldn’t get another chance if I fucked this one up.

And as if God finally answered all of my prayers I had been saying the last few minutes she eventually appeared, standing in line to board the plane.

I hollered out of instinct, “Megan!”

She looked up from her ticket as if she had heard a ghost, and thoughts raced through my mind as I walked quickly towards her. I needed her to turn around, I needed her to see that I was here, I was here and I was about to fight for her until I couldn’t anymore.

I spoke again as I got into her hearing range, “Megan.”

I felt everyone’s eyes on me but I honestly didn’t care. I didn’t care if they all thought I was crazy, hell, I probably was crazy but I wasn’t letting Megan get away, at least not without a fight.

Eventually she turned, her icy blue eyes finally taking me in as she stood in line behind the black ropes. She looked caught off guard but I could see something in her eyes that let me know it was okay to talk to her.

She wasn’t completely shutting me out.

She looked at me, “What are you doing here?”

I sighed, looking down at my converse and then back up to her eyes, “I’m here to ask you not to go to Miami…”

She stayed in line as if it wasn’t a good enough answer, and if I wanted her to step out of line I had to make her. She crossed her arms and looked at me, “Why?”

I stepped closer to her, “Megan, please get out of line… I need to talk to you.”

My voice was shaky and I realized I was terrified. I was terrified of losing her, and even if she did decide to leave and go to Miami I would still fight for her. Hell, if I wanted I would follow her to Miami, beat Nikki’s ass and beg Megan to come home with me.

I wasn’t letting her get away.

She shook her head, “Give me one reason to get out of this line.”

I begged, “Because you need to know the truth.”

“The truth about what?”

I looked at her, begging her not only with my words but with everything else inside me. I grabbed her shoulders and nearly cried, “Everything, I need to tell you the truth about everything.”

Something inside of her gave in, whether it was because I was close to tears or because she loved me and wanted to hear what I had to say. I didn’t want to talk about the stalker right now, and I didn’t want to talk about Nikki and how bad she was.

I needed to tell Megan how much I loved her.

Megan folded her arms again, “You better hurry. You have five minutes.”

It was like the weight of the world was on my shoulders as I tried to find the words to speak. I knew what I wanted to say but I didn’t know how to say it, it was my entire dilemma but I knew it was now or never. I needed to grow a pair and push through, I needed to tell her the truth or I would lose the only woman I’ve ever loved forever.

I grabbed her shoulders softly as I pulled her into me, praying that kissing her would be good enough motivation. I hadn’t rehearsed anything to say, but maybe I wouldn’t need to if she would just drop her hard exterior for five minutes.

Her lips crashed onto mine and immediately everything in my world stopped, as if this kiss had stopped time itself. I held her face to me as I prolonged it just a second longer before she pulled away, looking at me with sadness and anger in her eyes.

“That’s not going to keep me here, Sam. What you did was fucked up and you fucking promised me you wouldn’t cheat! You promised me!”

I could see the tears threatening to fall out of her eyes but the anger she had was preventing them. I could see how bad I had hurt her, and even though I hadn’t cheated I still felt like shit by allowing her to believe that. I had just been trying to protect her, but now I was trying my best to clean up the mess I had made.

I fought back, not allowing myself to break, “Megan I didn’t cheat. I would never be stupid enough to fucking do something that idiotic!”

She shook her head, seeming not to believe what I had just said which made me even more anxious. I continued rambling as I desperately attempted to keep her attention on me and not the moving line to board the flight to Miami.

I could tell she was struggling as I pulled her closer to me, allowing all the things I had been dying to tell her spill out of my mouth. “Megan, you’re everything I want and more... You’re perfect. I need you okay? And there’s so much I want to tell you but I can’t right now. I just need you to know I…”

Then the words stopped, as if my brain was giving me one extra second to think before I spoke. I knew I didn’t need to think anymore, I knew I loved Megan, I knew she was everything I had ever wanted and finally coming to terms with it made me grow weak.

It was like all of the emotions and feelings slammed into me all at once, like a wrecking ball crashing into my heart and nearly knocking me over. I had never been so afraid of losing someone, but here I was begging Megan to stay with me. I had never thought in a million years I would be about to tell someone I loved them, but I knew I loved the woman in front of me.

I just… knew.

Her blue eyes looked at me, and I knew I could say it now. I knew that Megan was the one for me and that I was in love with her. I knew it was safe to fall into her, and I knew even if she rejected me I would always love her.

But I needed her to know.

I held her face in my hands as I finally let my guard down, completely exposing myself to her.

I whispered, attempting to keep my composure and not break down right in front of her, “Megan I’m in love with you.”

A giant wave of relief washed over me as I watched her eyes finally soften as she looked at me, and she quickly tried to wrap her head around what I had said. Finally telling her the truth felt like finally figuring out everything I’ve ever wanted, and everything I’ve ever wanted was standing right in front of me.

I whispered, “I love everything about you Megan… I love your laugh, I love your smile, and your kisses. I love absolutely everything about you and I don’t want to lose you because if I lose you I will have nothing left to fight for. Please… just stay with me.”

I watched a single tear run down her cheek, leaving a trail of water as I brought my thumb to wipe it away. I waited patiently for her to say something, anything really, to what I had just said to her. I just needed at least one word to know that she had heard me, that she had really heard me and that I wasn’t lying.

She nodded softly and smiled, finally showing me her dimples, “Thank you.”

She pulled me into her as her arms tightened around my waist as if she was afraid the world was going to take me away from her. I buried my head in her neck as I took in her smell, my hands lacing themselves through her dark hair as I pulled her into me, taking in her warmth.

It was like everything inside me was new again, and I felt better than I ever had in my life just by being embraced with Megan in this moment.

She knew the truth, she knew I was in love with her, and now she could do whatever she wanted. I wanted her to stay but if she still wanted distance from me then I would give it to her, no matter how hard.

She pulled back after what felt like minutes of hugging and smiled, “I love you, Sam.”

I realized those would become my new favorite words Megan would ever say to me, and hearing it really filled the gaps in my heart. It was like she made me whole again, after ten months of drama, heart break, and love everything was finally falling into place.

I shook my head, “Megan please stay with me… Don’t go to Miami.”

She looked down at her ticket and smiled, tearing it in half as she chunked it into the trashcan nearby. She pulled me into her as her lips fell onto mine, full of love and passion and hope and everything Megan was to me. She was my light, she was my reason, and knowing I had won her at least for this moment… well it was magnificent.

She looked at me, “Why? Why did you-?

“There’s so many things I want to tell you… but now isn’t the best time,” I cut her off, not wanting to talk about anything here at the airport.

She exhaled heavily, “Then when, Sam?”

I looked down at the ground, knowing I wanted her and I to be alone but not too alone, just to show her I was ready to show her off and I didn’t care who saw. I answered, “I want to take you to dinner tonight.”

“Like a date?”

I nodded, “Like a date.”

She pulled me into another hug as she rested her head on my shoulder, “Sam… what took you so long?”

I smiled, feeling her warmth surround me, “Fear, but I’m not scared anymore, Megan.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“So I got him arrested and burned his house down.”

I watched Megan’s face as I revealed the truth, knowing only her and Blair knew the secret I had behind getting rid of Robert Smith for good. She leaned back in the booth we were sitting at and shook her head, as if I had revealed something so insane that it had taken her back pretty bad.

Well, I guess learning your girlfriend was a criminal was pretty tough to hear but… I did it all for her!

“You… burned down his house?”

I nodded, looking around to make sure no one was hearing our conversation. I had chosen this restaurant for a reason, and we were pretty secluded so I felt safe talking here. We had been here for hours as I explained every single detail, all the way from the night he had threatened me at Jinx.

And now she knew everything.

Megan shook her head, “Sam… I honestly don’t know how to react. As much as I want to be at least a little upset, I honestly wouldn’t expect anything less from you.”

“Meaning you expected me to do something like this?”

“Not burn his entire house down but at least try and do something about it.”

I shrugged, “I kind of went insane I guess. I believe it’s the only reason I did it.”

“You’re already insane, this obviously just made you snap.”

I looked at her, smiling, “I was saving your ass, again.”

Her light eyes looked at me as she smiled, blushing as she shook her head, “Does that mean I owe you dinner?”

I laughed, shaking my head, “No, because I still feel bad… for everything.”

I felt her hand on top of mine as they rested on the table top, knowing that all the bad was over and it was okay to finally relax. I looked up at Megan, seeing a look in her eyes that I immediately fell in love with. I felt my heart warm at the sight, knowing she was all mine and I never had to worry about someone like Robert again.

We were safe.

I whispered, “Megan…”

She smiled, “Don’t feel bad… please. It’s behind us, and I’ve learned not to dwell on the past because it just makes you crazy. Sam… it’s going to be okay.”

I shook my head, “I feel like I’ve kind of lost part of my mind… like I should feel bad for ruining this guy’s life.”

This caused Megan’s features to change into confusion and she leaned forward, “I don’t think you’re losing it Sam, but I know what it’s like to lose someone that means the world to you. You were just fighting back the only way you knew how, and you were protecting me…”

I sighed, “So I’m not crazy?”

She shook her head, “Sam, you’re not clinically crazy if that’s what you’re asking me, but yes you do like to do crazy things.”

I laughed at her as I spoke, “So that’s it, we’re free.”

She nodded, “Just like that.”

I stood then, taking her hand as I guided her out of the restaurant and towards my car. I didn’t want to leave her side, at least not for the next twenty-four hours. I was scared she wouldn’t come back if I let her go, and that was truly the scariest thing of all.

She spoke, “Can you show me?”

I looked at her, “What?”

“The house…”

I knew she wanted to see, just to make sure everything was real so she could make sure we had nothing to worry about. I could almost guarantee we were safe, and when I had showed her the picture I had stolen off of the wall it had really scared her.

So I couldn’t blame her for wanting final proof.

I nodded, “Yea, I’ll show you.”

We got into my car and drove down the road, Megan’s hand resting in my lap as she held my own. There was nothing like this feeling, nothing like the feelings Megan gave me and I never wanted to lose it. I wanted her forever, and I was going to do everything in my power to keep her loving me.

Hell I had literally burned down a house and framed a guy for her.

I drove down his street, seeing for the first time since last night a pile of burned rubble. It was surreal because literally nothing stood anymore, as if the trailer hadn’t existed yesterday. Megan gasped as I drove past, coming to terms with the truth.

She looked at me, “Oh my God…”

I spoke sadly, “It doesn’t feel real to me.”

Her hand tightened against mine as I started away from what was left of the house, not wanting to be reminded of all the things I had seen inside. I had seen all the pictures, I had seen everything and knowing he had watched Megan and I for that long made me sick.

I didn’t want to remember it.

“Who else knows?”

I shook my head, “Just you and Blair.”

We began making our way down the road as she questioned, “What are you going to tell Shawn?”

I sighed, “The truth. There’s no use lying to him, and I know he’ll be mad but… he’ll understand.”

Megan just looked at me, “Sam I…”

Her tone caught my attention because it had seemed like she was about to ask me something serious. I pulled up to a red light and questioned, “What?”

“I want you to move with me…”

Hearing her say this didn’t scare me, and I knew she wanted this for multiple reasons. She wanted to get out of this town with me obviously because I had only just graduated and she had been one of my teachers. Another was because of this situation, and getting out of town would only protect us considering I’m sure an investigation would be taking place over the whole fire thing.

And I knew she wanted to make us work, and we wouldn’t be able to do that here where everyone knew…

I smiled, “I would love that.”

I knew she hadn’t expected me to agree so quickly but I knew I wanted to be with Megan, and following her felt like the best thing I could do. I wanted to be with her forever, and not only would we be in a new town with new faces but I would be near the university, which meant Blair and I would be able to see each other more often.

It felt like fate was on my side for once.

She leaned in, pulling me in for a kiss as I felt her surround me. There was nothing I wanted more than Megan, nothing I needed more than her as I held her close to me. Almost losing her really scared the living shit out of me but here we were, wrapped in each other and there was no better feeling.

I would follow her anywhere…

She pulled back and looked at me, “I guess it’s time to tell Shawn.”

I took in a heavy breath, “I guess so.”

So I made my way back to my house to face my brother, knowing that once he knew everything would be settled. I no longer had to be afraid, not of Robert, not of losing Megan, and not thinking I would never be good enough.

Everything was okay again, and after years of battling with what seemed like every demon in the handbook I was finally catching a break.

I was finally free.

~ ~ ~ ~

“Home sweet home.”

“I’m so done with moving for like, the rest of my life…”

I flew down onto the couch as Megan sat next to me, curling into my body as we rested. The last week we had been noting but hauling, unpacking and driving that I literally didn’t want to move from this couch for another two days.

I was exhausted.

I looked around the living room of our new apartment, seeing boxes that needed to be unpacked but not wanting to unpack them just yet. The last drive here had been long even though it was only an hour away from our last town, the town I was glad we had left behind.

I was never going back there.

I looked down at Megan who seemed to be resting her eyes for a bit and I smiled, loving every second of this moment. She was perfect, and this summer had really been a wild one after the whole incident.

Then out of nowhere Megan questioned, “So are you planning on having dinner with your parents again?”

I remembered the first one not long after my graduation night. We had talked a long time at one of my favorite restaurants I used to go to all the time when I had lived with them. After what felt like centuries of waiting for them to reach out they finally did, and it had gone better than expected.

My mom was a different person, and when she had told me she was working on being a better person and opening up her mind it had really touched something in my heart. She wasn’t only trying to be a better mom but also a better person in general, and I honestly couldn’t be more proud of her.

And I actually didn’t mind the idea of spending more time with them.

I sighed, “Maybe next week, I just want to lie in bed with you all weekend…”

I rolled her under me on the couch, lying between her legs as I cupped her face and kissed her. Even though I was physically drained all I wanted was Megan, every day and every night… the want was always there.

She kissed me slightly and smiled, “I thought you were too tired…

I smirked against her lips as I whispered, “I’m never too tired for you.”

I kissed her slowly as I felt her legs tighten around my waist, causing a huge distraction as I moved over her. I could feel her body responding immediately as I kissed along her neck, feeling her soft skin against my lips.

Then I heard loud knocks on the door as Blair yelled from the other side, “Let us in! It’s hot as fuck out here!”

I pulled away from Megan, “I’m starting to think having Tony and Blair as our neighbors isn’t a good idea anymore.”

She laughed slightly, “You were the one that told Blair what apartment complex I was leasing, so it’s your fault.”

I stood, walking to the door and seeing Blair and Tony standing outside in the summer heat. She looked around, “Wow, looks like you finally got everything here.”

I let them in and sighed, “Yea, no thanks to you.”

She looked at me and spoke, “Excuse me but I had my own moving to do, thank you very much.”

I smiled as I looked around the apartment, knowing that this was a new beginning and I was excited to see where it went. Having Blair and Tony living only a few doors down really was a relief and a curse at the same time, but I was glad I would be able to keep my best friend.

Blair would be a freshmen starting in the fall and Tony had just recently graduated and had found a job not far from the University. The way things had worked out for those two had been perfect, I actually envied how everything had kind of fallen into place for Blair.

She honestly deserved it.

As for me, well I would be starting another bartending job to help support Megan with our apartment while I figured out what exactly I wanted to do. Megan didn’t rush or pressure me into anything, and I couldn’t be more grateful.

But I wasn’t disappointing her anymore.

Megan spoke, “So there’s this restaurant downtown and I think we should all go. Maybe relax a little bit while we still have some freedom.”

Tony and Blair agreed simultaneously.

So we all packed into Megan’s car and left, allowing me to realize this was the kind of fresh start I had needed all along. It was the perfect situation. A new town, a new home, a new job and a new chapter of my life that would enable me to focus on growing up and into the person I was meant to be all along.

And I would have Megan by my side the entire time.

***A/N***

Well that’s it guys! I hope I did the ending justice, and if I didn’t… well, my readers are in luck! I’ve given a sequel some thought and although I would absolutely LOVE to keep #Segan going, Sam and Megan’s relationship deserves a happy ending once and for all. BUT, I have given thought to a BONUS CHAPTER, and if you guys would like I will definitely share it with you all! Vote and comment on how you liked the chapter, and be on the look-out for BONUS CHAPTER 73, coming soon!