Dear Maisie,

I know you're still upset at me, and I don't blame you. I know that I totally overreacted when I saw your parents at the hotel. I shouldn't have ignored you, that was childish of me. When I saw them here, my mind just went blank and I thought you had lied to me about staying in France. Or maybe that you didn't lie, but that you changed your mind. I wasn't ready to say goodbye to you, so I was avoiding you and that was a huge mistake.

If you really did leave, it would have been the biggest regret of my life if I wasn't able to say goodbye to you before you left. Even now, I'm worried that it's my biggest regret, because I don't know if you'll forgive me for hurting you like that. I really love you, Maisie, and I will do anything in my power to get you back. You are the most kind, soft, brave, talented, and beautiful girl I have ever met. My biggest fear is ending up like our grandparents. That eventually, our love story will just be something that happened fifty years ago and can't get back. I know that if this does happen, it will be my fault, but I'm going to do everything in my power not to let that happen.

I'm going to give you as much space as you need, but I'm here when you're ready to talk to me. Or if you are ready to talk to me. It's only been a week since I've kissed you, but that feels too long. I miss you so much, and I hope that we can talk soon.

Love,

Silas

I find the letter propped inside my mailbox after I return to the house from saying goodbye to my family, along with the deer painting leaning against the wall. I'd spent the week with them, sometimes getting the house situated, and other times showing them around the area. My mom did indeed get her relaxing beach day, and my dad got to explore the city. Trevor didn't really care what we did, and just followed around looking bored and uninterested the entire time. We bonded some when I played his Nintendo Switch together.

Now, they're headed back to the States without me, and I have no other distractions to help me avoid thinking about Silas. Especially with this letter that's appeared, I know I can't avoid it forever.

When I'm done reading the letter, I notice Silas watching me from the busy patio of the restaurant next door. My first instinct is to avoid him, but I've been doing that all week and it needs to stop. I don't want to give up on him, so if we really want to work this out, we can't just keep avoiding each other. I'm still upset at him for the way that he reacted, but I know he feels bad, and I still love him a lot.

Making eye contact with him, I sit down on the patio step at the front door of the building. The first floor is still completely empty, but once I get more settled here, I will be looking for somebody to rent the space.

Silas accepts my silent invitation to join me on the patio, and he starts walking toward me with his hands stuffed in his jean pockets. He looks nervous.

"Hey," he greets me awkwardly when he arrives.

"That was a nice letter," I tell him in a small voice.

"Well, I meant every word," he promises me and then sits down beside me on the patio. "I don't know what I was thinking."

"You're not good at dealing with negative emotions," I inform him, as if I'm a psychologist or know anything about the human psyche. I'd like to think I know Silas fairly well though, and I feel like I do understand him. "I know that I shouldn't have lied about telling my mom the truth, and I'm sorry. Every time I would talk to her, though, she would be so excited about me coming home and I just never found the words."

"I understand," he says. "You didn't have to lie about it, I would have helped you through it."

"I know. I just didn't want you to think that I was second guessing my decision," I admit to him, and then I let out a soft snort of a laugh. "I guess that really blew up in my face though."

"I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions," Silas says quickly.

"No, you shouldn't have," I agree with him. "And if we're really going to give this relationship a chance, it's going to be the real deal. We're going to fight sometimes, there are going to be misunderstandings and arguments. You can't just make decisions on your own without talking to me, and you definitely cannot ghost me whenever you get upset."

"I won't do that, ever again, I swear to God," he starts insisting emphatically.

I look into his blue eyes, and I get lost in them. I've missed them so much. "If it happens again, I won't be here when you come back to me."

"That's totally fair," Silas is quick to respond again.

"We need to talk things out like grown adults and handle our conflicts instead of running away from them," I continue. "That's something we both need to work on, but it's the only way that a relationship can last, in my opinion."

"You're right," he agrees with me again. "I really want this to work, Maisie. We are going to be a real couple, with real disagreements and healthy resolutions. There's really no other option because my life just doesn't make sense anymore without you in it."

I apprehensively take his hand in mine. I know that we both have messed up a lot in the past few weeks, but I also feel like we're both worthy of forgiveness. Because my life doesn't make sense without him either. When Audrine had told me that he deleted Skype, our only way of communicating, I felt so lost and so hurt. It's scary, knowing that I'm giving this man my heart who may panic and do that to me again. It's scary to think about how much power he has over me, how much he can make me hurt.

But taking that risk is so worth it to me, because of how amazing he makes me feel when we're together. How good his touch feels, how nice his voice sounds, everything about him makes me melt into a puddle under his shoes. This may end up hurting like hell, but I'm willing to take the risk.

Silas wraps his fingers tightly around mine and then smiles at me. "Is your family still here?"

"They just left for the airport," I answer him. "Mom had to get back to work."

"She knows now, right? That you're staying?"

"Yes," I say with a small laugh. "I told her when they got here. She didn't love the idea, she still doesn't. She's warming up to it though, and she didn't try to drag me by my hair onto the plane, which I kind of thought she'd do."

"That's good to hear."

"She seemed pretty excited when I told her I'd let her design my guest bedroom," I add. "So, yeah, I think there's a lot of progress being made."

"Is there anything I can do to help you get moved in?" he asks me.

"I've got everything I need for now," I assure him. "What I really need is for you to help me learn how to drive."

"I can do that," Silas smiles at me, and then leans over and presses his lips to my cheek. "Maybe not today though. Can we just do nothing today, and just be together? I really missed you."

"That sounds good," I agree with him, leaning my head on his shoulder. "I really missed you too."

I lead him up the stairs into the barely decorated living area. I have a TV now, but no cable. I've been plugging my laptop into the TV to watch Netflix for the time being. It all still looks very empty, but it has all of the bare necessities.

"This all happened so quickly that it's been hard to get everything I need," I explain to Silas. "But it'll do for now."

"Where are you going to hang the painting?" he asks me, holding up the deer painting that he had carried up from downstairs.

"I think my mom would like it in the guest room," I say jokingly. "Or maybe in my studio upstairs."

"We can bring your stuff from next door over here, so you don't have to buy all of the paints and supplies again," Silas suggests. "This place looks really good, for only being here a week."

"It's been hectic," I say with a nod. I was also able to get so much done because I needed to keep moving in order to not get upset about our fight, but we just resolved that and I don't want to bring it up now that it's water under the bridge. "You can't make fun of me for not having a bed frame, okay? I know it looks terrible just sleeping on a mattress on the ground. I already ordered the frame though, it's on its way."

"That's good, because I was actually just about to judge you for that," Silas says teasingly as we walk into the bedroom. Upon my mother's request, I found a soft gray rug to put on the hardwood floor. Other than that, there's a black dresser and the mattress with new bedding. I've ordered a mirror to hang on the wall, but there is still a lot to do to make this look like a homey room.

"I'm excited," I say with a beaming smile. "I know it looks like crap, but I don't care. It's mine, I made all the decisions, I created this. This is my life."

"It's beautiful," Silas assures me, wrapping his arm around my waist. "I'm so proud of you."

Looking around this space, I can envision a life here. Our life here. I can see us living here, growing old together, with the restaurant and my studio upstairs.

I can see us arguing in these walls and then making up, and just experiencing everything that life has to give us. Right here, and together. Whatever is ahead, I know that we'll deal with it together as a team. Me and Silas, together, ready to take on the world and whatever it may throw at us.

I'm going to spend my life here, kissing Silas and joking around with him, exploring and growing together. Laughing, cuddling, talking, learning, we're going to do it all together. I can see it clear as day, and I have never been so excited for my future than I am right now.