"And I have to be honest with you. I don't care if you hate me. I'll still chase after you. Because... Because I love you".

"You... You what?" I asked in disbelief. His eyes were locked on mine.

"I.... I love you", he repeated.

No one would ever know how much I wanted to hear those words from his mouth. Those three little words.

I closed my eyes and reopened them, making sure this was real.

"This is real", I whispered.

He nodded. "This is real".

He opened up his arms and I fell into them.

"Can you say it again?" I asked, longing to hear the words again.

He smiled and pressed my head to his chest. "I love you. I love you. I love you" he repeated.

"I love you too", I said.

"I'm so sorry. Sorry for all the times I never said it. I'm sorry for being a coward. Sorry for all the times I let you leave. When I let you go. I'm sorry for all the things I said. I'm sorry for all the times I made you cry. I'm.... So so sorry", he choked.

"I'm sorry too. I'm sorry for all the times I left and for all the promises I broke", I said.

He rubbed my back and kissed my head. "But that's all behind us, and we're gonna make it. I promise".

I nodded. I believed him.

"Here, come here. Get up", he said.

"What? Why?" I asked, sitting up.

"Come on, I'm going to do This right", he said.

I was confused, but I listened. I stepped out of the car and walked to the front where he was.

"Babe, it's cold", I said. I stuffed my hands in my pockets and shivered.

"Come here", he said, and wrapped his arms tightly around me, protecting me from the cold.

"Now... Why are we out here?" I asked.

He pulled back enough so he could see my eyes and our noses were almost touching.

"Joanna, Will you be my girlfriend? Officially? Can I kiss you whenever I want? Sometimes because I need it, sometimes to make sure you're there, sometimes because you're so beautiful, and sometimes because I'm just so freaking happy?" He asked with a chuckle.

I giggled. "Yes. And are you going to kiss me now?"

He nodded. "Mmmhmmm".

"And what reason?" I asked.

"Because You're mine", he said.

I smiled and kissed him. And my reason? Because I loved him. So flippin much it hurt.

"Can we go back into the car?" I asked.

He chuckled. "Yes."

We got back in the car and drove home. We sat out on the road for a little bit.

"Why here? Out of all the places to go, why would you come back to your parents?" He asked.

"Because I thought you might stay away if I was here", I said.

"Well you thought wrong, princess. I wasn't about to stop for anything, even though your parents do scare the living daylights out of me."

I laughed.

"So why have your parents always hated me? I mean, besides the fact that they're convinced I kidnapped you?"

"Uhhh.... I mean... I guess they thought you were immature. I mean... You are kinda", I said.

He laughed. "Excuse me? Me? You mean 'we'?"

I shoved him. "It's your fault! You ruined me!"

He laughed and pulled me close. "I'll see you tomorrow".

Then I got out and he drove off. Apparently, his family had moved about fifteen minutes away, so he went to go stay with them for a few days.

I walked into the house. "Carly isn't staying?" My mom asked.

"Who? Oh! Yeah! No, she's not. She had other plans", I lied.

"Oh, okay honey. Where are you going?"

"To bed", I said.

"Bed? Honey, it's only three o'clock in the afternoon".

I waved her off. "I'm tired".

So I went to bed. I woke up in the morning and jumped out of bed. I went downstairs and ate breakfast.

"Good morning mom!" I squealed as she came downstairs.

"Wow. Someone's in a good mood today", she smiled.

I blushed. "I guess I got good sleep last night".

She laughed. "Well, good. Your father is meeting me at the airport, so I'll be gone for a little while. Will you be okay?"

"Mom, I'm almost twenty one years old. I can handle myself", I said.

"Oh, sorry honey. I always forget how fast kids grow up", she said.

We talked for a little bit, then she left.

It was weird. I had never had a very close relationship with my mom ever since I started dating Charlie. But I was very close to his family.

I missed them, but I wasn't sure if I was ready to see them again. I hadn't seen them since before I ran away with him, and neither had he. I wondered how they felt about me.

I sighed and finished my breakfast. I heard my phone buzz.

ChuckyCheese❤️: hey:) mind I if I come over?

Me: please. How'd everything go? Do they hate me?

ChuckyCheese❤️: no. They still adore you, as they should. It's me their mad at

Me: sweet. I'll see you then my little cumber bun😘

ChuckyCheese❤️: okay my little artichoke

I sighed and set my phone down. I looked down. I should probably get dressed.

I went upstairs and put sweatpants and a sweatshirt on.

My phone buzzed again.

ChuckyCheese❤️: I'm here. Are you're parents home?

Me: yep

Okay, I lied. But it was only for the best.

As I expected, his face appeared in the window. I laughed.

He saw me and I opened the window.

"You're parents aren't home, are they?" He asked.

I shook my head. "I just couldn't resist you having to climb up here".

"As soon as I'm in there, you're gonna get it", he warned.

I squealed and ran out of the room. I ran and hid in the bathtub.

I shut the curtain and waited. I heard him coming closer until he ripped the curtain back.

I quickly ran out. But he caught Up to me and tickled me.

"Oh! Please! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" I yelled.

He threw me over his shoulder and dumped me on my bed.

He laid down beside me and we talked for a while.

"Come home with me", he said.

"Charlie, I don't know. I mean....... Where would I go? I don't want to move back in".

"Stay with me", he said.
I turned to him.

"My parents would kill both of us", I said.

"And what makes you think they'll find out?" He asked.

"I can't lie to them forever. I mean, they're my parents. I love them".

"What about me?" He asked.

"I love you too, so so much. But I can't choose between you guys. I tried to balance it, but it doesn't work."

He sat up.

"Don't be mad", I said.

"I'm not mad. I'm just.... Trying to understand", he said, looking away.

Then he turned back to me. "If you ever did have to choose, who would you choose?"

"I can't answer that", I said. Even though I could. I knew the answer. I would choose him. Even if I hated to admit it.

He looked down. "I love you. And id choose you before anything else. You come first".

I lifted his head up. "What made you say it? What made you tell me you loved me?"

He looked into my eyes. "I always did. And I think I knew it too. But I couldn't let myself believe it. I didn't know what the word meant, but I knew it was dangerous. And then when you came back into my life, it made things worse. It was on my tongue every time, but I could never say it."

"Why?" I asked.

"For the same reason I never asked you out. I thought that maybe if you weren't mine, if we weren't together, I couldn't lose you. But I did".

"What changed your mind?"

"Every time you left. It got worse every time. And I knew I would have to change soon. So I did. And I finally did something right".

I smiled. "You did. Thank you so much. Thank you for everything".

He smiled. "Thank you for being mine."

He pulled me close and put his hands on my waist. His smile faded.

"What?" I asked.

"You lost so much weight", he said.

My face dropped. "So?"

"Baby, it's not healthy. You were so perfect. Promise you'll gain?" He asked.

"Can we not talk about this?" I asked.

He solemnly nodded and kissed my stomach. I brought my face close to his and kissed him.

Our kiss deepened and turned into something more.

I heard the front door open. "Charlie, my parents.... They're home", I breathed.

"So what?" He breathed back.

I ignored their footsteps a little longer until I heard a knock on the door.

"Joanna, can I come in?" I heard my dads voice.

"Perfect timing", Charlie whined, pulling his lips from mine.

"In the closet!" I whispered and pushed him.

I opened the door. "Dad!" I smiled and hugged him.

"How's my little girl? I....." He started.

We were interrupted by a crashing sound from the closet.

"What's that?" My dad asked, walking towards the closet.

Oh shhiiiiii