Page 81 of F*ck You

27

Three Weeks Later

Lee

Water splashed around as I threw my arms into the air before grabbing the outstretched hands that pulled me up onto the boat. Larsen greeted me with a grin when my feet hit the deck, but it wasn’t nearly as big as my own.

“You did it, you passed!” His pride for me was tangible as he beamed.

“I’m so excited! I can do this for real now.”

He handed me a laminated card with my name on it, and I was so filled with elation, I was sure it would spill out. Happiness was contagious, after all.

The first day after the attack, I took the first step in getting my scuba license, so now I could go on even more adventures with the guys. I busted through another barrier that was preventing me from living my best life, and I showed that I was capable and worthy of it. I worked damn hard at being a better person, and it was happening.

Mr. Rhodes, Larsen’s dad and my boss, clapped alongside Chase, Miss Morris, and various other people I’d gotten to know better over the last few weeks.

Even Meg was here clapping and celebrating. We’d had our drink date a week after the attack, and we’d only grown closer since. She was becoming more of a friend to me than any of the fake friends I had in my old life. They’d finally stopped bugging me once I let them know what all had transpired between Todd and me, and they hid in the background to pretend like nothing ever happened.

I spun around to look at everyone, beaming. Seeing everyone here cheering me on for something so small as getting a scuba license was a little overwhelming. I never knew before what it was like to surround myself with people who cheered on my accomplishments, and the feeling was like a drug that I never wanted to let go.

Chase stepped forward and placed a kiss on my lips, gently holding my back to keep me from toppling over, while Larsen lowered my oxygen tank to the deck, and I sighed into the kiss with the relief of the weight off my body.

My bruises healed and my back returned to feeling normal again after many treatments of ice and heat packs combined with stretches, both a solo and a team effort. Looking at my body, it was almost as if nothing had ever happened, but I could feel the change deep inside. This was where I belonged, and this was where I would always be for as long as they could stand to have me here.

“Did you do it?” Larsen whispered, and I nodded. During the final portion of my scuba test, I took the ring with me and wrapped it up in some seaweed. There weren’t many marine animals that ate seaweed, but if I was lucky, one would and then travel away so the ring and all my problems could be lost in the secrets of the ocean. The last piece of my past would never be found again.

“How does it feel?” Chase asked as he pulled away.

“About as good as it does when I kiss either of you,” I responded, as I pulled him in for another kiss, then broke away to receive Larsen’s.

Nobody on the boat budged an inch, not at all caring about our unconventional situation, instead choosing to cheer us on in every accomplishment we made.

Hell, even Giana was there with a smile and a clap. She’d felt horrible about leaking information about me to Todd without realizing exactly what kind of person he was. Hell, I was even in a relationship with him for years and still didn’t know the extent of what he was capable of, so I couldn’t fault her too much for not knowing. I only hoped she learned to never do something like that again to anyone.

Deciding it would be best to move past this rather than continuing to spend the rest of our days in strained communication, I forgave her for all the stupid shit she’d done so long as she agreed to leave me the fuck alone.

After all, I was someone who preferred to let the past burn. This way we could turn toward a better future.

As it turned out, she actually wasn’t as horribly unpleasant as I’d originally thought. There was actually a caring person underneath the lip gloss exterior. After realizing that she couldn’t compete with me to get the guys and that they had no interest in her whether or not I was here, she accepted things as they were and now had her sights on someone else. He stood next to her, clapping as he beamed at me. He recently moved to the next town over in search of a life on the beach like I once did. He worked on the boat with me, swapping shifts and sometimes working together to get the boat tour ready. The only difference with him was that he paid Giana the attention she craved, and she now only blushed for him.

I was also now an official employee with the Rhodes’ tour boats. Mr. Rhodes decided to bring up the official paperwork this morning to coincide with this. Now I had a stable job, my own home, and a future as bright as I wanted to make it.

Larsen handed me a small glass of champagne and held up his in a toast.

“To new beginnings,” I announced, before taking a sip then setting the glass down so Chase could help me out of my wet suit.

I thought this was all a little overboard for a simple scuba license, but I was reminded it was more than that. It was about leaving my past in the depths of the ocean and finding my new life amongst the waves. I grinned as I took another sip and looked around at the people I could now call family. Everyone else in my old life dropped me when they accepted I wasn’t going through with the wedding. Even after word got back to them about what went down between me and Todd, I still couldn’t get a hold of them for anything longer than a snide comment to remind me why I’d left.

Sometimes, you had to go after the life you wanted, even if it meant risking everything. Even more so, sometimes that risk would be more than worth it. If you were lucky, you’d find a new beginning in the most unexpected place.

THE END

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