Page 44 of In All My Dreams

“I would never!” I shout in mock horror, holding my hands to my chest like she’s wounded me for just suggesting it.

“Love you, Mama.”

“Love you, too, kiddo.”

Ian and I watch as Auden runs into the bathroom.

“I—” I start.

“Don’t leave,” Ian says at the same time, ripping his sunglasses off of his face, tucking them into his T-shirt.

“What?” I stare at him, into those hazel eyes that have always felt like home. So many conflicting thoughts rush through me.

He steps closer and grabs both of my hands in his, pulling them to his chest. “Please don’t go back. Stay here. Stay with me. Both of you.”

I take a deep breath. “Ian, there are so many things I need to say. Need to tell you. You may not want me to stay once I tell you everything. You might hate me afterward.”

“There’s nothing you can say to make me hate you. Nothing, Georgia.” His hands squeeze mine harder. “I want all of this. You, me, Auden. A family—our family. There’s nothing you can tell me that’ll make me feel differently. I’ve loved you for my entire life, and I’ll love you for the rest of it.”

“You guys went into the haunted house without me!” Auden shouts. Ian breaks my gaze, and we turn toward her. Her arms are crossed, and her eyebrows are knitted together in anger.

Ian shakes his head at her. “No, we’ve been right here the whole time. I swear it.”

She walks closer and points at our hands, which are still clutched together and resting on Ian’s chest. “Then why are you holding hands again?”

I yank my hands away from Ian’s, and hurt flashes over his features before he hides it with a smile for Auden.

“Your mom had a splinter, and I was helping her get it out,” he lies effortlessly. “Let’s go to the haunted house!” He reaches out, and Auden takes his hand.

They walk away from me before I’m able to process everything that just happened.

Before I can tell Ian my secrets and tell him that I love him, too.

That I’ve never stopped loving every single thing about him.

I’m not sure my heart knows how to unlove him.

20

Georgia

Now

The haunted house is just as I remember it. The arched entrance is made up of fake cobblestone with long, thin spiderweb-like tassels that you have to walk through to enter. Sinister music plays loudly through the speakers above theentryway, while fake screams of terror echo throughout the maze, bouncing on the walls in a horrifying fashion.

Well, it’s terrifying to younger children and adult men who hate clowns.

“Are you sure you want to go in there, Auden? It’s okay if you change your mind,” I ask her as I watch her eyes widen in fear as she looks into the flashing entrance of the maze. Strobe lights and a fog machine accompany the eerie music, making it look even more ominous from the outside.

Auden sandwiched herself between Ian and I as soon as we walked up to the line, grabbing both of our hands tightly in her own.

“I really want to go in, but I’m sort of scared,” Auden says.

“What if I carry you through the maze, and when you get too scared, you can cover your eyes?” Ian suggests.

“Can I wear your sunglasses to hide from the bad things?”

Ian chuckles and pulls his sunglasses off, handing them to her. “You absolutely can. Now up you go,” he says as he bends down to one knee, holding his arms out for her to jump into. “You going to be okay back there all on your own, G? I know how much this maze scares you,” he teases me with a smirk.

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