Page 97 of Bring me Back

Love, Dan

“What do you think?” Nova’s voice interrupted my thoughts.

I looked at her over her shoulder, to the mirror in front of us. It was their last rehearsal, and the last try of the clothes. I stationed myself in front of the large mirror, tying the corsets and helping as much as I could.

Nova looked incredible. The dress fitted her perfectly, from the small cinch of her waist to the flowy gathering at the back. She held still while I fixed a small hair band of golden flowers and leaves intertwined with her curls.

“You look amazing, Nova.”

“I can’t believe you made this…” she whispered, looking down the white skirt. “If I didn’t watch you sewing it, I wouldn’t believe it.”

“You wear it just right.”

“I never looked this pretty. You’ll have to make all my clothes.”

“Deal.”

Nova laughed and extended a note between us. I looked down at the paper to Nova’s smile.

“Come on, take it. I had to play nice with Cole Thompson to be the one who delivered.”

I laughed and took it from her hands. Looking down at another note from him, I bit my lip as the tears welled up a little.

“Ok, totally worth it just to see the look on your face.”

“Stop it.” I shook myself out of it.

“It’s a good thing, Hallie, to be able to feel so much.”

“You think?”

Nova lifted one shoulder. “I read a lot, I guess. And the emotional scenes always get me. But it’s different from actually living something so powerful. It’s a gift to love that much.”

We looked at each other’s eyes through the mirror and I gave her a small nod, agreeing. She was right. It was a gift. Every day I woke up thinking about Daniel, every day I craved for a little of him.

With each note, he became less and less hers. I wasn’t sure if it was his plan all along, but with each letter, each story, each word, it felt more like he was…Mine.

Someone cleared their throat behind us, our eyes zooming to the blond who waited by our side.

“Can you help me with the corset, Hallie?”

I blinked at the figure of Delilah, her tone of voice, the way she held herself. It was a completely different person. I nodded as Nova shuffled along, leaving space for Delilah to position herself in front of me, presenting me with the ribbons of her corset.

I worked on them like shoelace, my eyes trained on the task in hands, too afraid to glance anywhere else.

“Tell me if I’m pulling too hard,” I told her.

She said nothing for a second. I kept pulling the ribbons and adjusting until she spoke.

“I never knew.”

My eyes flashed to her reflection. My tongue got caught, Delilah kept talking.

“Katie told me you were horrible. That you only pretended to be all nice to get things. I was young, and I believed her.”

I nodded quickly, looking down at my hands instead of Delilah.

“When you came back to town, I already hated you. And Mom, too. She acted like giving in to the drama department was making your dreams come true.”

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