Page 122 of All Too Well
He laughs once. “She never told me.”
We crouch down and have to crawl through a small cutout in the fence. When we emerge on the other side, we’re in the backside of the garden.
“This is how I would magically appear in your backyard.”
He laughs once, brushing the leaves off his pants. “And here I thought you just jumped the fence or had a key.”
I grin and lace my hand in his. “Let’s go to the swing.”
We quietly walk down the lit stone pathway over to the little nook I would spend hours in.
Lachlan looks around, and I wonder whether he sees what I do. That in the last four years, not a single part of this place has changed. The flowers are here, alive and thriving. The walkway isn’t covered with dirt or weeds. His father has taken care of his mother’s garden exactly as she would’ve.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
He pulls me close to him. “A lot of memories here.”
“Hopefully more good than bad.”
I lean my head against his chest, looking up at him through my lashes. “It might be a tie if I’m being honest.”
“Okay, name a good one.”
“This is where I first kissed you.”
I grin. “Yes, but that sort of leads into a bad, since things ended pretty terrible.”
Lachlan lifts my chin and then kisses me tenderly. I roll so I’m on top of him, letting the kiss become more. His tongue slides against mine, and even though we just had sex, I want him again.
However, the two of us being here isn’t about this. I wanted him to feel close to the people who love him, so I pull back.
“That should’ve been our first kiss,” Lachlan says, tucking my hair behind my ear.
“We can pretend.”
“I’d like that.”
“See, good memory made,” I say, feeling triumphant.
Then I nestle back against his chest, pulling his arm to drape around me. “What about you?”
“This place is filled with good memories for me,” I tell him. “I would come over here all the time, through my little secret door, and read for hours. Your mom would leave cookies and milk sometimes on that stone there.” I point to the ledge that was almost like a table. “I wouldn’t even hear her come out.”
I was so lost in a story that the world ceased to exist.
“She wouldn’t let me come out if she knew you were back there.”
“Really?”
He chuckles. “She said every girl needed a place to hide away.”
“It’s why she created it.”
“Yes, and why she spent so much of her time out here. I think she tried to hide but could never fully escape her pain and sadness.”
I stay quiet, not sure what to say to that. “Tell me about Rose’s mom.”
He stiffens beneath me. “Why?”
