Page 100 of Heartless Devil

“Whoa. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” I say, laughing.

“I’m so sorry for everything,” she says again, wrapping her arms around me. “Can we get back to having the most amazing senior year now?”

“God, I hope so,” I say.

“I have some stuff I need to tell you too. But that’s for another day. What are you going to do about your parents?” she asks.

“I’m not sure. I’m going to tell them I’m not marrying someone. I’m tired of being at their beck and call. I'm eighteen. If they want to cut me off, they can. I’ve had a savings account for a while now. It’s how I helped Cole,” I tell her, leaning back in my chair.

“I can’t believe you did that. You’re so amazing. I’m such a shit friend,” she says, frowning.

“No, you’re not. You were allowed to be hurt. Don’t let anyone make you feel bad for the way you feel.”

We spend the next half hour laughing, crying, and hugging some more.

She tells me she’s going out for the night, assuring me she’ll call if she needs a ride home. I didn’t try to get her to talk about whatever it is she’s hiding. I know she’ll open up when she’s ready.

I head upstairs and find my man lying in bed, watching a movie.

“Everything okay?” he asks.

“It is now.” I smile, crawling into bed, snuggling up next to him.

“Thank you,” he says, pressing a kiss to the side of my head.

“For what?” I ask, looking up at him, confused.

“Thank you for loving me through everything.”

“In that case, I need to thank you too,” I say, cupping his face with my hand.

“For?”

“Thank you for loving me when I still tasted like war and heartbreak.” He leans down, pressing his lips against mine.

I was a shell of a person before Cole decided to crash into my life. It took us a minute to figure out we deserved love. It took us a while to allow ourselves to get to this point, but I’d go through all of it again if it meant I ended up right here.

We fall asleep, wrapped in each other's arms, with only the light from the T.V. filling the room.

The next morning, I wake up and he’s still asleep. I quietly crawl out of bed, grabbing my phone, walking out to the hallway. I need to do one last thing before I can finally feel at peace with everything.

The phone rings a few times before she finally answers.

“Charlotte.” My mother’s voice fills my ears.

“I think we need to talk,” I say.

“I guess we do,” she says, sighing.

“I’m sure you heard about Jasper,” I say.

“Yes, we did. Dad has found you another suitable match, so there’s nothing to worry about there.”

“No,” I say.

“Excuse me?”

“I said, no. There won’t be another suitable match. I’m not marrying someone because the two of you forced me to. I’m eighteen years old. I’m old enough to make my own decisions,” I tell her.

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