It Could Be More | ✔

32. Perfect Match

Corey wanted me to meet him on Monday. I didn't know what he had planned, but I knew I didn't deserve it. I was the one who walked away. I should've been the one throwing my everything into getting him back.

Instead, after my talk with Grayson, I laid in bed, staring at my ceiling, making a very long list of should've-could've-would've's.

I should've gone through with our plan to tell Grayson a week ago.

I could've apologized by now.

I would've if I wasn't hung up on the fact that he could do so much better than me.

He could've been with someone with less drama. Someone who didn't have an overprotective brother. Someone who wouldn't have forgotten the moment he said "I love you".

Even though I couldn't remember the exact moment, imagining him say it made me feel things low in my belly.

Maybe I couldn't figure out why he loved me, but I knew why I felt the same about him. I just had to figure out a way to let him know.

● ● ●

Watching #NoFilter for a second time was even better than the first. Maybe because I wasn't in the midst of a breakup. Now, I was on the brink of a second chance romance--one of my favorite book tropes.

The idea came to me during the second act, when the mean girls hacked into Liah's character's social media and exposed all her secrets. I needed to expose all my secrets to Corey, and I knew exactly how to do it.

That night, Liah came over to help me as I went through the hundreds of photos Mom had taken over the years. She was sneaky with the camera, taking candid shots of people during holidays and get togethers.

Normally, I'd find it annoying seeing so many slightly blurred pictures of me in the worst angles, but I was thankful Mom was an amateur paparazzo.

Something hit me while I stared at my ceiling, recounting all the interactions I'd had with Corey over the years: There were a lot of them.

Corey had been a fixture in my life since fifth grade. He's been there for birthdays and graduations and even a few family trips. My feud with my brother overshadowed his presence. But for the last seven years, Corey was right there.

Maybe I didn't see it then, but it consumed my focused now. He's always been there. And according to the notes he had given me, he wasn't going anywhere.

I didn't know what my life without Corey would look like, and I never wanted to find out.

"Look at this one!" Liah cooed, holding up the laptop she'd been hunched over.

We were in my room, me at my desk with my laptop, Liah in my bed with my Mom's laptop. It was nearly two in the morning, but we were hopped up on coffee and love, as Liah put it.

Pulling my eyes from my screen to hers, I smiled at the picture of me and Corey. It was from Grayson's thirteenth birthday party.

Mom and Liselle asked Corey and me to pose together, complete with his arm around my shoulders. It was the most embarrassing moment of my eleven-year-old life and it was written all over my face. Corey had a knowing smirk on his face, like he was in on a secret.

Maybe he knew one day we'd end up together.

"Send it," I told her, turning back to my laptop. It was just the thing I needed to complete my project. "I think that's it."

Liah jumped out of bed, resting her chin on my shoulder as I added the picture she'd just sent over. "It looks so good!"

I beamed as I examined my handiwork. It did look good. Everything I had in me, I poured into this. An apology and a promise all wrapped into one.