The Girl Who Read The Dating Manual

rule eighteen: take the leap (and don't fear the fall)

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Dedicated to awesomeq for her support on all of my books. Means a lot to me to have followers like you in my life :)

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Soundtrack:

Wild Wolves by Athlete: the conversation between Luke and Candice

Make Believe by The Burned: when Candi talks to her mother

With Light There Is Hope by Princess One Point Five: the fight between Ava and Candi

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"Thanks for coming with me," I said to Luke as I unlocked the apartment and stepped inside. It was chilly, and I shivered and hugged my jacket tighter around myself.

"Of course," he replied, smiling. "What are friends for?"

"We won't be here long," I promised him. "I just need to grab some clothes and toiletries and we'll be out of here."

"Take your time," he told me. "I'll just wait over here for you."

I disappeared into the bedroom and opened the closet. Thankfully even though Will had moved out to his new apartment a few floors above, he'd still left the majority of his clothes in the closet, and I pulled out some t-shirts, plaid pajama pants and boxer shorts. I also grabbed some soap and a toothbrush and toothpaste, packing it into a navy-blue overnight bag.

Just as I was grabbing his cell phone from the top of the dresser, I saw a silver photo frame that contained a picture of us from last Christmas, just after we'd gotten engaged. I was grinning into the camera, one arm up to show off my glittering engagement ring. Will had his arm around my shoulders, and, even though I could've sworn he was looking at the camera when the picture was taken, his eyes were fixed lovingly on my face in the snapshot, and he was smiling in that slow sort of way I loved. I sighed and ran my fingers over the cold glass of the frame.

"Hey, Candice, do you-" Luke said, appearing in the doorway. He stopped when he saw what I was doing, and I hastily replaced the photo on the dresser and cleared my throat, turning to him with a forced smile-one he saw right through. "How you holding up?"

I sighed and walked back over the bag, stuffing in a jacket just in case it got cold. "I'm not sure, honestly," I admitted, shaking my head. "I mean, he's in the clear right now, but the doctors say he's not out of the woods. There's still a possibility of hemorrhaging or something even worse. I'm trying to be positive, but I'm scared."

"Look, I've known Will since college," Luke told me. "And the one thing I know is that he is a fighter until the end. Which is why I know he's going to be just fine. Because he has you to come home to, and no sane man would give that up."

I laughed. "I appreciate that, Luke. Thank you."

"You two really love each other, huh?" he asked, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jackets and leaning against the doorframe.