Best of Me

Chapter Twenty-Three

Okay, I wanted to update again because I actually started working on another book...cause I can't help myself. And I really want to finish this so I can focus on that one and get it to you peoples as soon as possible.

Anyway! Here we go!

Enjoy!

Chapter Twenty-Three:

My conversation with my family goes surprisingly well. Most of it consists of them all insisting I'm pulling a prank on them. Elliot swears up and down that there's no way Quinn and I weren't actually together-I mean, his reasoning is that, if Quinn was actually single, how could she ignore his good looks and sexual wiles. Julia and Jasper both proceed to smack him and mutter something about him lacking game to get any woman.

I explain everything, from the lie I told my mom to the moment I actually met Quinn to our planning sessions to the day she walked out the front door with Tae-Jin. They sit quietly, listening to what I say. No one has any questions, the only statement made at the end of my story is from Granny Flora.

"It may have started as a fake relationship," she speaks up after I look around the room waiting for reactions, "but it certainly flourished into a real relationship." There are murmurs of agreement around the room.

"I'm with my mother," my mom says. "I'm sorry you felt the need to lie about having a relationship, but it led you to such a beautiful woman, someone who we all see you treat you the way you deserved to be. I don't know anything about Quinn's relationship with that Tae fella, but it can't be nearly as strong as the one she had with you."

"You two put some of the most classic romances to shame," Grandma Priscilla adds tapping her fingers on the edge of the table. "And I should know, I've read most of those books. Your love for each other filled every room you stepped into."

"Don't wait for her to come back to you," my dad says. "The longer you wait, the more she may think what you two have was just made-up."

"Go, fight for her!" Granny Flora shouts. "Tell her how you feel. Don't just sit on your ass, twiddling your thumbs, wondering if she loves you the same. Tell her. And let her decide from there. At least you'll have done everything you could do."

"Go get the girl, Theo," Asa nods with a grin. A chorus of agreements echoes through the room and Julia and Natasha are pushing me toward the stairs.

"Call her, text her, write her a letter, just do something," Natasha says.

"Lay it on the line," Julia gives me a final shove toward the stairs. "There's nothing more to lose, Theo."

That's how I end up sitting on my bed, my cell phone in my hand, a handful of notes written in my phone, each one different than the last. I can't seem to get the words right. No matter how I say it, words seem to fail me. I try to explain everything I'm feeling, everything that has happened between us, in each message I draft up. But it seems like too much. Like it overwhelms me, I can't imagine it not doing the same to her. All the attempts seem so convoluted, and far from the point.

I don't know how long I'm in my room doing this. Eventually, I settle on a short, simple, but concise message. It conveys exactly what I need it to, leaving little room for miscommunication and false interpretation, and just enough room for her to know the ball is in her court.

"I know our relationship started as fake," I say as I type the words on my screen, "but, somewhere along the way, I fell in love with you. I know you're with Tae now, but I needed you to know how I feel. I love you, Quinn. I want to be with you, treat you the way you truly deserved to be treated. If there is any chance you feel the same, meet me in the town square by the big tree at the New Year's Eve fair in Whiteridge. I'll be waiting."