Every Little Part of Me

Chapter 7

"No way!" I excalaimed

"Yes way. I have the scar. It's right here." He said showing me his hand. I traced the long scar

"How on earth did I miss this?" I asked aloud to myself, Maxon shrugged, "You have lost all tree climbing privileges."

"What?" He complained, mimicking a small child, "No fair." I laughed

We sat there for a moment, "America, tell me more about Aspen"

"Just promise to not get mad." Maxon nodded. I held one of his hands in my lap, "So... Aspen and I had been dating in private for about two years. We were planning to get married. He was saving up the money and I was prepared to move down a caste. I was okay with being a six if it meant being with him. I knew my dad would have been okay with it as long as Aspen supported me to the best of his ability, but the real challenge was going to be to get my mom to accept the fact that I would be marrying down. Mom has always been somewhat of a caste climber. Mainly she just wanted us to marry up and have better lives for ourselves. Kenna married a wonderful guy who is a four. And I've always known that May would be able to marry up. But i wanted nothing to do with that. I would've married down to an eight if it meant marrying the guy I loved." I looked over at him to see how he was handling the full story,

"Keep talking." He said softly

"When the letters for the selection were sent out, all mom wanted was for me to fill out the forms. I tried so hard to convince her to not make me do it and then one night Aspen went off on how he was only a six and would never be able to provide for me or any kids we might've had in the future. Then, he told me to enter. So I did. The night I got picked... he broke up with me. When it was time for me to come here, I saw him with another girl before I got on the plane. I never wanted to see him again after that but then when he showed up at the palace, well he showed up and I was brought right back to how I felt before the selection was even a thought in any of our minds. All of those feelings came back, I didn't want that. I wanted to forget about him but there was nothing I could do. He was in the palace and I still loved him. Whenever I was confused about you, he was there. He was a safety net. So I went to him. He always said he would never stop fighting for me. He was fine with being the guy I settled for if you ever sent me home. Then after my dad died and I went home, my brother, Kota, told everyone about Aspen and I. He asked me if I had told you and I wanted to tell you about him but I was scared you would transfer him or fire him and he really needed this job to support his mom and his younger siblings. He's all they have left and he is the one that takes care of them. I couldn't risk him losing his job just so I could tell you that he was here. When you saw us, I was telling him to move on, to find someone and be happy, to give up fighting for me because I love you and not him."

"If you fell for him when he showed up then why didn't you just ask to leave?"

"Because I wanted to be here. I liked spending time with you."

"So you stayed and got to benefit from the palace just to be my friend?"

"Maxon-"

"You shut me out so many times and I had no clue why. And then got mad at me when you saw me with other girls even though you were off with another guy. What was I supposed to do? Just sit there and wait for you to pick me while I was trying my best to give you all the time you needed? I had to make use of my time and find someone in case you decided you didn't want to be with me."

"I heard your conversation with Kriss right before you kissed her. She said you were the only one that mattered and you said that you had been waiting for someone to say that. In the past few weeks, you have been the only one on my mind. I thought you knew why I was here. I stayed for you and I thought you knew that. You were, are, and always will be, the only thing that matters in my world. Not the crown or the publicity, you."

"America, how long have you loved me?" He held my hand

"Since we danced on the roof in the rain." I said softly, "How long have you loved me?"

"Since I met you." He smiled

"A real charmer, Maxon Schreave."

"Always."

"Sir," a guard stepped up to him and whispered in his ear

"Your brother is here." Maxon told me

"What?"

"Kota, he's here."