The Game Changer The Final Score - By L.M. Trio Page 0,47

letter could have changed everything. I would have seen things so differently and so much hurt could have been prevented for both of us. A tear escapes my eye. I would have forgiven him for that night, if only he mailed this letter.

I stay up and read every letter at least twice, feeling all of the emotions he’s feeling at the time he wrote each letter. He goes through so many ups and downs, mostly downs. I cry, thinking about how hard it must have been for him and I realize how alone he felt. I regret letting so much time pass and not being there to support him. If only I knew.

I feel as if what I went through the last couple of years is nothing in comparison to what he experienced on a daily basis. He pushed everyone he loved away, thinking he was causing them less pain. I kept everyone close, letting them help me through.

He wrote often, sometimes it was a page or two, sometimes just a paragraph. Even on his worst days, he never blamed me. Each letter ends with the same closing, that I am his reason for making it through each day, looking towards the day we will be together again.

Finally, after a long, exhausting night, I drift into a restless sleep, surrounded by his letters.

***

(Luke)

I’m not sure if I should drive home or go straight to the hospital. I feel as if I’m having a heart attack after I drop JJ off at her apartment. As soon as I watch her walk through the doors into the lobby, the palpitations really kick in. I wait an extra ten minutes before pulling away, just in case she comes back out.

My head spins round and round, replaying the evening over and over. I hope I said everything I wanted to say to her. The more I think about it, the more I worry that things didn’t go the way I hoped. She didn’t give me much to go on. I can’t get a good feel on what she may be thinking. Now that I finally had a chance to hold her and kiss her lips, I know I will never let her go again. She’s gonna have to learn to love me again. There’s no way around it, I decide.

Mikey and David are sitting at the kitchen table when I arrive home. They’re anxious to see how it went, especially David. I know he’s hoping he made the right decision by allowing me to go after her.

“I’m not sure,” I say in response to their question. “I think it went okay. At least I got to say what I wanted, and I think she did the same. What comes next is up to her.” I shrug. That is such a lie and I know it. If I don’t hear from her soon, then what comes next is gonna be up to me.

“How did she seem?” David asks.

“She seemed okay. She didn’t say much… just listened mostly.”

“She’ll come around,” Mikey says.

“She needs time, Luke,” David adds sternly.

“I know… I know. I’m not going to push. It’s her move,” I agree, lying again, not sure if I will really be able to keep that promise. “What are you still doing here?” I ask David, looking up at the clock and realizing the time.

“I didn’t want to call her, so I figured I’d wait to hear from you.”

I convince David to stay the night so he doesn’t have to drive home in the stormy weather. I offer him my room since I’m too wound up to sleep. Stepping out onto the back patio and lying down on the lounge chair, I watch the storm as it moves out over the bay. The sound of the storm and the water crashing against the seawall settles me enough that I finally fall asleep.

Chapter 13

(Deanna)

Morning comes quick, and I have to get ready to leave for the airport. I hate that I have to leave when I feel so needed here. I tap quietly on JJ’s door.

“Hi, are you up?” I whisper, taking a peek in her room.

“Come in. I didn’t really sleep much,” she replies, surrounded by a hundred pieces of yellow-lined paper.

“Are you okay?” I ask as she neatly stacks the letters into a pile.

She carefully places them into a box and pats the bed beside her for me to sit. I reach out to her and we throw our arms around each other. We cry for the