It's Always Been You

3.

"Excuse me?" the woman snaps in irritation, yanking her hand back. Her eyes perform a quick assessment of me, and the furious expression on her face fades into something softer. Her eyes run along my arms, like they are physically tracing my tattoos, before they bounce back up to my eyes. "Do I know you?"

"Sorry," I murmur, stumbling back, shaking my head. "I thought you were someone else."

"Wait!" I hear her call after me, but I'm moving quickly away from her.

The music is loud, pulsing inside my head, and it feels hard to breathe. I fight off the memories crashing through my mind of Anna and me.

Staggering out into the yard, I race around the side of the house and lean heavily on the wall, clutching my chest. Panic attacks. I've never had them before but ever since Anna left, they've been happening a lot. More frequently as the days pass. As if the main source of them is heartbreak, and instead of getting better over time, I'm only getting worse. I can't fight this off any longer. I want her back.

Bringing up her contact, my thumb hovers over her name. A beat passes before I slam my finger down onto it, bringing the phone to my ear. It rings a few times and I hold my breath, my heartbeat roaring in my ears. Then, the automated voicemail message barks into my ear, and my hand falls to my side. I just wanted to hear her voice.

I can't do this anymore. Live like this. I need her in my life, and I'm not going to screw it up this time.

"Are you okay?" a voice asks, and I startle, finding Aidan beside me.

Choking on my own ragged breath, I give him a sharp nod, exhaling and inhaling the best I can, trying to bring down my racing pulse.

"Yeah," I manage. "Just thought I saw Anna, but it wasn't her." Leaning heavily back against the bricks, I scrub my hand across my jaw. "I have made a big fucking mistake letting her slip from my fingers."

"Yeah, no shit. Anyone could tell you that."

"Gee, thanks, asshole."

"What are you going to do about it?" he questions, quirking an eyebrow.

"I just tried to call her but she didn't answer."

"Yeah, well, she's probably on the plane."

"Plane?" I echo, pushing off the wall.

"Oh," Aiden says, noting my confused expression. "I forgot you don't have each other on social media anymore. She's leaving."

My heart plummets. She wanted to move to the city for an amazing job offer she received, but I begged her to stay here, with me. That was when the first arguments started.

"Is she moving to Melbourne?"

Aidan nods. "Yeah. Flight leaves tonight."

"When?" I ask urgently.

"Seven, I think?"

Glancing down at my phone, I see that it's already a quarter past six.

Turning, I sprint as fast as I can out to my car. I trip a few times, and run into people along the way, ignoring their shouts of protests, and the spilled drinks that slosh down my pants.

The drive to the airport is a blur of street signs, traffic lights, and cars moving at a painfully slow speed in front of me. Screeching to a stop in a park that has a giant sign saying 'five-minute parking' on it, I leap out of the car and run.

Eyes swivel in my direction as I race through the airport. Thankfully, it doesn't seem too crowded this time of night, and since our local airport is tiny, there are only two airlines that fly from here to Melbourne.

My eyes land on long blonde hair, and the designer coat I bought her—after saving two entire pays for it—and start running. I barge through people in the line and fly past the security person who was busy patting someone down. Shouts follow me as I sprint towards her.

"Anna!"

She turns to face me, mouth falling open in shock. I run to her, wrapping my arms around her, and swinging her around. Her legs curl around my waist instinctively, her arms locking around my neck. Her familiar jasmine scent washes over me, and her body heat seeps into mine.

"I'm so sorry for everything," I say, burying my face into her neck. "I was an idiot. A dumb, stupid, idiot." Breathing her in, I clutch her tightly to me. "Without you, there is nothing. Just me. Broken, lost, and alone." Pulling back, I stare into her beautiful, green eyes. Her cheeks are wet as she stares down at me, interlocking her fingers behind my neck.

"I love you. I want to be with you. It's always been you." I press my forehead to hers. "Let's make this work. I'm all in this time."

Her breath fans across my lips, before she dives toward my mouth. We kiss hungrily and desperately, as if time is running out, and these are the last seconds we have.

Footsteps thunder around us, as people shout to get my attention, but all I care about is her.

"I've missed you," she says, smiling at me, tears sliding down her cheeks.

"I've been so miserable without you," I whisper. "I couldn't let you be the one who got away. I'm so sorry."

"I'm sorry, too."

Tangling my fingers into her hair, I relish in being this close to her. It's been absolute torture not hearing her voice, not texting every day, not seeing her pretty face. Not being able to share good news with her, talk about our day, have dinner with. All the things I took for granted.

"After everything...can we just start fresh?" I ask her.

"Yes." She smiles, sniffling.

"Me and you, against the world," I say firmly.

Meeting my gaze, I feel my heart swell, slowly mending all the broken pieces that have been slowly shattering inside my chest the past six months.

"Me and you, against the world."

*

It's hard to believe the final instalment of the beloved After series is here! As a fan of the series from it's Wattpad days, it's been so incredible watching the journey of the story becoming a published series, and now it's FIFTH movie due to hit screens on Prime Video Australia on Oct 6th. After you've watched the movie, be sure to come back and let me know your thoughts on it in the comments! <3

The final chapter of After is now on Prime Video. Visit Prime Video & watch After Everything.