Together We Fall

Chapter 49

Chapter Forty Nine

The next morning when I wake up I'm not groggy like normal. I feel refreshed. It may be because of all of the sleep I got yesterday or maybe it's just the fact that I'm in my own bed again.

Whatever it is has me in an amazing mood. I can't help knowing that my mind is blocking out the real reason for my happiness and replacing it with all of it's overthought scenarios.

I like Trace.

The thought scares me. It pulls me into a world where Trace and I are close, then we start dating, then we break up and not only have I lost a partner, but a friend in the process. The feeling is too familiar. It's scary.

But it also brings a smile to my face as I consider the what if's. Trace isn't Cole, he doesn't even deserve to be compared to Cole. Trace is everything Cole wasn't. I can't help but think what if Trace likes me back. What if we start dating and we realize the other is everything we've ever wanted. It could be beautiful.

I want Trace. I think I've wanted him for a while I just wasn't sure what it meant at the time. Last night, mom helped me figure it out. She did her nagging that led me straight to the simple conclusion:

I like Trace.

Wow, my best friend. I'm falling for my best friend.

And he doesn't have a clue.

If he did he'd probably think it's weird that I like him after we've been such good friends all this time. We've been through so much together, grown so close. I know he'd never be mean to me about it but would I even be able to take rejection?

It'd hurt without a doubt.

I've been hiding my feelings away within myself. I've been so scared of what it could do to us. This situation has occurred in my life once already and it ended so badly. I can't lose him. I don't want to lose Trace just because I let my feelings get in the way.

But if he likes me back I'd take the leap in a heartbeat to be with him.

I want him. There's nothing I've ever been more sure of.

But there's no way he feels the same way. I'm just your average girl with a goofy grin and scraggly hair.

He's an athlete, the best at the school. He has beautiful gray eyes that will make any girl swoon at his feet. He'll be there for you and that's how you know he cares. He takes what he wants without hesitation. He's not afraid of anything.

Trace is extraordinary, there's no way he'd like me.

I roll out of bed and toss on an outfit for the day. I'm not planning on going out so I don't need to dress weather appropriate. I just put on a pair of pajama shorts and my dads hoodie.

I stole it from his closet while I was packing my things to move back to Tennessee. It doesn't smell like him anymore, but it still has his gentleness. Materialistic items can make you feel just as warm as the person who owns them.

It's a gray hoodie with a football team on the front. It's twice my size so it drowns my arms and falls just above my knees, past my shorts.

My doorbell rings and I run downstairs to tell mom her package got delivered.

She's still sleeping so I decide to just sign for it.

I open the front door, and, much to my surprise, Trace is standing there.

He's wearing a jacket that's only zipped up halfway, revealing a navy blue shirt underneath. He's got on the typical gray sweat pants.

I'd like to see his closet one day. I bet it's just a row of gray sweats with a pair of jeans at the end for special occasion.