Breathe Again (23 page)

I was discharged from the hospital the
next day, and I came home to Jackson’s apartment, where Jackson’s family and
all of our friends were waiting for us. My mother went straight from the
hospital to the airport; she didn’t even acknowledge our invitation to stay
with us for a few days.

Lucy threw her arms around me instantly, ignoring Jackson’s
warning to be careful. I was thankful she was there; I hadn’t seen her since
the accident, and I wanted to hear her story. Jackson had refused to tell me
what happened, not because he was afraid of my reaction, but because he knew
that Lucy was eager to tell me.

“So, tell me again what you did when you got into the
apartment, like I explicitly told you not to?” I asked, once we were settled on
the couch. Everyone else, including Jackson’s siblings and dad, along with Jude
and Josephine and the girls from the café, surrounded us.

“I told you!” Lucy said, laughing. “I ran up the stairs and
grabbed the vase on the coffee table before heading back into the bathroom. You
were lying on the floor and I went kind of nuts. I broke the vase over the
bastard’s head and he was out cold before he even knew I was in the apartment.”

Of course she did.

Everyone was talking at once after that, asking Lucy and me
questions about what had really happened. Jackson hadn’t let anyone come to see
me in the hospital, afraid that the attention would slow down my recovery, but
he couldn’t keep them away once I got home. Thankfully, Lucy left out the part
about Collin having his pants around his ankles when she walked in. That was
something I didn’t know that I would ever really get over.

Seth was there too, but he stayed near the back of the room.
I knew there was something going on between him and Lucy from the way they kept
glancing at each other nervously, but I hadn’t had a chance to ask Jackson
about it. I’d have time later.

Eventually Jackson forced everyone out, which I was grateful
for. Just the trip home from the hospital had exhausted me, and I was ready to
sleep for the next three days straight.

I began to stand up, but Jackson wouldn’t have it. He scooped
me up in his arms instead, and I nuzzled his neck. He hadn’t been home in days
either, and I knew we were both looking forward to a nice, hot shower.

Jackson washed me slowly, gently, and I relished in the feel
of both the water and his touch. It was as if his hands alone could erase all
the bad memories of the past few days, and it wasn’t long before I was nearly
begging him to make love to me.

“Shhh, Mellie Rose, you need your rest,” Jackson whispered
into my ear, as he dried my body gently with one of his fluffiest towels. I had
my arms around his neck and was pressing kisses along his collarbone, up to his
ear. He laughed softly, but just wrapped me up in the towel so that I couldn’t
even move my arms. He scooped me back up in his arms, and carried me to his
bed.

I loved my bed back at my loft. Or I thought I did, at least.
It was small, but it was mine. That was what I always thought.

It all felt different now. Jackson’s bed was big and
luxurious, sure, but it was more than that. It felt comfortable; safe.

“Wait here,” he said, setting me down gently. I was still in
just the towel, which didn’t bother me so much anymore. Jackson headed back
toward the bathroom, but opened the door next to the bathroom. It was the
closet that he didn’t use, the one that I sometimes hung my clothes in when I
was staying over. I waited patiently for him to come out, but I couldn’t help
but be curious why he was in there. I didn’t have anything in there now, since
he’d been gone for almost a week before the attack.

When he emerged, he carried a white gift bag in one hand and
my favorite nightie in the other. It was the one that Darcy hated. I’d told her
I’d gotten rid of it, even though I kept it tucked safely away in the back of
my dresser. Jackson had never seen me wear it.

“Where did you get that?” I asked, staring at the piece of
white fabric in his hand.

“Your apartment. Darcy got a few of your things while you
were in the hospital, since she knew you weren’t going back there anytime
soon.”

I nodded sadly, and grabbed the nightie from his hands. He
didn’t look away from me while I pulled it on over my head, then pulled down
the covers on the bed.

I settled myself under the blankets, and sat up. Jackson sat
on the bed next to me; I could feel his warmth through the blankets that
separated us.

“I wanted to ask you something, Mellie, before you go to
sleep,” he said, and I noticed that he was watching me anxiously. Jackson was
never nervous about anything, so it unnerved me a bit.

“Go ahead,” I said, smiling to reassure him.

“Actually, before I ask you, I have something for you.” He
held out the white bag he’d carried out of the closet, and I took it from him.

“What is it?” I asked curiously, gazing into the bag.

Jackson laughed. “Just open it.”

I did as he said, and pulled out a rectangular jewelry box. I
wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, and my breathing hitched.

I opened the box and immediately felt tears in the corners of
my eyes. It was a pearl necklace, nearly identical to the one that Collin had
pulled off of me that night.

“We had to replace two of the pearls, but otherwise Lucy was
able to find all of them,” he said. I almost couldn’t believe what he was
saying.

“Wait, this is my pearl necklace?” I asked as I brushed my
fingers lightly over the smooth, round pearls. I knew that I was crying, but I
didn’t care. It was my necklace.

“It is. After the paramedics took you from your apartment and
the police took Collin away, Lucy tried to pick up all the pearls. Like I said,
two were missing, but otherwise they’re all there.”

There was a lump in my throat so big that I couldn’t say
anything. I just nodded and continued to stare down at my necklace. He had it
fixed for me. He and Lucy made sure my necklace wasn’t lost forever.

“There’s one more thing, Mellie,” Jackson said. I turned to
look at him, my vision clouded with tears. “I was wondering if you would come
to London with me for Christmas. I was hoping I could introduce you to my
grandparents.”

“London,” I said, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to hide the
excitement in my voice. “You want to take me to Europe.”

“I do,” he said, smiling. “And when we come back, I was
hoping you would move in with me. Permanently.”

Part of me knew that I would be moving in with him after all
of this, but it still thrilled me to hear him say it. He wanted me with him,
always. He didn’t mind my bad habits or my cleaning compulsion. He loved me, and
I knew it.

“Wait, what about the café? It’s almost fifteen minutes away
and I don’t have a car. How will I get there?”

Jackson laughed. “Like you haven’t been driving my car for
almost two months anyway. I think we can take care of that.”

I couldn’t help but laugh too. A year ago, I would have never
even considered moving in with a man before marriage, but the past eleven
months had taught me more than I’d learned in the previous twenty-three years
combined.

I knew now that I didn’t have to be selfish to be happy, and
that I didn’t have to compromise who I was in order to be a good person. I’d
learned that love really was patient and kind and forgiving. Love was never a
bad thing, and it came in so many different forms. You didn’t need to be
married to someone to love them, and you didn’t need to give yourself up to
love them. True love meant loving the person that they are, not the person that
you want them to be.

Jackson crawled into bed with me, and I scooted down so he
could wrap his arms around me. There really was no other place in the world
that I wanted to be. And if someday it all went away, I would still love him. A
year from now, or ten or twenty, if Jackson and I decided that we weren’t
really meant to be together, I would still love him; because he was the one
that taught me these things about myself, and about life. He was the one that
showed me what compassion and love and happiness truly meant. It was because of
Jackson that I knew how to breathe again.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Am I really writing an acknowledgements
section? It seems surreal. I never, in a million years, thought that I would
actually be publishing this book of mine that took me over five years to write.
It’s been a project of passion, of getting that perfect love story out of my head.

I guess I should thank my husband first and foremost. Robert,
you’ve believed in every single crazy dream I’ve ever had, and I wouldn’t be
where I am without you. You’re my confidence, and I’ll be forever grateful for
that.

To my family, who challenge me and love me in more ways than
I can even comprehend. To my mom, the fastest, most dedicated reader I know. I
got my love of books from you, and I’ll always be thankful for that.

To all my friends, both online and in real life, I love you.
Thanks so much for your support and encouragement, and for continuing to follow
my random, crazy life. It means more to me than you know, truly.

And, of course, to Taylor Swift. You have no idea who I am,
but you’ve changed me. Thank you.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Joelle Charming is a blogger, wedding
planner, and hopeless romantic. She is a graduate of California Lutheran
University, and currently lives in Southern California with her husband and
dog, Olive. She’s also obsessed with Taylor Swift, loves the color pink, and
likes to wear bows in her hair.