My heart was beating within my chest, threatening to burst out any minute. Her eyes were clouded with unrecognisable emotions, and I feared what she was about to say.

Rosie Faye was the girl I loved and would never stop loving her. 2 years apart and there wasn't a single day when I wasn't thinking about her and thought about my actions that made me lose her. I had been scared for so long to tell her, scared of the feelings I had for her. But I would scream it to the world if she let me back into her life. I was proud of her, so so proud of my babygirl. She went through hell and back and came out even stronger. She was fierce and fiery, strong and confident and the broken girl I saved on that bridge was history. But I screwed up. She had given me a second chance and I blew it. Our relationship was in her hands.

"Dean, I love you".

I could have collapsed to the floor the moment she confessed her love to me. Her eyes held truth and honesty as she professed those words. I never wanted her to stop saying those three words to me. I felt my body shiver with goosebumps as I was overcome with relief that those were the words that came out of her beautiful mouth.

"I love you so much. Even though I didn't see you for more than 2 years, I thought about you everyday and every night. I went on all these dates, but I couldn't move further with any of them because my heart belonged to you. It will always belong to you no matter what".

Pacing towards her, I cupped her cheeks and stared down at my angel lovingly taking in all her beautiful features. Her eyes welled up as she stared into my own, and I could feel my own eyes stinging as tears poured down her cheeks.

A lone raindrop fell onto her pale cheek mixing with her very own tear drops. More and more raindrops fell onto our faces as we stared silently at one another. The love I have for this woman was unlike everything I had ever experienced. She was my home, my very own sanctuary and I never wanted to be without her.

"Rosie, I simply cannot describe how much I love you. All I know is that you've captured my heart and I never want to let you go again. You're my home and where you go, I go".

Rosie giggled and shook her head as the rain fell hard on the both of us. But her smile suddenly faded and her eyebrows scrunched up into a frown.

"I love you Dean, but I will not be your punching bag. When life gets tough, you lash out. You say things to people you love that you shouldn't say. You pushed me away, twice. I wanted to help you Dean. If only you had let me in after Lucy's death. We could've gotten through it, together. I'm scared that something will happen in the future and you'll lash out at me again in anger. What then?"

She was right. Every word that came out of her mouth was the truth. I pushed her away because of the harsh reality of this world, but she took me back both times. I'm not deserving of her, but by God above, I'd make things right for her, the love of my life.

"I understand everything you're saying. I don't deserve you, especially after giving me a second chance. But after losing you for 2 whole years, I cannot risk losing you again. I've worked on myself over the years, working on handling my emotions and with James' support I have been seeing a counsellor and getting help. Baby, I came to the realisation that I don't need professional help, I just need you and only you".

I let out all the emotions I had kept locked away for many years and bore them all in front of Rosie. No more secrets, no more pain, only love and the truth. Rosie's eyes fell to the floor pondering over the words she'd just heard questioning the truth of them, but before I could plead with her to take me back, her eyes came back up to meet mine.

"I'm willing to let you back into my life Dean. Believe me, that's the one thing I wanted most. I will stand by you through the hard times, and love you always. I will guide you through the dark and into the light. I love you Dean".

"I love you more even more sweetheart".

Lowering my head, I gently rested my forehead against hers smiling in sheer happiness of getting back with the woman I love. She's given me chance after chance and I vow to never ruin what we have. I felt my eyes water as I felt peace for the first time in years. I could hear Lucy's voice echo around my head cheering me on and saw her smile widely at me telling me how proud she was of me.

"Now that we've made up, can I please have a chicken nugget". Rosie laughed loudly at my romance killing request.

"No. But you can have this".

Rosie pulled her head away from mine making me pout like a stubborn child. But not even seconds later, her lips met mine in a gentle yet passionate kiss. The rain mixing with our mouths as we moved our lips in a synchronised dance. Our love for one another poured into the kiss that I dreamt about for 2 whole years. This is the girl I love, this is the girl I want to spend the rest of my life with.

"I've dreamt about kissing you for two damn years".

Rosie stroked my cheek softly and stared at me with admiration.

"We've got plenty of time to make up for it. But Dean, where do we go from here?".

A smile popped onto my face as she stared down at the ground unbeknownst to the plans I already made for us.

"Let's get out of this rain and I'll show you our future".

Rosie tilted her head to the side like an adorable confused puppy but shrugged her shoulders and placed her hand into my awaiting one before dragging her out of the rain.

****************

"Dean, what are we doing outside your old house. I sold it. New people live there".

I pulled up alongside the dark house and smiled at it. Still felt like home. It held so many memories, and would always be a part of my life.

Rummaging around in my pocket, I pulled out a set of keys and dangled it in front of Rosie waiting for it to sink in, but she simply frowned.

"I know you sold it, that's why I bought it".

Her beautiful face paled and slid further down in her chair as she stared between me and the house.

"Before you say anything, I'm not mad you sold it. I left the house to you to do what you wanted with it. But after realising what I had done, I came back to the house to find you, but a neighbour said you were gone and that's when I saw the sale sign. I didn't want to get rid of a house that held so many memories, in fact I wanted to make more memories in this house with you".

Rosie's mouth had dropped and shook her head from side to side in disbelief.

"I, I didn't want the money, I haven't even touched the money I made when the house was sold. Why would you buy it? You're the original owner, you could've contacted the estate agent and told them". Rosie rambled on, but I gently grabbed her arm and shook my head.

"Hey, that money is yours to do what you want with. Don't ever let money become an issue between us. My money is yours. My home is yours. Everything of mine is yours. I knew I'd regret it if someone else had bought this house, so I decided to buy it and live in it, hoping that one day you'd come back. But that's okay, because we've found each other again".

I stepped out of the car and slammed the door behind me before walking around the car to Rosie's door.

"Aren't you going to come out?". Rosie nervously nodded before placing her hand in mine and hopped out of the car. Without another word, I guided her up the familiar pathway and stopped at the front door.

Pulling out my set of keys, I unlocked the door and let it swing open. Rosie was about to take a step inside, when I held my arm across the door as a barricade.

"Rosie, I know we've just got back together and I know it'll take time for us to get back to where we used to be, but I want to give you this".

I handed her a single key from my pocket and placed it in her awaiting palm. Her eyes widened as it dawned on her what I was going to ask.

"I don't want to rush you into anything, but you're my present and future. I can't imagine life without you. I want to ask if you'll move in with me, just like it used to be. You don't have to answer me now, you don't have to say yes, but I want you to have this key. This is your home as much as it is mine. If you don't want to move in, then that's okay. But whenever you're ready, you've got a key".

Rosie smiled widely as she stared down at the key in her palm. I didn't know what she'd say to her moving in, but I didn't care. I was just grateful that she was back in my life.

❤️