"Wendell?"

I looked up into the eyes of my emotionally exhausted boyfriend as I looked up from my homework. "Yeah?" I said, setting my Shakespeare novel to the side. "What's on your mind?"

I walked up to him and noticed that he had a glassy look in his eyes as if confessing his soul to me earlier had officially worn him out and he was on the verge of crying. "Hey. Are you okay?" I asked softly as I joined my boyfriend on his bed. "You look a bit distraught."

"I look and feel like it," he replied, sighing heavily. "Remember when you said that you had your doubts about us being together and all that back a couple of weeks ago?"

I nodded.

"Well, I might have felt the same way a couple of times myself, even when I was comforting you when we're dealing with Braeden and all of that," he confessed. "I mean, I guess you can say that you and I were dealt a bad hand in life; and while I'm certain that you and I were destined for each other, I can still hear the voices of my late parents and Cara telling me that I'm not deserving of love- that I'm too much of a lost cause to find someone like you. And I often wonder if you think the same way."

I took a deep breath, taking in what he said to me. "Well, my fears are twice as worse with a family like mine constantly reminding me that I was doomed for the start," I replied. "When you hold me in your arms, I feel like I'm wearing a specialized shirt that reminds me that I'm home in your love- like it makes me yours in every single way. Do I think that I don't deserve you in any way? Yes. Does it make me wonder if you and I even have a chance to survive? No question. But am I lucky at the moment to call you mine in the same way that you do with me? You better believe it.

"If you told me before that I came here that you and I have the same things in common and that my inner saboteur was dictating me to stay away from all relationships after all the mess that I left, I would've punched you right in the stomach and say that you were either a pawn for the Gemini Sisters or just sick in the head. But right now? If someone would tell me that you and I would fizzle out after our summer together; I'd just read them for filth and punch them right in the face before threatening them with bodily harm that would make both Ted Bundy and Dexter Morgan look like saints," I continued. "And while we still aren't sure of the future after this and that some people- Satillo- would say that we needed to count our blessings before they're all gone, I still believed in your promise for forever- even if it remains behind these doors."

"You really mean that?" Logan said, sitting up in the bed and motioning for me to join him as we wrapped our arms around each other.

"More than you ever realize," I replied. "Every kiss and time spent discovering each other's bodies and intimate secrets erotically, every moment we encouraged each other and talked things out in group therapy, the moments when you made sure that I kept up with my grades and made sure that I opened myself up to Dr. Sellers- all of those moments and more in the future will be etched in my memory in a way that I don't want to forget a single thing. And even if I do get accepted into the art school and we have to separate, I'm still going to treasure these times until we meet again, whether it's in this life or the next."

And that's when I saw him finally let loose the tears that were threatening to spill over in an emotional tidal wave. I joined him, kissing each drop of the salty water away as we ditched each other's clothes and let the tears of joy and brokenness help us mold and reshape the bond that was forged from the day I met him. If I wasn't sure that I was in love with him back when we first got lost in the throes of bliss, I was certain that he loved me in the same way that he does with me.

I let him ride me in a mournful yet symphonic and desiring cruise of want and adoration for each other, with me taking over and admitting him a couple of times. By the time we were finally finished, it was almost time for lights out and we were getting ourselves ready for bed. "Thank you, Wendell," Logan breathed as he slipped on his black bodysuit, sneaking in a quick kiss before I got dressed in my white bodysuit (and feeling more confident now that there was more muscle after the workouts and diet with the trainer and nutritionist). "Thank you for confirming what I hoped that you would say in the first place- that you love me in the same way that I do with you."

"I meant it," I firmly replied, grabbing my journal from my desk and heading to my bed. "I want to make sure that you and I would be meant to last long- if not in an actual relationship after my summer here is complete, then with the memories that I want to cherish in my heart and soul. No one would see right through me in the way that you do and I am grateful that you never want to give up on me even when I came here and expected to fall and crash on my behind."

Logan chuckled lightly. "I wouldn't allow it," he replied. "I mean, can you imagine what would happen if you decided to act like a total brat and continued to shut everyone out?"

"Yeah, a lot of time spent in isolation and not being with you," I replied. "Not only that, I might have ended up being Braeden's best friend and the two of us would raise a lot of hell that would land him in reform school and me in prison. and that would break Whitfield's heart and have my grandparents haunt me from the dead."

"Exactly. But you chose the path that you're on right now and you're ready to rebuild and reclaim the life that was nearly robbed of you by your father, his brood of self-righteous family, McHell High School, and anyone who took your sperm donor's side," Logan replied. "And that would have made me and my uncle pissed off to the maximum that would have caused us to fight like dogs."

"Can you promise me one thing?" I asked him. "And I need you to hold yourself and be accountable for this. If one or both of us are being cornered by anyone who wants us to fall back into bad habits or let them mold us into their image, we have to force it out of each other and ourselves no matter if the consequences can be deadly or land us in the wrong side of the law."

"That I can do," Logan replied. "Now, can you promise me something as well?"

"What?"

"If you finally make the final step of breaking free from the past, you confront any or all of your family members and tell them off- make them hate themselves for who they are. And if they dare lay a finger on you, then fight back with everything you got. Just don't make the first insult or blow. If you are provoked to the maximum, then you fight back. If they decide to stick with their usual behavior or tone it down, then don't start anything."

I nodded. "I will," I said. "I would ask for permission to burn their home to the ground, but I am tired of destroying things, you know? I just want to have a clean break from everything and just be free from it all."

"I believe it," Logan replied, heading to his bed. "Now, head to bed and get some sleep. Midterms are coming up soon and so is Home-Ec Week, so we both need to be at our best."

"Let me write down a little something in my journal to share with Sellers," I said, grabbing my pen before I opened the hardcover notebook and began to write.

How can you describe the meaning of true love with someone who is the right match for you, even when you met on the first day of summer classes?

How can you describe the feeling of being with that one person in your life who knows you in so many ways?

I can only think of one perfect word: magnificence. And as of today, Logan and I officially made it known to each other that we aren't heading for destruction.

We were heading in the right direction that would take us to new heights beyond compare.

Who knew?

Who knew, indeed?

And Wendell is going to need Logan more than ever because tragic news will hit him in the next chapter! And folks, let's say that the next four chapters will be full of surprises! You aren't ready for what's next!

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