Giselle sat in her room, staring at the wall in front of her. She'd sent Xavier a message a few minutes ago that she was ready to see him the next day. His reply was, 'I'll tell you everything.' And that was enough.

Love, she believed, came with its inevitable trials. And the reason why those trials hit so hard was because of the peace that also came with love. It had a way of making us lose ourselves in the waves of pure bliss, sure that together the two in love were strong enough to disappear whatever hurdles came their way. But hurdles were supposed to be conquered, not disappear.

And she was ready to overcome whatever obstacle came in their way of finding true happiness together.

As stupid as this decision made her, the trust she'd built in Xavier in the last two years was strong enough not to break easily. If she wasn't ready to be with him at his worst, and if their relationship was based on good moments only, how could she ever expect the love to last for life?

She shook her head. Stupid. She was being stupid. But for Giselle, her heart always won in the battle between the heart and the brain. She looked for the good, saw it, and zeroed in on it. If that made her stupid, then that's what she was.

She pulled her legs back and hugged them, resting her forehead on her knees. The lights were off, though she had no intention of sleeping. Abbott and Mrs. Whitman had knocked on her door several times that day, but she'd made excuses. She'd tried reading the rom-com she'd brought with her, but nothing made her smile, so the book lay face-first on her side table.

Her throat closed in on her. She needed something to calm her racing thoughts. Now that she'd decided on giving Xavier a chance, why couldn't she relax her mind? Why did she still want to cry?

She chanted under her breath for something, anything, that could take her mind off the clutter inside her head and the mess her life was slowly turning into. Anything that could help her fall asleep...

Chris. Nobody had the power to calm her nerves the way he did. Nothing had the power to help her fall asleep except his voice.

Her phone vibrated before she could call her best friend. She took deep breaths to calm herself down before fishing the phone out of her pocket. A faint smile appeared on her lips and she answered.

"Chris!"

"Giselle--" He paused. "Are you okay? What's the matter?"

"What?" she said.

"Is something wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Then why were you crying?"

She smiled. "I was not."

He waited a few seconds. "Just tell me what's wrong."

"I'm telling you that noth--"

"Just tell me what's wrong!" he repeated, sounding as if he was about to sit in his car and drive to Petrichor for her.

She chuckled through her tears. "I love you."

There was a moment of silence. "Yeah, I know. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Worry-bat!" Giselle lay on her bed, and her voice got smaller as she said, "I miss mom." It wasn't a lie. Her mother had left a wound behind her that always ached.

She heard him exhale. Was that relief? "I know..."

She blinked her tears away, wanting to tell him about Xavier, wanting to ask him to guide her and to tell her what was the best way to deal with everything. But she knew that Chris already hated her boyfriend, so what was the point?

Unable to solve her problems, she focused on her grief instead. "I still can't believe she's gone. You remember her, don't you?"

She heard him chuckle sadly. No words followed.

"Who am I joking?" She laughed through the tears. "She probably loved you more than me."

"Giselle," he called, his voice gentle enough to work as a band-aid. "Everyone loves you. Rose loved you. Abbot loves you. And..."

"You love me, too, I know." She sniffed.

"Yeah, I do," said Chris, his voice velvet-like.

"Chris," she whispered.

"I'm here."

"Do you think she's happy?"

He stayed silent for a moment. "Not completely."

She blinked twice in the dark. "Why?"

"It's not easy to wait."

She wiped away a tear. "What do you mean?"

He let out a long breath. "If I die and go to Heaven, I'd wait for you. I would be happy knowing that you'd be there with me one day, but I wouldn't like waiting. So no, she wouldn't entirely be happy."

She smiled. "You'd be in Heaven. You'd be able to do anything you want!"

"Yeah. So?"

She whispered, "Why would you wait for me?"

She could feel a smile in his deep voice as he said, "It wouldn't be Heaven without you."

Her heart skipped a beat. But before she could acknowledge it, her eyebrows merged at the sound of a girl's voice saying, "Chris, do you also want some green tea?"

"Who was that?" Giselle tried sounding cheerful but the words tumbled out exactly as she'd felt upon hearing the mystery woman's voice--shocked. It wasn't because there was a girl in his house, which was fine, but because... Well, she didn't know. Maybe because he hadn't bothered telling his best friend about her.

"No, thank you, Abby. Do you need my help?" he said to the girl. Giselle heard her say that she was good, and then he replied, "I'll be with you in a minute."

She cheerfully told him to take his time, before he said to Giselle, "Hey, I'm back."

She sat straight up on her bed. "Abby? Who's Abby? You have a girl in your house and you're calling me? Are you crazy?"

"I just missed your voice, Pigtails."

She shook her head. "That's exactly why you fail at relationships. You need to show her that she's the center of your world."

There was a pause. "That doesn't always work."

She rolled her eyes. "How would you know?"

"Experience."

"Yeah, right. Who is she? Where did you two meet? Spill the beans."

"You're unbelievable," said Chris.

"Why, thank you. I like to practice it three times a day."

He ignored her. "You chose her for me, remember? At the bar. I went on the date two days ago."

"Abigail? Wow. And she's already at your house? I must admit, I didn't think you had it in you."

"Will the taunts ever cease?" He chuckled.

She smiled. "Likely not." She faked a gasp. "Don't tell me you got married!"

"Shut up."

She smiled. "Seriously, though, why is she at your house?"

"Because she lost her own..."

Her brows merged. "What?"

"Yeah, her house burned down and now she lives with me. I'm in a live-in relationship. It's fun, actually."

She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Live-in relationship? After one date? Her lips parted again, but she clamped them shut when she heard him snort.

"I'm kidding," he said. "She was bored and wanted to hang out. So, we were just watching a movie."

She grinned. "Liked what she saw, huh? Dug your action, did she?"

He groaned.

She licked her lips. "Doesn't she have a job? Don't you have a job?"

"I took the day off."

Her brows shot up. That was extreme for Chris. She found it hard to believe that Chris would take a day off from work just so he could hang out with a woman he'd been on a single date with.

"You skipped work?" asked Giselle incredulously. "You've never taken an off for me."

She could just see him grin at the back of her mind. "You never put me in that situation. You can try and see what I'd do for you."

"I'm sure it would be much less than what you'd do for your girlfriend."

"Stop rolling your eyes." He was almost laughing.

"How do you know? Wait, don't answer that. You seem busy taking an off from work for her."

"It's just a day. What's the big deal?"

She mocked him in her head with annoyance and said, "Don't tell me she's living with you?"

"How would that be appropriate? We've only been on one date."

"Well, now you're just copying my words. And I mean, I don't know. You guys are moving pretty fast."

"She just wanted to watch a movie together."

"Don't you have work-- Why are you laughing?" she squeaked.

"I didn't skip work. I don't take offs, Pigtails. You've lost your mind. Look at your clock, it's eight in the evening."

She paused. "Oh, right."

"Giselle?" Chris called. "Are you jealous or something?"

She mocked him, but then realized he hadn't seen her doing that, felt stupid, and said, "Yeah, sure, after you're done with your facial surgery."

Chris burst out laughing, making her smile. An emotion burned within her that felt strangely like home. It felt like a long time had passed since she'd heard someone laughing. It was a lovely sound to listen to. She could get used to it.

He gasped in between fits. "God! I love--" Chris stopped as soon as he'd begun.

"You what?"

He cleared his throat in response, all traces of humor gone.

It was a revelation. Giselle said, "I've never actually heard you say that to me! Why must I always be the one saying it? Why don't you say that you love me?"

"It's weird," said Chris.

She huffed. "No, it's not. You're weird."

"Would Gichee Gichee Goo suffice? Wait no, I think I just threw up in my mouth a little."

She closed her eyes and let out a long dramatic sigh, then mumbled, "I don't know how we're still friends."

He snickered, and her lips stretched into a smile again.

She said, "Since you so benevolently reminded me how late it was, I think I'm gonna go to bed." She could just see him smiling in the back of her mind.

"Will you be able to sleep?" he asked. Nostalgia hit her at the question. "I'm just gonna drop Abby off in thirty minutes, and then I'll be done for the day if you need me."

She sighed at his perfection. "I'm good. Don't worry."

"Sure?"

"Yeah. I miss you."

She heard him let out a chuckle that sounded more defeated than a sigh, making her wonder if he was okay.

The call ended after he said, "Ditto."

And with a smile on her face, Giselle lay on her bed again and drifted off to dreamless slumber.