Finn leaves and I stick a finger underneath the glue of the envelope seal and tear it away gently. It's a short letter, but as Finn promised, the pages are filled with his dreams, my dreams and promises to keep them both.

As I read, tears burn behind my eyes only to be pushed out by the anger I feel toward my father. Because of him, I thought Finn abandoned me. How could my own father do this to me? How could he be so unkind? He knew how much I loved Finn, how much I needed him and how devastating it was to leave him behind.

I use the back of my hand to swipe at mad tears and try to focus hard on Finn's words.

Delany,

God I miss you. I've wished upon a million different stars that I could find you, I've had a million different daydreams of what I'll do when I see you again and they always have one thing in common. I'll never let you go.

I drive by your house sometimes and look up at your window hoping to catch a glimpse of what used to be, even though it's just a memory. Those memories are the only thing that keeps me going. I swear.

Nothing is the same without you. I am not the same without you. And I know that you feel it too. My future is unwritten but you are certain.

Your father, your parents can try all they want to keep me away from you but it will do them no good. It will only hurt you the same way it kills me inside. But every day that passes, I feel stronger and better, like rising above the adversity caused by all of this is inevitable.

There are some things I need to say to you...things that could change everything.  

But nothing will ever change what I feel.

Until Forever,

Finn

I want him back this very second. I want to kiss him and ask him to hold me, to do like he promised and never let me go. I have no idea what it is Finn thinks his sin is--what he thinks he's done, but none of it matters anymore. Nothing matters except for right now.

My hands begin to shake so badly, that I can no longer focus properly on the letter, even though I could read it a thousand more times, so I set it down and rise to my feet in attempt to gain some equilibrium.

I walk around his apartment like an old person in a museum. The walls are eerily empty but on one of the end tables, a single photograph is set inside a black frame. I squint to get a closer look.

It's Finn and I about a year after we got together. In it, he is seated on the floor while I am settled comfortable in the space between his outstretched legs. His arms are wrapped around my body and his hands rest directly over mine which are pressed to the frets of his guitar. My eyes are fixed on our fingertips and his are fixed on me. I'd forgotten this picture even existed. My heart skips at the memory and I'm about to pick it up to get a closer look when there is a knock at the door.

I freeze. Doesn't he have a buzzer system in effect? It's an apartment building.

I head to the door and to be safe--peer out the peephole. There's a girl standing outside with a black duffel bag in her hand and an impatient look on her face. I don't think she's going to rob or maul me with a duffel bag so I swing the door open with discretion.

As soon as the barrier between us is gone her eyes scan from the top of my head to the tip of my toes and back up again. I do the same.

She's taller than me but not by much. Her hair is jet black and hangs well past her shoulders in loose, shiny waves. Her eyes are the shape of almonds and the color of toasted marshmallows and her skin is flawless. I wrap my arms around my middle and offer an icy smile.

She arches a brow at me. "Is Finn here?"

My stomach does a somersault. "No."

This surprises her. "Do you know where he is?"

"He just ran to the store for butter," I say. "Are you Lilah?"

Please say no. Please say no.

"Yes, Delany. I'm Lilah. And you are what all the fuss is about." She drags out the word all, like I'm some kind of dramatic detail.

"How do you know who I am? What fuss?" The fact that she seems to have intel on me is unsettling. What exactly has Finn told her?

She sets the black duffel bag down just inside the apartment door and crosses arms arms over her chest. "Really? You don't know?" she asks incredulously.

"That I'm something to fuss over?" I try to project more confidence in my voice than I actually feel. "No, I don't know."

"Finn has never gotten over you," she says flatly. "Hundreds of girls would sell their soul to find a guy like him." She smiles as if she's remembering something about him. "But no one stood a chance so long as his heart is yours. You ruined him for the rest of us."

Is that an insult or a compliment? Judging by her arctic delivery of the words, I lean toward insult. I don't know what she wants me to say. Is there etiquette for this kind of exchange?

"Look I don't know you," she continues. "But I know that Finn is remarkable and there is only one person on the planet who he loves more fiercely than you. Between you and me, if you let him go, you don't deserve him. I know if he were ever really mine to begin with, I'd never say goodbye."

I clear my throat. What did she know? My parents forced me to say goodbye! I clear my throat. "I didn't want to say goodbye," I tell her. "I didn't have a choice."

She smiles smugly. "Well, you're about to get a second chance at never letting him go. You're about to be able to make a choice. Tell Finn I'll be back on Sunday at five."

Before I have a chance to reply, to ask more of the questions I need answered, she steps to the side and the answers I'm after wash over me like a rip tide.

A tiny little girl with onyx hair stands behind her, chewing on a beaded necklace that's around her neck. She's sporting a black Kiss t-shirt, a pink tutu,black and white stripped tights and pink converses. Black curls, like Lilah's fall to her waist and she's looking at me with some of the bluest eyes I've only ever seen one on other person.

Finn.

Somewhere along the way, a lump has lodged itself in my throat and my legs have turned to jelly. I lean against the wall for support just in time to see Finn come up the stairs with a stick of butter in his hand and a cautious but hopeful smile on his face. He blinks and looks from Lilah to the little girl.

"Delany."

My head whips to the side, following the sound of his voice but the little girl responds too. "Daddy!" she bellows. She races to where he's standing with outstretched arms. Finn bends down, scoops her into his free arm and kisses her forehead.

"I missed you, Daddy," she says. "Mama said you were following your heart."

His lips are still pressed to her forehead but I can see them twist upward in a grin directed at Lilah who gives a warm smile in return. "Your Mama is a very smart lady."

"She gets that from me," the little girl says and both Finn and Lilah laugh.

"I have to go," Lilah says. She gives a quick nod my way. "It was nice to meet you."

As she walks past their daughter, she ruffles the little girl's hair. "No staying up late, no scary movies and no sugar before bed. I love you."

The little girl turns into Finn and wraps her arms around his neck as she rests her head on his shoulder. "Love you," she says to her mom. "See you on Sunday."

"Bye."

Finn's eyes widen and he tickles her side. "I missed you," he says.

"Missed you too, daddy."

He holds up the stick of butter. "Dinner? Any guesses?"

"Oh, I know it!" she proclaims. "Famous mac and cheese."

"We have a winner!"

Finn shoots a glance my way that looks partly elated but also terrified, no doubt he's running a million scenarios through his head about how I'm going to react.

He steps into the apartment and sets the little girl down on her feet. She looks up at me shyly and I try to offer a warm smile--it's the best I can do right now because words completely escape me.

"I want you to meet someone who is very important to me."

The little girl crosses one foot over the other and smiles, stretching out her hand to me for a hand shake. She's adorable.

"I know who you are," she says to me.

My eyebrows rise up. "You do, do you?"

"Yes," she says. "You're the girl in Daddy's guitar picture. The one on the table in the living room."

"I am."

"You're pretty."

"You're pretty, too."

"We have the same name. He told me that, too." A wayward curl falls loose onto her forehead and every word she speaks steals a small piece of my heart.

"He did, did he?"

"Yes," she says, nodding. "He told me there was a girl named Delany who he would never stop loving. When I was born, he knew he'd never stop loving me either so that's why he named me Delany Rae Ellis."

Oh. My. God. I have no resolve left. It's love at first sight. "Well Delany Rae Ellis, it's nice to meet you."

My thoughts are in pieces, my head can't even begin to wrap around what's just happened. But my heart stops hammering, it stops trying to break free as I look at Finn and his little girl, this whole other part of him to love and I know I'm home.

She tilts her head to the side and smiles. "You can just call me Dee if you want."

"Okay, Dee."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," I say.

"Do you love my daddy?"

My head snaps up to look at him. I feel like he's holding his breath, waiting for my response. They both are. "Yes. I do and I love him a little more with every second that passes."

Finn's grin stretches clear across his face and he mouths the words, I love you.

"Until forever?" Dee asks.

"Yes," I say. "Maybe even longer than that."