I pulled away from Christian first, resting my forehead on his own before taking a look at his face. I could see the facial resemblance Christian and Danny shared with the apparent difference being Christian's kind brown eyes that gently looked back at me.

He didn't have Danny's nose bridge freckles or his dimples. He had a faint scar on his nose and three small moles below his right eye that looked like a constellation if you connected them.

But he did have Danny's eye structure and the same smile. It was almost like being with him again.

Christian reminded me of the version of Danny that I wanted to remember. The one I fell in love with.

The one that never hurt me.

"Are you okay?" Christian softly asked, glancing down at my arms that were speckled with goosebumps. "Oh," I sheepishly laughed, wishing the goosebumps on my skin would go away. "Yeah, I'm fine, I'm just...cold." I lied. "Maybe we should go back inside." I suggested.

"Alright," Christian nodded. "Hold on tight."

I giggled, clinging onto him as I hugged his torso. Christian steadily placed his hands underneath my thighs for support as he waded through the water towards the steps of the pool. I shyly smiled at him as he carried me and he shot me an endearing grin, making my heart flutter. I lightly laughed, quickly looking away from his gaze, hiding my face in the crook of his neck.

I closed my eyes, smiling as I heard Christian chuckling to himself.

We got out of the pool and Christian gently placed me down onto one of the patio chairs. "Thanks." I spoke softly. "Mhm, let me get your walking boot." He jogged over to the edge of the pool, swiftly picking up my boot from the ground. "You need help putting this back on?" Christian asked as he walked back over to me. I shook my head, taking my walking boot from his hand. "No, I'm okay. Thank you though."

"Okay. I'll be right back. I'm gonna go get you a towel."

"Okay." I smiled.

I briefly looked at Christian as he walked away, using his shirt to dry his legs and feet before stepping inside his house.

As I put my boot back on, I thought about our kiss and wondered if it would impact our trip. Surely that wasn't gonna be the last time. As much as I wanted to be close to Christian, I felt like giving him some space for now.

I was still anxious about what would happen in Arizona. I couldn't stop thinking about the possibility of Maia continuing to freely live her life like she didn't kill someone. Then again, there's also the possibility that I'm completely wrong and she's got nothing to do with Danny's death.

No, somehow she was involved. Maia and Danny had a plan and most likely he'd still be alive if he followed through with what she wanted in the end.

My head swiveled towards the back door as I heard it open. Christian was back with a dark blue towel over his right shoulder and a beige one in his hands that I assumed was for me. "Here you go." Christian wrapped the beige towel around my shoulders. "Let me help you up."

I smiled at him, taking his hand for support as I lifted myself out of the chair. I wrapped my arm around his waist, slowly walking with him back inside the house. I let go of him as he closed the back door behind him. "Um," I glanced down at my feet for a moment. "I think I'm gonna go shower and call it a night. You know, since we have a pretty busy day tomorrow." I nervously chuckled.

"Yeah...okay." Christian nodded in understanding. "You're okay to walk by yourself?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I reassuringly smiled at him.

I still felt like it would be awkward and incomplete if I just walked away. I wondered if Christian was expecting anything else to happen between us.

"Wait." I limped closer to him, wrapping my arms around his upper body as I warmly embraced him. "Thanks for looking out for me." I spoke softly. I rested my chin on his chest, looking up at him with a genuine smile.

Christian softly chuckled, looking down at me with that loving smile I couldn't get enough of. "Of course. You know I could say the same thing for you. You make my days a whole lot better."

I giggled, feeling the sensation of tears begin to pool in my eyes. Christian cradled my face in his hands, lightly stroking my cheek with his thumb. He leaned down a bit, planting a quick kiss on my forehead before enveloping me into a hug again. "Sleep well Nadia. I'll see you in the morning."

...

It was 10:17am, and I was seated in the backseat of our uber, mindlessly staring outside the window on the way to the airport. Christian was seated in the passenger seat, making small talk with the driver every now and then.

I unlocked my phone, opening my messages to text Amelia.

Me: Hey Amelia we're headed to the airport rn

Amelia 💛: How are you feeling about everything?

Me: I'm nervous :/

Amelia 💛: Aw Nadia don't be! I'm sure everything will be fine :)

I sighed, trying to embrace her optimism.

Me: I really hope so

I anxiously glanced at my keyboard, quickly typing another message.

Me: Christian and I kissed last night...

My thumb hovered over the blue send button and I furrowed my eyebrows, lightly shaking my head as I deleted those six words.

I felt like Amelia didn't need to know that. I also didn't feel like being judged. I could just see her mentioning how barely any time had passed since things ended with Leo.

Sometimes I wish he never forgave me. I wish he didn't feel like he needed me to be okay.

Then again, I wish I had the heart to convince him to let me go. But I guess I could understand where he was coming from. We spent almost four years of our lives together. It's not that easy to just let something like that go.

Especially when you don't have someone else to fall back on.

I'm not a bad person. I just wasn't good for him.

"Alright we're here!" Christian's voice broke through my thoughts. He turned his head back to look at me with an excited grin on his face. I lightly smiled back at him trying to mask the inner turmoil that was going on in my mind.

The car came to a halt and as soon as the driver parked, Christian opened the door, eagerly stepping out. He made his way to the trunk, waiting for the driver to join him. "God, someone's excited." He mumbled under his breath, unbuckling his seatbelt. I faintly chuckled, waiting for the driver to step out of the car so I could be alone in my thoughts again for a moment.

Sometimes I did wonder what Leo was going through right now. I knew what he was like whenever his emotions spiraled. He was in a dark place no doubt, but it wouldn't do me any good thinking about his well-being. Leo was out of the picture and I had other things to focus on.

My eyes veered towards Christian, looking at him as he opened the back door for me. I quickly changed my demeanor, flashing him a bright smile. I took his hand as he carefully helped me out of the car. I slowly stepped onto the curb, holding onto both of our suitcase handles for extra support. I watched as Christian happily thanked our uber driver for the ride, quickly double checking to make sure we didn't leave anything in the car.

I made eye contact with our driver. "Thank you!" I called out, giving him a closed-mouth smile as I waved goodbye to him.

"Do you want me to roll your suitcase or you got it?" Christian asked.

"I got it, it's fine." I didn't want him to drag both of our suitcases when he didn't need to.

"Alright, ready?" Christian smiled, adjusting the backpack around his shoulders. "Mhm." I cheerfully nodded, wrapping my arm around his bicep as I clung onto him for support.

"You're sure you don't need any help? You're clinging onto my arm real tight." He teased.

I playfully scoffed, rolling my eyes at him. "I'm sure. Let's go." I laughed.

...
i know this update was long overdue, sorry about that life has me in a chokehold rn lol
i'll definitely try to update the next chapter as soon as i can :)