Chapter 23

The sunlight was piercing through the curtains. Callum slowly opened his eyes, realizing that he had slept the whole night, not waking up even once. For the first time in months, he felt fully rested and at peace. In his arms, Faith was still sound asleep. He smiled as he looked at her angelic face resting on his chest. Trying to not wake her up, Callum reached to his phone on the nightstand. It was still early. There was plenty of time to let her sleep a little longer. What the hell... He said to himself as he read the notifications on the screen. Multiple texts from Ben were taking over his screen.

Callum had blocked both their numbers, and swore he would move forward, but he didn't change his number, so he was still easy to reach. I should've thrown my phone away... Staring at the screen in silence, he pondered on whether he should read the texts or completely ignore them, delete them, and change his number. He glanced at Faith and all if his doubts vanished. The past didn't matter anymore. His future was right there in front of him and nothing that he could possibly find in those texts would change that.

In the texts, Ben started by simply apologizing and then confessed to something that Callum had always known but refused to acknowledge for years. Ben was, and had always been, in love with Alice and part of him had always resented Callum for being the one she chose. The texts ended with Ben apologizing again and saying that he knew nothing would ever fix what happened between them, that their friendship couldn't be fixed, and that he didn't wish for forgiveness, he just wanted to explain himself and wish Callum all the best.

Deep down I knew it, didn't I? Callum found himself thinking back to different moments throughout the years, where it was obvious that something was going on between Alice and Ben, something more than a close friendship. Alice might've chosen Callum, but she had always shown signs of being manipulative and unfaithful. Every time Callum gave her less attention because he was stressed at work or school, or every time they fought, she would turn to Ben because she knew he was in love with her. After every argument, even the tiniest one, Alice would storm out and Callum would always find her crying in Ben's arms. The three of them were best friends, so he never made anything of it. Or at least he tried not to. Time in time again, he told himself, they're just friends. Ben is my best friend. There's nothing else going on. But there was... Since the beginning, Callum had been the third wheel in his own relationship. He realized that Alice was and had always been extremely selfish, taking what she what from both him and Ben. I dodged a bullet... He sighed.

Leaning against the headboard, he took a big breath, put his phone away and looked at Faith again. Despite it all, I feel like the luckiest man ever...

Faith slowly opened her eyes, yawned, and looked up at Callum, who was staring right back at her.

"Morning, sleeping beauty."

"Morning," she mumbled.

Faith felt herself turn immediately red, but before she could pull the covers up and hide her embarrassment, Callum pulled towards him and placed a tender kiss on her lips. He held tightly in his arms and whispered in her ear, making her even redder than she already was.

"Never hide you face from me Faith. Doesn't matter how blushed you are. How embarrassed you feel. Please never hide from me," he begged, brushing the hair away from her face and tugging it behind her ears.

Between the butterflies and the palpitations, Faith nodded as she stared in the disbelief at the man holding her in his arms.

"We have to get up and go back to the real world eventually, don't we?" He sighed. "I don't want to let you go."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"Me neither." Callum kissed her again before getting up from the bed.

***

The roads and been cleared, and the sun was shining bright. It almost seemed as if the storm from the night before had been nothing but a dream. Callum offered to drive back, and Faih took the opportunity to nap in the car. How does she sleep so much... He smiled while glancing at her.

Faith opened her eyes and realized that they were almost at the Peterson estate. She didn't want the day to end. She wished they could stretch the day just a little longer. Have a bit more time together before both went home and back to work.

"Everything okay?" She asked, noticing that there was somewhat of a sombreness in his eyes.

"You're awake, sleeping beauty. Yes, everything is okay."

"You sure?"

Callum pondered for a moment. He had spent part of the drive thinking about Ben's texts, reanalyzing the whole situation. He felt conflicted between the hurt of the betrayal, and sorry for how things ended. Part of him wished to never see or hear about Alice or Ben ever again, while part of him remembered with fondness the good parts of their friendship. He couldn't help but wonder how it could've all turned out if Ben had been honest about his feelings for Alice. Would I have walked away if I had known...

"My phone." He pointed to it.

"What about it?"

"Grab it. I had some texts from Ben when I woke up this morning."

"Oh..."

"Read them."

"What?"

"That's what I've been thinking about. Read them and then you can delete them."

"Are you sure?"

Callum smiled and nodded. "I'm sure."

By the time Faith was done reading the texts, Callum had already parked in front of her house.

"I'm really sorry." Faith cried, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"Why are you crying like that?"

"I don't know. It's all just sad."

"How adorable. Come here." Callum pulled her towards his chest and wrapped his arms around her. "You're too kind."

"No. I'm not." She sniffled. "I hate what they did to you."

Callum tightened his grip on her and patted her hair. "I'm over it now. Believe me, Faith."

She nodded. "I do."

"I'm in love with you, Faith. I love you."

Faith's heart stopped. She was definitely sure that there was something terribly wrong with her body, because nothing was working quite right. Her heart had weird rhythms and palpitations, her stomach was in knots, her brain was foggy and slow, while at the same times thoughts rushed through her mind and her voice didn't seem to want to come out.

"Faith?" He called concerned. "You don't have to say it back right now. But at least say something. You're killing me here. No man is that strong." He chuckled. But behind the smile, Faith could see how scared and desperate he was for an answer. Any answer. Anything at all.

"Me too... I mean. I do. I mean... I love you too," she stuttered. She didn't feel like she was fully there. It felt like a dream. Her thoughts were foggy, and she felt her body tremble.

Callum sighed and leaned his forehead against hers.

"How adorable," he muttered, while placing a soft kiss on her lips.