Better Off

17

A few hours later, we wind up back at Thorne's place. It's been an emotional roller-coaster ride of a day, not just for Thorne, but for me too. In just the small amount of time since I first got to his house this morning to now, he's shared so much with me. He brought me to his favorite childhood place, cried in front of me, shared stories about his childhood, and even taken me to his mother's grave, bringing her red roses—her favorite flowers. He's opened up to me in ways I never fathomed he would and, though it's a lot to take in, it makes me extremely happy to know that he trusts me the way that he does. I never knew the first time our gazes locked that we would end up this way, but I'm glad we did. I'm glad the universe brought us together. I wouldn't change a thing if I could.

Right now, I'm sitting in Thorne's living room as he changes in his bedroom. It started to pour while we were still outside, and we both got thoroughly soaked. I changed into one of his sweatshirts, suddenly thankful for the fact that he's much taller than me. I can hear the rain beating down on the roof of his house, and I watch the way the drops trail down the windows across from the couch, like tears down cheeks. I've had enough sadness for one day, so I force myself to look at the TV which is playing some commercial I don't pay much attention to.

Thorne strolls into the room then, his wet hair sticking up in odd places. He wears a white t-shirt, revealing all of his tattoos, paired with sweatpants. He's got this weird gleam of determination in his eyes as they fall on me, drifting from the roots of my messy ponytail to my toes.

"I love you, Sunshine." Thorne just blurts the words casually, like they're so easy for him to say. Only, they're not so easy for me to hear. I just gape up at him and blink, wondering if he really just said what I think he just said. I mean—Thorne just said he loves me. That can't be, right?

"Thorne—" I start, still trying to comprehend what I just heard.

"Don't give me that you don't mean that shit," Thorne cuts me off, eyes trained on mine. "I don't give a fuck if it's too early to be saying that, or if I'm too young to know what love is, or whatever excuse people come up with to not have to tell people they love them these days. All I know is that I seriously love everything about you, Sunshine."

I blink, shocked. I don't know what to say. I don't even remember how to form words anymore. Thankfully, Thorne doesn't give me a chance to make a fool of myself.

"I love that I don't have to put on an act when I'm with you, Mia. I love how easy you are to talk to, how I can trust you so easily. I love the way it sounds when you laugh and the way it makes me feel when you smile at me after I say something stupid. I love holding your hand and being able to tell people that you're my girlfriend. I love the fact that my friends love you as much as I do. I love the way you look in my sweatshirt right now. Fuck, Sunshine. I just love you."

As he's telling me this, I'm more or less thinking the same about him. I love being with him. I love how he's somehow managed to turn me into the kind of girl that isn't so afraid of what it'd be like to live her life the way she wants to live it. I've been falling for him a little harder every second that we're together, but hearing those words come from his mouth just makes me fall head-over-heels.