Better Off

32

Months later, life returns back to normal for me.

Scratch that—life starts being better than normal. It's the end of the school year before I even realize it, only a week left of my last year of high school. It's hard to believe that I'll be a graduate in a week, and life after high school is going to start. I've been accepted into the local university, so I've planned to attend college after high school. Thorne has enrolled into the community college, where he'll start in the fall. The thought that we'll be going to college together (albeit different schools) is one that makes me happy; makes the future seem so much more real, rather than a distant understanding that it is coming.

Speaking of Thorne, our relationship is now stronger than it's ever been before. My parents get along with Thorne in ways I never thought imaginable, accepting him as a part of my life and a new portion of their's. He comes over for dinner at least once a week, an event that feels natural now. My dad has even started allowing Thorne in my room, as long as he's not in my room for more than ten minutes each visit. I can hardly complain about that rule; I'm just happy that the two different parts of my life are finally coming together as one.

I suffer through the last semester of school with my friends by my side, waiting to finally graduate. I start to eat lunch with Emmie, Asher (who's actually not that bad), and Camila, along with Thorne. Thorne and Asher are pretty close friends, and it's safe to say that Emmie is definitely my best friend. It's fun when we all get together as a group, making memories that will last a lifetime. Things are better than I ever dared to hope for. Before I know it, it will be time to discover what lies ahead in my future.

And Thorne and I . . . well, we're closer than ever. It's like all the bad we had to go through only brought us closer together, almost like it's a good thing—as crazy as that sounds. We spend almost every waking moment together. It doesn't seem to matter how many things are changing in my life, doesn't seem to matter how I feel about the future. It's comforting to know that no matter what happens, I'll always have Thorne.

It's funny to me how I've come to love someone I used to hate so much. My life completely flipped upside down the second I first laid eyes on him. I used to think that was a scary thing, but now I'm so grateful that it happened. I wouldn't be who I am now without him. I know in my heart that he shaped me into a better person, and I've done the same for him. I'm truly better off with him by my side, encouraging me to be a better version of myself everyday.

"What are you thinking about, Sunshine?" The sound of Thorne's voice and a light squeeze to my hand in his brings me out of my thoughts. I look over at him from where I sit in the passenger seat of his car, giving him a small smile.

"Nothing much," I lie. If there's one thing I don't want to do in his presence, it's relive the past. I just want to focus on our future together, one that's finally started to look up for us. "Nothing important. Where are we going, anyway?"