Present Day

Holy shit.

Holding her in my arms feels so right. She still smells like strawberries and cupcakes—so sweet.

MyShorty.

She"s alive.

She"s here with me.

My feelings are all over the place. Anger, frustration, sadness, shock, and happiness.

Dead.

I can"t believe Mom would intentionally shatter my heart by making me think my best friend—my best girl— died at the age of nine. Shorty pulls away to look up at me. Her beautiful chestnut brown eyes are bloodshot, puffy, and brimming with tears. I wipe her tears with my thumb, cupping her cheeks in my hands. She leans into my touch and closes her eyes as I admire her long sexy lashes. She grew up to be so fucking beautiful.

"Shorty, "I whisper. "Please open your eyes and look at me." She complies, giving me a smile. It tells me she feels safe and content—just like when we were kids.

"I can"t believe it"s really you," Shorty says, stroking my face with her warm, soft hands. She finally calmed down. Still cupping her face, I lean in and touch my forehead against hers.

"Me too." My cell phone vibrates and Sadie startles, pulling away from my arms.

No. Don"t move away from me.

"It"s ok. It must be important if it keeps vibrating," she says with a sweet smile.

"I really don't care," I respond, "you are all that matters right now." Shorty shudders in my arms.

"So, what now?" She looks up at me with eyes full of uncertainty.

I'm never letting you go.

"What do you want to happen?" I ask her.

We stare and smile, lost in each other trying to savor this moment. What would this mean for us? I'm not the same boy she knew so long ago, and she definitely isn't the same little girl from my past. She seems stronger and grounded. Shorty has this glow about her. I can't quite figure out it, but it calls to me like a drug addict itching for their next fix.

"What happened to your curls?" I give her a questioning look taking a strand of her smooth, silk hair with my fingers. I'll keep talking, anything to stay with her longer.

There she is. The sweet and pure smile I remember from when we were kids.

"The curls are still there. It"s easier to manage when it's straightened." She smooths out the ends of her hair.

I loved your curls."

"I know. I remember." She takes a step away from me with a grin on her face. She remembers the times my finger would get tangled up in her hair. The curls were wild and crazy.

Shedrove me crazy.

I couldn"t stay away from her as a kid. And I don"t think I can now. Knowing she"s here, right now, at this moment, is fucking amazing.

I can"t let her go.

I won"t ever let her go.

I'm pissed off when my phone goes off again. Shorty giggles when I keep her close to my chest, I pull out my phone and read the text messages across the screen. I felt like someone punched me in the gut.

Ash.He's going to flip his shit when he finds out our girl is alive.

Ash: Dude. Where the hell are you? Mom's freaking out. I told her you were right behind me. That was an hour ago!

Another text sent ten minutes later…

Ash: Answer me, you fucker!

Ash: I swear to God, if you don't answer me in the next few seconds, I'm going to stick my bat up your ass you'll be shitting splinters for a week!

I smolder back a laugh.

Tucking my phone back in my pocket, I notice Shorty stepping out of my arms. Not wanting to let this moment go, I say, "I really don't want to say goodbye."

"Me too." She gives me a warm smile.

My phone goes off again. God damnit Ash.

Shorty lets out a quiet laugh, "It's ok Doni. Answer it. It's late anyway and I want to crawl in my warm bed."

"Do you want company?" I raise an eyebrow challenging her to accept it. I know, I'm flirting with danger, but I don't care. Her face turns beat red. As kids, it seemed so normal when she spent so much time in my bed. Now that we are all grown up, I can't help but wonder…

"Yeah, we're not kids anymore Doni."

No, we're not.

I give her one of my sexy smirks.

She shakes her head in amusement.

This time, my phone vibrates, not once, but three times. I answer my phone in annoyance, "What?" I snap not bothering to see who called.

"Donnie?" My world stops when Addy's sweet voice is on the other line. Why the hell is she calling me at this time? I turn my back on Shorty, shutting my eyes closed. Guilt swirls in my gut remembering I had a girlfriend. I'm not doing anything wrong, and I wasn't the type to cheat, but I can't help to feel as if I am.

"Hey. I need to call you back," I tell Addy not waiting to hear her protest. When I turn back to face Shorty, she's already at the front door digging in for her keys. There's no way in hell I'm letting her go.

I jog up toward her and gently grab her elbow to face me. "Wait, Shorty. Please don"t go."

"It's ok. I'm tired, and it's late. You have to get home before Ash kills you." She smirks at me.

God, this feels like old times.

"Yeah, ok. But…" I glance around the darkness hesitant to leave. "I don"t feel comfortable leaving you here." Especially if her crazy ex is still out there. This place brings back so many memories. The nights she crawled through my window at night after her dad beat her, the tears falling from her beautiful face, and the pain I inflicted on her when we left.

"Please come with me." I blurt out without thinking. I hate how vulnerable I sound, but she does that to me. Panic is starting to rise in me, wondering if I may not see her again if she is taken away from me again.

It"s driving me fucking nuts.

It feels like I'm eight all over again. I can hardly breathe.

Shorty stares at me for a moment as if she's contemplating the idea. I take this time to soak her in. She is gorgeous, and no longer the second most beautiful girl in the world. She was and will always be my number one girl. There"s hardly any makeup plastered on her face. She"s a natural beauty.

"Doni," she says in a pained whisper like she doesn't want me to leave.

Hearing her use the childhood nickname she gave me melts my heart. She could never pronounce my full name, so she went with Doni that's pronounced like phony. It brings me back to the day she owned my ass. She still owns me.

"I"ll be ok," she reassures me.

My mood changes rapidly. The idea of her ex putting his hands on her makes me want to bash his face into the ground.

Who was protecting her all this time?

What if she was all alone?

The thought makes my head hurt.

"I…I just want you to be safe. Is all I ever wanted for you."

"I know," she says in a whisper without looking at me. A lonely tear runs down her face.

"Hey." I wipe the tear away. "I'm here now, and I'm not going anywhere."

"I know." Her response makes my heart soar.

"But he's gone, right? He's not coming back?" I ask trying to reign in the panic that is brewing inside of me.

"No, he's not." She starts to turn away, but I grab her arm.

"Wait. "I…um…can I see you again?" Reaching for her hand, I hold it in mine, liking the way it feels in my hand. I carefully rub the top of her hand with my thumb. Her warm touch calms my anxiety, having to leave her alone not knowing if her ex will return. I should"ve taken her with me when we moved away. I should've fought harder. The feeling of dreadful regret haunted my soul for years. I need to make this right this time.

To my surprise, she nods in agreement. "I would love that." She turns the key and unlocks the door but takes one more glance over her shoulder.

"Good night, Doni." She sounds like she doesn"t want me to go.

I don"t want to go either, baby.

"Good night, Shorty."

I watch her open the door and walk into the house without looking back. I stand there with both hands on the outside door frame, resting my head against the door, wishing she would come home with me. Feeling defeated, I turn around and walk back to my car.

"Fuck!" I howl with anger and frustration, banging my fists against the steering wheel.

I walked away from my girl—again.