50. Maddox

FIFTY

I kiss the top of her head.

Then I press my nose into her hair and inhale her scent.

It's soft and floral and all Hannah.

Her body relaxes into mine. "This isn't what I expected when you asked for a hug."

I tighten my arms around her. "I told you it would take a while."

"Mm-hmm." Hannah relaxes even more.

"I'm so sorry," I whisper.

"You didn't know," she mumbles back.

"I should have tried harder." I slide my palm up and down her spine. "What can I do to earn your forgiveness?"

"You're already doing it." She curls her fingers against my side. "And I'm sorry too. I knew where you were— everyone did. But I thought you wouldn't want to hear from me."

And just like that, Hannah drifts off into sleep while I hold her, flayed open by her last comment.

We only spent one week together. Tuesday through Saturday. That was it. But that week left an impact on both of us.

We were both hurt by the other.

And we both tried to forget.

Hannah knew how to find me, but she didn't reach out because she thought I'd reject her. And I could've hired someone to find her but didn't because I thought she'd abandoned me.

We both made assumptions, and they were all wrong.

And because of that, we lost so much time.

I hug her tighter against me.

Despite everything, being with her still feels so easy.

We fit. The perfect equation.

I felt it all those years ago, and I made the mistake of not telling her.

I won't make that mistake again.