Chapter Thirty-Two

Right after Noah left, Maddie's mind was racing. She laid down on her bed and tried to organize her thoughts. It was hard, she had been such an emotional wreck over the last week that she had to fight the urge to just break down and cry.

But she held back her tears, and tried to think things through. She had reached an epiphany. Noah wanted to be with her. That was the part that she had been missing before. He had lied and kept things from her because he had wanted to take her with him to school. He had come for her, rescued her, and forgiven her for all her mistakes. He had always been there for her, put up with her when she was being unreasonable. And he had fought the truth out of her, enabling her to start working through all her problems for the first time.

Maddie didn't know how she hadn't seen it before. It seemed clear to her now. He was in love with her, just like she was with him. It had been a great mistake to underestimate his feelings.

And she loved him too. After Matt had attacked her, when she had realized she was safe, being honest with herself she had to admit that Noah's face was really the only thing she wanted to see at that moment. And then there he was, like he had answered her call. She loved him. He loved her. Wasn't that enough?

That was the question. Was it enough? That's all it really came down to. They had both made mistakes, and Noah was leaving in a few months. This thought made the tears Maddie had been fighting so hard well up in her eyes. She didn't want him to go. She wanted to be with him, always, in every way.

Maddie had her answer. She knew exactly what she wanted. Now she could only hope that Noah wanted the same thing.

The next day, Maddie missed school again. Instead, she paced around the house anxiously, hoping that Noah would call today. She didn't know if he was done thinking things through, but she was, and she wanted to talk about it as soon as possible.

Eventually, Maddie decided she couldn't wait. She had to see him. So she walked to his house. It only took her about half an hour. It was still a little before school got out, so Maddie waited on the porch.

About five minutes later, Noah pulled up. He parked the car in the driveway, got out, and began to walk to the front door. He stopped when he saw her. Maddie waved meekly. Noah didn't say anything as he walked slowly up the front steps and came towards Maddie.

Maddie wanted to know what he was thinking. She hoped she hadn't made a mistake in coming there. But she was tired of hiding and waiting for someone else to do something. She wanted to take charge of her own life.

For a few moments, they just stared at each other. And then Noah swiftly came up, wrapped his arms around Maddie, and kissed her. All insecurities left Maddie's mind and she was lost in Noah's embrace.

When Maddie was able to think again, she knew she had to say the words she came to see. "I want to be with you," she managed to say between kisses.

"Me too."

Maddie broke away from him. "I want to go to school with you. I'll try to do whatever I can to get in. And if I don't…well, then we'll just have to make something work. Okay?"

Noah nodded emphatically. "Yeah, okay." He pulled her in to kiss her again, but Maddie pulled back.

"We should go inside," she said.

"Right."

Noah opened the door and the two of them went into his room in silence. They sat on the bed awkwardly for a few moments.

"I'm sorry for everything," Maddie finally said. "I'm sorry it took me this long to get it. But I want to be with you."

"I'm sorry too. I messed up pretty badly."

Maddie smiled. "You had my forgiveness a long time ago."

Noah smiled back. He pulled her to him and kissed her. Maddie realized how much she had missed it for the past few days. They finally broke apart, only to hold each other close again.

"Noah?" Maddie whispered in his ear.

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"I love you."

Maddie smiled and gave a nervous breath. "Be with me."

"Always," said Noah with a laugh.

"No." Maddie pulled back from him. She put her hand on the back of his neck and looked him straight in the eye. "Be with me. I want…to be with you, in every way possible. I want you to have every part of me."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Noah asked, unwilling to go any further without absolute clarity.

Maddie smiled. "Yes." She leaned in and kissed him.

Maddie had always thought that love was impossible for her. She never thought that she could let someone into her life like that. Any kind of intimacy was something she thought she could never achieve, because of all that she had been through. But Noah had shown her what it meant to love and be loved. She knew from the moment they first kissed that her life would never be the same. And it wasn't. She was happy now, and knowing that Noah felt the same way just made it that much better.

The End!

Goodness, this chapter made me gag. Lol. So cheesy! Haha. But let me know what you think. Thanks all for reading and reviewing. I had fun writing this.