“Sadie,” he says and rises to his feet. Kara’s head falls with a thud down onto the chair when he walks toward me, waking her up.

“What the fuck?” she questions, holding her head with her hand.

“I’m not going anywhere, Brady,” I tell him.

“Let’s go, guys. Give them some privacy,” Maura instructs, standing up. She and Grant both start to leave the room but Kara stays put.

“Kara?” Grant turns around, waiting for her. She reluctantly gets up and follows them out.

Once they are all gone, I grab his hand, leading him over to a chair. I kneel down between his legs and place my hands on his face. “I’m here to stay. I will wait in this waiting room if you want, but I will not leave this hospital without you. I love you and whatever you go through, I go through. We will do this together, Brady. You no longer have the option to do this alone,” I lecture. His eyes are on mine but my Brady isn’t there, it’s a hollow man in front of me. “You can ignore me, push me away, and yell at me, but I will come back to you every time to stand by your side. I will hold your hand, hug your body, and soothe your worries, but I will not walk away. I will not leave you,” I finish speaking and a tear rolls off his cheek. He stares down at me and a horrible feeling flows through me that maybe this was a terrible idea. Maybe he doesn’t want me anymore.

I lean up, softly kissing his lips, tasting the salt from his tears. He doesn’t respond to my affection so I slowly pull away, embarrassed. Then Brady puts his hands on the back of my head, drawing me to him. He gives me a gentle kiss on my lips, raising me up and pulling me into his lap. Kissing his way to my ear he whispers, “Thank you.”

I stay in his lap with his arms around me and mine around him. The three others make their way in eventually, quietly sitting on the other side of the room. A doctor comes in a little while later and informs Brady and Maura that they can go in and see their father. Maura puts everything in her purse and walks out of the room. I take my seat next to Grant but Brady walks over to me, holding his hand out. I look up into his eyes and I see no sign of the angst that filled them moments ago. Placing my hand in his, he lifts me off the chair and leads me toward the door.

Vince looks comfortable lying in the bed beside the IV attached to his arm. Maura and Brady walk to either side of the bed and I keep my distance in the back of the room. I don’t want to push too much; this was a big step for Brady. Maura takes her father’s hand, squeezing it while talking to him. Brady leans back in the chair, staring at his dad. With all three of them in the room, the similarities are uncanny. I can’t believe I knew all three of them separately but never realized they were related.

The doctor tells us that he should be okay but needs to be closely monitored. Then he hands some pamphlets to Maura regarding rehabilitation facilities. The nurses come in and insist we all go home and come back in the morning. They say there is nothing anyone can do; he just needs his rest.

The five of us file out of the hospital. Brady follows me to my dorm to drop Jessa’s car off and then we go back to his place. It’s early morning when we finally crawl into bed. Brady positions me on top of his chest again, undoing my ponytail and letting his fingers seep through my blonde hair.

“I’m sorry for tonight, Sadie,” he whispers, and I slowly pick up my head.

“I know,” I say in return.

“It might take some time for me,” he admits.

“That’s okay,” I reassure him. “I’m not going anywhere.” I lay my head back down on his chiseled chest.

“I didn’t know it was possible to love you even more,” he says casually, continuing to play with my hair.

Picking up my head, I stare into those caramel eyes that have given me so much in such a short amount of time. “Me either,” I say in return, grazing his chest with small kisses.

Brady and I are on our way back to the hospital. Maura is meeting us there with her husband. The three of them want to confront Vince about admitting himself into a rehab facility again. I opt to stay in the hall, out of courtesy for Vince. Brady is actually smiling when he comes out, telling me he agreed to go. I wrap my arms around him, happy for all of them. Then he tells me the bad news. He has to leave right after finals to take him up to a facility in Michigan and he will be gone for four days, returning Christmas Eve. Although I’m going to miss him, I think I have an idea that will keep me busy. I just need to find some recruits to help me out.

One week later, I’m anxiously awaiting Brady’s return. He expects me here since we will have a full house tomorrow. We are hosting my mom and grandma, Maura and her family, Grant, and Jessa, along with her family. Jessa’s family came here to visit her for the holidays. Rob went home a few days ago and he invited Jessa but she declined, wanting to be with her family.

I hear the Camaro pull in the driveway and it takes all my self-control not to run down the steps and jump into his arms. Instead, I scramble around the room, making sure everything is in its place. I toss a few pillows on the bed and re-position his guitar in the corner and a picture of me and Theo on the dresser.

Grant and Jessa have been a huge help these past few days helping me re-decorate the third-floor master suite for Brady and me. We have painted it a misty blue and I bought a brand new white comforter, along with white and black drapes. Although I can’t change the memories of this room for Brady, I hope by us making new ones in it, he will be able to move on.

“Sadie!” he calls up from downstairs but I stick to my plan, keeping quiet. His footsteps make their way up the stairs as I bite my lip in anticipation. God, I have missed him these last four days. It is the longest we have been apart since we got together, and I honestly don’t remember what it was like not having him in my life.

I hear him stop at his bedroom door, “What the…” he says. Surely he is confused seeing all of Jessa’s stuff in there. His footsteps quickly turn toward the second staircase.

I lay myself on the bed and strike my best sexy pose, even though I’m still wearing jeans and a t-shirt. As his steps become louder and closer, my heart wells in dire need and desire. When his face reaches the top and I see the faux-hawk, brown hair of my boyfriend, an ache fills inside of me.

“What’s this?” he cautiously asks. “No…really?” he questions as his eyes search the room. He walks toward the closet, seeing my clothes on one side and his on the other. Then he ventures into the bathroom and sees my toothbrush alongside his.

Coming out of the bathroom, he looks at me again. He silently asks me with his eyes and I give him a small nod of my head, making him smile widely. Finally, Brady jumps on the bed and kisses me. “You sure?” He backs away from me a little.

“I’ve never been more sure of anything,” I respond, pulling him down to me.

Epilogue

Grant

It feels weird being back at this house after so many years, but I’m glad I could get used to it again with Sadie here first. I laugh when I think about how I thought she was the girl for me that day in the library. We seemed to fit, like two peas in a pod, but she was already taken. And not by just anyone…it had to be my arch nemesis, Brady Carsen.

We used to be best of friends, Brady and I, but when my asshole dad took away his mom, he couldn’t forgive me. I couldn’t blame him; I hated myself just as much. But when I moved in with Kara’s family, I missed him. Feeling more alone since my mother had died, I comforted myself with girls. Whichever girl showed interest had a chance with me. That’s when things went completely disastrous between Brady and me.

He was dating this girl, Jen Kramer. They had only been on a few dates but at a party, she showed some interest in me and I took her upstairs, only to have Brady walk in on us. Jen and I were completely naked in the middle of having sex so there was no denying what was going on. Brady stormed toward me and I let him hit me as many times as he wanted. I deserved every punch. Not only for what I did with Jen but because of my dad, too.