The sun peeked over the horizon as the dim sky shined through the parted curtains. It was quiet in the small room. Just the two of them. The pulsating of machinery echoed the walls as he started to rise. Cody slowly opened his eyes and saw her standing above him. A goddess. As the dawn sun shined above Sierra, he felt euphoric. It made him forget where he was for a moment. He looked up to the window above his head as he noticed the draining in his body. The thought of what had happened the night before. The thought of where he was at the moment. As he noticed the needle pressed to his arm, he felt sick. He messed up.

"Are you awake," she asked him softly, "Doctor said you'd be feeling better this morning. "He nodded back quietly. Her voice warmed him. As he sat up in the small cot, time felt slow. Everything had come to a halt. For the first time since they returned to Canada, the high was gone. But strangely, he was fine with this. This was life. As he sat up, he realized that the nirvana of their love wouldn't keep him floating forever, and that's okay. She's still here.

"Sierra…" She kneeled by the bed and got close to his face. Her cold hand gently caressed his cheek as he lost himself in her gaze. She leaned close to the side of his face to whisper to him.

"You are such an idiot."

They both chuckled before he mumbled back to her, "I messed up, didn't I?"

She looked back at him nervously, "I just want you to be safe and healthy. Please tell me you're not doing this because of me." Her. The time and energy he's put into her. He thought back to when they first arrived at the small cottage far away from his home. He thought back to how reborn it made him feel. His life before faded into a forgotten memory as the gaps in his heart were filled by her company.

"I think I just got caught up in everything. I wasn't thinking straight. I'm sorry."

She leaned over and kissed his forehead, "Don't be sorry." She sighed in relief as she'd been where he was now. Her mind was once polluted what felt like a long time ago. Watching on a small screen, taking notes, and typing away on her computer. She remembers sitting by the telephone to get in touch with anyone she could and the feeling of nothingness it gave her. Her heart ached as she realized the person that saved her was struggling just the same. As she brooded over this, she looked up at the small window and noticed the sun parting on the horizon. It was a new day for her. A new day to them. She wanted nothing more than to look forward and leave behind all the bitter memories she had harvested over the years.

As Sierra fell silent, he jolted upward in the small cot, "Oh no." Cody let everything sink in. The night before. The old clock on the cottage walls and how closely he waited for this day to come. He really blew it as it was something he had looked forward to for a long time. His intentions for love became a burden of stress for them. As he nervously looked around the small room, he'd caught her attention.

"Something wrong?" As he looked back at her, he remembered what this was really all about.

He sighed… as he had finally given up, "You know what, it's funny. On my birthday you got injured and now that it's your birthday, I get taken to urgent care."

She laughed in disbelief, "What?" Was it really her birthday? She'd lost a sense of time and couldn't even remember the last time she thought about her own birthday. It had always been just another day to her. Just the thought that he took the time to remember warmed her heart. It was an interesting anomaly. While something so simple as celebrating a birthday was common, his gesture came from a true act of love.

"I could never forget."

Her heart started beating twice as fast. She remembered the gesture she made to him so long ago and how much it meant to her that he had done the same. It always felt like an unspoken reality that he had fallen in love with her. It was an emotion she didn't know how to maintain.

She looked back at him sweetly and smiled, "You're so sweet. I appreciate it."

"Of course, anything. You know I love you."

The feelings she had the night before dawned on her once again. The flood of emotion she felt after seeing him fall. How much she really loved him back. But it wasn't as easy to understand as she had hoped. His love was a paradox. A security. There was no one in the world who understood her as he did. Over the past couple of months, she'd develop a trust in him. She'd share things with him that another soul wouldn't have dreamed of finding out. His love was a fear. A fear of hurting the one person in this world she truly cared about. She had hurt him before… and it seems she had hurt him again.

"Are you really sure you love me… after everything?"

"Yes, after everything." He reassured her, "In all honesty, as much as I would love to be with you, I want you to be healthy too. If it's not what you really want, I'm not going to pressure you about it. I just really care about you..."

She sighed, "I feel like, for so long, I was trying really hard to redeem myself for you. Always doubting and second-guessing myself so I wouldn't hurt you. Now, look at you."

"Don't think this was your fault. I should know how to take care of myself better. I just… was really focused on helping you. I forgot to help myself." He looked up at her from the little cot, "And please. Don't change yourself for me. You're already perfect." His words crushed her. For the past year, Sierra only knew one thing. That she loved him unconditionally… but it was a lie she created under escapism. How could she believe him if she can't believe herself? She throws her arms to him… what if she gets hurt again by the same lies? The thought of it all was overwhelming to her.

Sierra leaned down and softly squeezed his hand, "I need to step out for a moment. I'll grab you something from the vending machine okay?"

"Don't be long." The room fell dim as she stepped out into the hallway. The last few months circled in his mind. How he got here. Where he'd go next. He thought about the girl he'd met on the plane. The girl he saw alone in her wheelchair waiting for a ride home. The girl he sat with at the campsite and the one he fell in love with not too long after. She was the girl that reminded him how flawed he was and how that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. She was the girl that despite everything, he fell in love with. Love's a funny thing, isn't it?

He lifted his head as the door creaked open, "I brought you a water."

"Thank you, love."

She set the plastic bottle on his little end table before pulling up a chair next to him. They sat together in serenity as his words still boiled within her. She thought about the comments he'd say now. The comments he'd say back on the plane. They almost made her feel the same… confused. Confused with her own feelings and how she was supposed to register his reactions. She thought back to his confession of love to her. The kiss they shared in the rain. How she felt after. How she couldn't decide in that moment if she was in love with him or not. Wasn't it everything she really wanted? Her heart was patient. She loved how much he loved her. She loved how they'd become friends in this time of uncertainty. She loved the idea of loving him back. It was a moment of excitement and fear as she found herself coming to terms with her true feelings.

From the corner of the room, Sierra's cell phone softly buzzed against the wood of the table. The room fell cold. She felt the clench of her heart as she peaked at the sender, realizing that she was running out of time. It was a fact she'd known since she arrived at this unsettling place, but one she wanted to forget.

He looked at her confused, "Is your dad gonna pick us up? I think I'm okay to leave."

She shook her head softly, "Your parents are coming to get you soon."

"Well, that will be okay. We can just move back into the guest room at my house then." She fell silent and stared back at him. Her heart shattered as she had to break his euphoria for the first time in months.

"You do know this might be our last day together for a while, right?"

"That's... not true," He hesitated, "You know I'm not going anywhere without you. My parents can come pick me up but I'm not going with them if you're not coming."

"I don't think it's up to us anymore..."

It wasn't something he'd thought of for a while… being away from her. He was so trapped in his own mind that he could barely remember a time where she wasn't there. The months she spent on the other side of the hallway. It was the first time in his life he felt like there was someone else living in that suburban house. He didn't feel alone anymore.

She placed her hands on his cheek and looked at him sweetly, "It'll be okay. Even when I'm not there, I'll still be with you. I… I really do love you."

"I love you too…"

Alone they laid in the dimly lit room. The sounds of cots rolling on tile floors echoed in the hallways as they kissed under the flickering fluorescent lights. It was the end of the beginning. The past few months felt like one brief moment to her that was coming to an abrupt end. But what felt like one of the hardest goodbyes, was buried underneath the blossom of love they had for each other. Their love was a ray of sunshine. And no matter where she was, or where she was going, it was always something she'd be able to see. What was one of the hardest goodbyes wasn't a goodbye at all… it was a transition from one moment into the next.

"Wait for me."

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.

.

.

The white light of the screen shined upon his face in the dark bedroom. It was quiet in his suburban home. Nothing but the sound of the fall air whistling through an old window. Nothing distracted Cody as he stared into the nothing of his computer screen. A loading screen that made circles around him. It was worth any kind of wait for him. As he stared at the blank screen, he thought about everything he's been through. Everything that went wrong. Everything that somehow went right. He thought about the future and what it held for him. His thought process was interrupted by the computer opening his call. Her, staring back at him.

"Hey," Sierra beamed, "How's it going?"

"Same as every day… I wish you were here."

"Me too." Just getting to hear her voice every day was enough to get by. He longed to be close with her again but knew this was probably the best. While their love was close, their healing needed distance. As long as he knew she loved him, she was always with him.

"Oh," He recalled, "remember that coffee shop we went to in the spring? I saw a sign that the apartment above was available for rent."

She laughed, "Are you saying she should move in together? We don't really have the money for that, do we?"

"No, but it's a nice thought. Maybe someday in the future."

"Definitely."

It was something he thought of for a while… being with her again. Spending every moment of his life with her. She was the girl that despite everything that happened between them, they could work it out and find themselves in a nirvana of love. The moment he looked her way on that plane all those months ago, he never would've imagined the life he had now. A life that so heavily included her. More than ever, he anxiously anticipated to start that life and bury all the pain they both harvested over the years. As they talked together as they had every night, he knew this was still just the beginning as there was a long trip ahead of them.

"You complete me…"