Alright, so this is it. A little cheesy, but… Anyway, thanks to anyone who read this story. Enjoy:
One year later
Abby's eyes fluttered open.
What time was it?
She looked over at the clock and registered the two ones followed by a three and a zero.
"Good morning Abby."
She looked up and saw Stephen with a book in the chair near her bed. She just smiled as she got up to take a shower. It had been inconceivable to her that she would wake up every morning and see Stephen. But it seemed like a year ago he came through her door and just never left. At first, two months later, he had a tooth brush in her bathroom. By five months, he had managed to take up a drawer without her noticing. By eight months, he took up half of her closet. Just last week, she finally gave her permission for him to change his mailing address to hers.
Not that it had been all smooth sailing since they lost the baby. They had been to therapy- a lot of it. It was a struggle to work through their issues. Letting go had been hard. But then again, as their therapist pointed out, they weren't ready to care for a child. They didn't know how to be together alone, let alone as parents.
She was still paranoid about him cheating, which is why they hadn't officially moved in together. True, he had made strides. Slowly but surely, he had staked out his presence in her home. He swore that he didn't cheat. But they were both jealous and possessive people. Which led to a lot of fighting. But here they were, still together, despite it all. It wasn't perfect, but they were both willing to put in the effort to make it work. Yes, trust was an issue, but Abby was learning to trust Stephen.
She stepped into the shower and continued to think of the progression of the last year. When she had opened the door one year ago, she thought they would be forever broken, destined to be apart. But now they had a functional relationship: a first for both. She barely had time to turn on the water before she heard Stephen's footsteps approaching. He wrapped his arms around her and before putting his lips to a different use, whispered in her ear:
"I love you."