Finn
He knew it, as he took one look into her eyes, all his questions had been answered. There was a reason why she had declined that they move to Chicago a couple of years ago. There was a reason she hardly visited her family or Liz during holidays but instead, invited them over to Washington. There was a reason it had taken her so long to let him love her. There was a reason she never liked to talk about her years in high school.
Of course, he had naturally assumed that she most likely had a few boyfriends back in the past, but the idea that she had a high school sweetheart only ever entered his mind a couple of times. And as he took one look into her eyes now, he could see, that her heart no longer belonged to him.
He wondered if it ever had.
Ten days ago, she had left as his fiancé, a woman who loved him, and then came back as a stranger.
He was somewhat reluctant in acknowledging her statement, he wasn't willing to think that she had spent two days in another mans arms, but he knew that it was real, whatever she was, or had been feeling for this guy, it was something that she'd never felt before, it was something that changed her life, whatever she felt for Finn, she felt shipload more for the enemy. Finn didn't need words to confirm that, he could see it in the expression she wore.
And even though she looked crushed, disappointed, behind those shades of green eyes, there was actual happiness, love and joy.
Something that he had tried so hard to give her, and he had succeeded.
But not always.
By now she was crying hysterically as she sat at the foot of the bed, explaining to him how she never meant to hurt him. He quietly stopped her, sat next to her and grasped her hands.
She allowed herself to meet his eyes, and sighed between the tears that were flowing down her cheeks. "I love you, and I wish I could say something better Finn, but - but, it's just, when I'm with Will I feel like one person and when I'm with you, I feel totally different."
He sighed loudly, collecting himself, he refused to seem vulnerable and sat on one knee below her, grasping her full attention.
He placed his hands on her knees. "Look, its normal not to forget your first love. I understand that, but I love you, I don't wanna have to convince my fiancé that she should be with me."
She shook her head, "I don't want you to, and I do, I want to come back home with you, and get married, and start a family and do everything we said we would, but I don't think I'd be able to live with myself if I were to just – leave him, for a second time – and pretend that nothing happened. He…. he waited for me for ten years Finn, and I know you don't want to believe this, but I have to say it, because if I don't, I'm afraid you'll resent me forever, and I love you. I don't want you to think that what we had was fake, but… but I…"
"But you love him." He finished for her.
She sighed, shaking her head in defeat, she gradually nodded her head. "Yes."
It wasn't the work of a genius. It was clear as day, she loved him, she most likely loved him more than she loved anything else. The woman who sat before him had changed, in a matter of a week, and even though Finn wanted to punch his lights out, he knew Alicia would never forgive him if he did.
"I'm sorry." She whispered.
"I know that what we had was real Alicia. You don't have to prove that to me, I just need you to tell me that you're one hundred percent sure that this is what you want."
She smiled faintly down at him, gradually nodding her head, certain of herself, she sighed. "Yes."
He wasn't willing to look defeated, he didn't want to act as though he were vulnerable, but he couldn't deny his hope for her in saying the alternative, but nonetheless, he couldn't ignore it. It was real. She was in love with somebody else, and most likely had been in love with this person for over a decade.
"Okay" he breathed a sigh.
"Okay?" she questioned.
"I don't know what's going to happen from now on, but I just want you to be happy. If being happy means being with him, then…. Then I'll deal with it."
The mixture of shock, and disbelief displayed in her features proved that she wasn't expecting it.
"So, you're not mad?"
He was, of course he was, but the good outweighed the bad. He was relieved more than anything, relieved of the fact that the sadness that he had spent trying to erase was no longer there, the pain behind her eyes, the endless nights where he would wake up to find her staring towards the ceiling, her expressions those nights were completely unreadable, as if she were in a different universe.
He understood then that those moments weren't a part of her character he had grown accustomed to, they were a result of allowing ones thought to drift off in the past, he suddenly remembered the afternoon a couple of years ago where he was fumbling through their closet and found a box hidden in the corner, titled high school memories. He wasn't even able to speculate through it before Alicia came in, and she abruptly snapped at him.
The memory of waking to the sound of Alicia's soft whimpers flooded through his mind. He turned to his side to find his girlfriend curled up in a ball facing the nightstand, fresh tears streaming down her face. "hey, what's wrong?" he had prodded softly.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."
"What is it?"
She had shaken her head, abruptly and gripped the sheets. "It's nothing worth talking about."
"Tell me."
She sighed, and shrugged absentmindedly. "I just realized a couple of hours ago that today was the birthday of one of my….. old – friends, and I completely forgot about it."
"One of your friends from school?"
"High school."
"What was her name?"
"Him." She had corrected, and then instantly shook it away. "It doesn't matter. It was a long time ago. Go to sleep."
He had pondered on it, and shrugged it off. "You sure? I have court in the morning but if you want me to stay up with you…"
She had smiled, almost painfully. "It's fine. I'm just being emotional. Go to sleep."
He hadn't thought much of it at the time, and returned back to his side, fell asleep almost instantly without a second thought.
He gently shook his head. "I'm mad. But I am glad you told me the truth."
He watched as she smiled softly, down at him, before wrapping her arms around his neck and pressed her lips against his. "Thank you."
Alicia
She left him. That was it. It had been difficult confessing to Finn her and Will's entire past, and that he wasn't only her first love but he was her best friend, he was the one she wanted to hold at night, fall asleep next to, make dinner for, have babies with, share anniversaries, have arguments, hold hands under the table, listen to his children complain about how much their parents kissed twenty four seven.
He was it.
She was sure, the moment that Finn had opened the door, everything became clear, she loved this man, but she loved Will more. Loving him was like breathing, loving him was like coming up for air each time they made love, and without him in her life, oxygen just wouldn't be enough. She had realized that only two mornings before when she woke up in his arms that he was the one, no matter what, he always would be.
She was grateful that Finn understood, she wasn't expecting, she didn't think anyone would prolong the decency to allow their girlfriend drift without a fight, but then she remembered it was Finn.
As she drove out of the city and into the outskirts of Chicago, she began to formulate a plan, she had naively wondered if Will would even take her back, after all, she had repeatedly broken his heart, and she wasn't exactly expecting him to welcome her with open arms but she knew he loved her, and she wasn't going to ignore that.
So when she arrived to the house, she wasn't shocked to see that he wasn't waiting or her –as usual- and the porch was left with no sign of him. The sound of her car approaching must have roused him though, as she saw a figure approaching the sliding door. She watched as Will stepped out, a blanket wrapped around him, and his sleepy eyes, gazing down at her from a far.
Hopping out of the car, she began to walk slowly, awkwardly towards the steps and stopped just below. Her mouth was tongue tied and she was speechless, she became even more nervous when his expression was filled with nothing less than frustration, annoyance, and sorrow.
She knew she had brought that upon him.
"You were wrong…" she started off.
He stared down at her, confused and defeated. "Excuse me?"
"When you said, before, that Owen was the only person on this earth that I love more than anything. You were wrong. He isn't the only one." She shook her head.
Recognition surfaced through his features, his brows dropped and his body began to relax, but that didn't stop the lines on his forehead to increase with concern, also the humour that began to surface through his lips. "Do you have some other brother or sister that I don't know about?"
She laughed, a breath of fresh air, before shaking her head and gradually walking among the steps to reach him. She was nervous at first, but the moment she met his eyes, everything suddenly became very clear.
She slowly wrapped her arms around his shoulders and softly pressed her lips against his. He stilled, he failed to respond, but he hadn't let go either and instead waited for her to explain more. She pressed her forehead against his, inhaled deeply and grasped the courage to gaze into his perfect, chocolate brown eyes. "We called off the wedding, I told Finn everything, and he let me go. I'm not going back to Washington." She shook her head against his, and clashed her nose with his as well.
"And if you still want me, I want to stay here with you, because I can't picture myself being with anyone else."
It took a while, he stared at her as if questioning it before allowing a sigh to escape from his lips, a release of relief in which she could only assume he wasn't expecting. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulled her in.
Her mind began to zone out as their lips collided, she felt herself travel to a different world, as if they were the only ones existing, as if there wasn't anyone else in the world that could match or contradict this moment. Wrapping her legs around his waist, she settled herself into his arms as he stumbled his way inside the house.
She had to stifle a laugh as he nearly tripped on the carpet on their way up the staircase. As he gently sat her on the bed, she caught his gaze that was focused, fully, on her, eyes gazing deeply into each other's, full of desire, love and passion. Different from hours ago when they were yelling and screaming at each other, this time, things were different. She no longer wore the ring that had piled her up with guilt, she no longer held the feeling that she was betraying her vows.
This time, it was real, and no matter how hard the obstacles were, and the hurt that they had caused many people along the way, ultimately, it was worth it.
He laid on his side, and allowed himself to stare at her, she stroked his cheek, softly, and allowed her eyes to linger on every inch of her face, things were different now, she could sense it, the tension was no longer there, the notion of guilt in the back of her mind was no longer there, and she was proud of how far they had gotten, regardless of their heated argument earlier this morning, the fighting, the tears, sacrifices, it was all worth it, and she would do it all over again in order to prove a point. She had made the right decision.
"Don't ever let me go again," She whispered.
"Never."
A/N: I hope that was a gift for the Christmas time, I wish you all a happy new year. There is just one more chapter after this before it ends! And so far, chapter 26 has been my fav to write, also emotional because it is the last. THANK YOU all for the continued support!