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“That girl has wanted you since she was sixteen years old. I'm not going to tell you what to do, Charlie, but if you hurt her again, I'll make sure to tell her brothers all about it. You've got that?”

I suppose he did, in his own way.

The young elf, Adwyn, studied the cover of the heavy Codex before tucking it into his deer-hide pack.

MY HANDS PRESSED to my sides as

HANDS PRESSED to my sides

Ally
FIVE YEARS LATER

THE SMELL OF freshly brewed coffee and powdered sugar hit my nose as I entered the coffee shop my older brother, Lucas and his wife owned. The scent of coffee and sweet pastries was heavenly and I stepped in the long line of customers, eager for my caffeine fix.

“Ally? Is that you?” I heard my name being called and I turned toward the sound, spotting my sister in law, Kaelyn rushing over to me from behind the counter. Smiling wide, I moved into her widely held arms and felt her sigh of relief against my shoulder. I'd been driving all night long and was bone tired, but I was thrilled to finally be here.

I graduated from Art School yesterday and to say it felt damn good would be an understatement. It felt amazing. It felt even better to be near family again, even if I wasn't back home in Chicago like I wanted.

When my brother asked me to help out in the cafe over the next three months, I thought it would be fun to have a nice, relaxing winter down south.

But as my mother always said to me as a girl, the heart wants what it wants.

crumbled beneath waves of renewed pain as I pushed her away.

like what this woman could make me feel

My heart was always reaching out for her, for my Ally.

I would make her mine, again