The Resurrection of Aubrey Miller (33 page)

His chest falls onto mine and his forehead nestles into the crook of my neck, our sweat-laden bodies gliding smoothly with our heavy breaths.

“Jesus. I think
I
saw stars,” Kaeleb mumbles against my skin, his lips sending tingles shooting all over my sensitive body.

I laugh under my breath, sweeping my hand through his soaked hair. “Definitely a life-altering experience.”

His head rises, meeting my gaze as his hand finds my face and presses the hair out of my eyes, his lips curving into a lazy smile.

“
You
are a life-altering experience.” Leaning forward, he presses his lips against mine, sweetly yet without chaste.

As he ends the kiss, I giggle against his mouth. “Well, I
am
the sun.”

Backing away, he surveys my face as his mouth stretches into a beaming smile.

“And oh, how brightly you do shine.”

After Linda passed in May, I registered for classes at Titan for the summer in hopes that I could get back on track. Junior year was a huge year for me personally, emotionally, and spiritually. Most of it has been covered, but there were a few new firsts I managed to squeeze in over the summer:

The first time I
actually
attended summer school, taking eight hours both summer semesters and aced all of them. 4.0 in all my classes. Biochemistry, Genetics, Anatomy and Physiology, and Zoology, all with their associated labs. Two of those were retakes from the previous semester. I attended every class—mandatory requirement and all.

The first time I welcomed Quinn back to Titan. Both she and her therapist continued to plea with her parents, explaining the crucial need for her to get back into the real world. Quinn came back to school at the end by the summer, ready to start anew. I recognized the determination and self-assurance in her eyes giving me no doubt that Quinn would be
just
fine. We rented a new apartment together, signing a six month lease.

The first time I met the infamous
Tommy Larkin
. If I thought Quinn’s eyes lit up when she spoke of him, seeing her by his side, well she positively glowed. He was a perfect gentleman, always opening her doors, giving her the gentlest of kisses all the time, touching her constantly. I never thought it was possible to see
love
, its essence in a physical sense, but I can honestly add that to this lists of firsts as well. Because there was a constant radiance that beamed all around them when they were together.

The first time I’m literally tackled and brought to the floor by Walter. After I got over the initial shock of how much he’d grown since I saw him last, we played for hours, Kaeleb leaving us alone for much of the reunion. After several hours of tug-of-war, we both eventually passed out on the floor.

And just when I thought there were no more firsts left for me to experience, Kaeleb of course gave me a big one. But that didn’t happen until the middle of my senior year.

I shiver in my coat, the cold air whipping around us as Quinn and I attempt to eat in the courtyard outside the cafeteria. The sky is grey as winter makes its presence known. I don’t think the sun has shined once during the last week.

“Quinn, it’s fucking cold. Why are we eating out here again?” I sip my soup, trying to spread its warmth through my freezing body.

“Because I haven’t seen the light of day in weeks. I’m sick to death of being cooped up in my room, or the apartment, or the library. Finals are finally over with and I intend to enjoy the outside air for the next twenty-minutes or so. Deal with it,” she ends with a humor-filled smile as she takes a bite of her sandwich.

My head jerks at her snarkiness and my eyes widen. “Damn, Quinn. You
do
need to get out,” I say on a laugh.

She nods and continues to chew.

Once she swallows, she asks, “Speaking of finals, how were yours? You’re done now right?”

“Yeah, Pharmacology was surprisingly easy.”

Quinn smiles as I take another sip. “It’s like it was meant to be. Have you heard anything back yet?”

“No, not yet. I forwarded all my mail to Kaeleb’s address though. Who knows the last time he checked.”

Quinn’s grin spreads widely and her eyes fill with excited anticipation. “Oh my God! I can’t believe you’re moving in with him. And I can’t believe Tommy will be here next semester. We will both
officially
be living in sin.”

I crinkle my nose and shake my head. “I know. Weird, right?”

Quinn sighs. “Not really. You just know when it’s right, you know?”

“Yeah.” I sigh as I spot Kaeleb heading toward the table with a grin on his face. The sight of him still makes my heart race. “You do.”

Quinn notices my distracted gaze and turns over her shoulder, giggling as she twists back to face me. She waggles her eyebrows and I shake my head. “You’re ridiculous.”

Another giggle. “I’m not. I’m romantic. And I like to see you happy.”

She winks at me as Kaeleb takes his seat, setting his backpack on the ground. He smiles at both of us as we fall silent. “Interrupting something?”

“Not really,” I respond.

“We were talking about mail,” Quinn interjects, obviously impatient for my letter. “Have you checked yours lately?”

Kaeleb belts out a laugh and bends toward his backpack, unzipping the front pocket. “I have, in fact.” An envelope flies across the table and lands right beside my soup,
Midwestern University College of Medicine
stamped on the corner.

My eyes grow wide and I swallow forcefully as I stare at it. Raising my head, I’m met with one pair of green eyes brimming with uncontainable glee and a set of hazel-brown ones full of reassurance. Kaeleb tightens his gaze. “You’ve got this, Bree. Open it.” He dips his head in the direction of the letter.

My hands tremble as I reach down and pick it up. Slipping my finger underneath the flap, I slide it slowly along the seal until it pops open, the typed contents on the inside of the paper screaming at me to remove it. I glance to Quinn, and then Kaeleb, before reaching inside and extracting the letter. I open it, and read the first two lines:

“Dear Ms. Miller,

Thank you for your submission. We have reviewed your application and are pleased to inform you of your acceptance…”

“Oh my God!” My head jerks up. “Oh my God!”

I bound off my seat and shout, “OH MY GOD!”

Kaeleb smiles widely as he stands, and I shuffle along the cement bench until I’m free, jumping into his arms and wrapping my legs around his waist. He catches me, squeezing tightly as he laughs, “I told you there was nothing to worry about.”

I squeeze my hold around his neck. “Kaeleb! I’m going to med school!”

He chuckles. “I know, babe, you are. And I’m going with you.”

I gasp and press away from him, as I inquire, “What? Did you get yours today too?”

He nods, placing me on my feet before retrieving his own letter. “Midwestern University Physical Therapy Program, baby!”

“AHHHHH!!!!” Quinn shouts as she jumps up from the table, running over and circling us both with her arms. “I’m so happy! I think I’m about to cry!”

Kaeleb kisses us both on the top of the head before releasing us from our embrace.

Quinn looks at Kaeleb and me, pride in her eyes. “Well, I guess this is as good a time as any to tell you both I’ve picked a major. Finally.”

“Really?” I shout, excitement still coursing through my voice. With her extended absence from school, she’ll technically be a junior next semester. I know she’s been debating a few options and honestly, I can’t wait to see what she’s landed on.

“I know it’s no acceptance letter, but I’ve finally made
the
decision.” She looks at both of us. “I’ve decided that I want to major in Sociology so I can become a social worker. I want to try to help whoever I can.” Her expression becomes shy. “I mean, so much of my life has been wasted on things that don’t really even matter, you know? I feel as though I can atone for that by making a difference in other people’s lives.”

I place my hand on her shoulder and give her a smile full of knowing and admiration. “I completely understand, Quinn. More than you realize.”

She grins back at me as Kaeleb adds, “Quinn, you’re going to make a difference no matter what you do. It’s your most innate quality.” Her cheeks redden as he pulls her snug into his waist. “You’ll make a terrific social worker.”

As she embraces him, I watch the exchange with a grin on my face. The two most important people in my life are standing in front of me on what is quite possibly the biggest day of my life. I wouldn’t have it any other way. It feels…complete.

Still smiling, we all take our original seats, the bitter cold no longer noticeable with our excitement.

“Wow. It’s a big day, huh,” I say.

Kaeleb glances at me with a hint of mischief in his eyes. “Indeed it is.”

He places his elbows on the table and leans forward. “I’ve got something else for you.”

My brows furrow in question as he looks to Quinn. “I figured
you
of all people would want to be present for this.”

Quinn’s eyes triple in size as she slowly slides them in my direction, and I meet her stunned expression with one of my own. We stare at each other, speechless, as the sound of the zipper on Kaeleb’s backpack breaks the silence around us.

Hairs lift all over my body as he rises, making his way to my side while Quinn forcefully jerks her head, indicating that I should perhaps be looking at Kaeleb instead of her.

Yeah, she’s probably right.

I clear my throat and shift my body to the right, facing him as he gets down on one knee in front of me. A crowd has somehow formed around us in the past five seconds, but I couldn’t care less about the onlookers as Kaeleb presents me with a black velvet-covered box.

He swallows deeply and clears his throat.

“Bree. I lost you once when we were eight years old. I didn’t even realize that my heart had been searching for yours through all the years since, until that one day when I walked into my Boarding Buddy’s room.” He breaks his speech to grin at Quinn before looking back to me. “And even though
you
didn’t know it at the time, I knew I had finally found you. My soul breathed for the first time in ten years. That’s how I knew it was you. It was always you.”

A lump forms in my throat and tears begin to roll down my cheeks.

“I lost you again soon after. I allowed you to disappear into your darkness. But I always knew you were still in there somewhere. You see, we’re intertwined. Tethered. Bound. And even while you thought you were alone, you weren’t. I had a strong hold on that cord connecting us and there was no way in hell I was letting you go. I will always be your anchor, Bree.”

His eyes narrow as he gestures between us. “These ties can’t be broken. Our bonds are secure.”

Quinn sniffles beside me, but my eyes remain trained on Kaeleb.

“But I couldn’t tell you that, because this time around, it wasn’t about my search for you. It was about you finding yourself. Your courage. Your strength. Your love. All the amazing things that make you,
you
. And somehow, you managed to do it. You worked your way back up, pull by painstaking pull, until you rose up and finally found your way back to me.”