Chapter 3
“I love you.” He smiled, not realizing what he had just let slip and stepped out of the room and went back to his room to sleep. What he didn’t know was that Sydney heard what he said. She hadn’t fully fallen asleep yet out of fear that Noah would come back and actually kill her this time. Once she was sure Michael had gone to his room, she rolled over and let out a deep breath as she stared at the blank ceiling. She wasn’t sure if he had meant it seriously, or if it was just a friend telling another friend they cared about them. Her mind kept her up half the night wondering if he actually loved her because deep down, even though she had neglected the feeling, she truly loved him back. With her mind racing back and forth her body soon gave in to the sleep she needed.
The next morning Sydney was still sleeping when Michael came in to check on her, so he left and let her sleep. He decided to make her breakfast which consisted of eggs, bacon, toast, muffins & fruit. It was basically a buffet, but he didn’t exactly know what she liked to eat so he figured she could choose what she wanted.
The delicious aroma of Michael’s cooking woke Sydney up. She stretched and got up, tied her hair up in a messy bun and walked out into the kitchen where Michael was putting the finishing touches on their breakfast.
“Morning, Michael.” She smiled and sat down on one of the stools at the island in the middle of the huge kitchen.
“Morning, Syd. I made breakfast for you.” He smiled back and for the first time she saw all the love he had for her in his eyes. She took a deep breath and forced herself to tear her eyes away from his beautiful face. She wanted to find out if he did have feelings for her first since the last thing she needed was to get hurt again.
He offered her a plate and she took it and filled it with food.
“Whoa, Michael I didn’t know you could cook!” She said, surprised when she started eating.
“Yep I cook. I keep it a secret though. I like to call it my hidden talent.” He laughed with her.
“This is amazing. Thanks.” She said.
“Anything for you Syd.” He smiled meaning every word even though he thought she didn’t really understand.
After she finished her breakfast, she needed to know if his “I love you” the night before had meant anything.
“Michael?”
“Yeah?” He was clearing the dishes off the table and setting them in the sink.
“I need to ask you something and you have to be completely honest with me ok?” She turned serious and was looking right into his eyes. He ignored the dishes for a moment and took a seat across from Sydney.
“Sure go ahead and asked.” He chuckled.
“Ok... Last night, after I ‘fell asleep’ on the couch, you carried me to the guest bedroom. Before you left you told me you loved me.” Her eyes locked on his made him nervous and he felt his cheeks turn a bright red. He ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath.
“Michael I need to know if you really meant it.” She pleaded with him and he knew it was now or never.
“Ok Syd you wanna know the truth?” he asked. She nodded.
“What I meant last night was true. I love you Sydney honestly, truly, deeply. I’ve loved you since- I don’t know I just always have. It kills me to see you with jerks like Noah who abuse you; I couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to do that to someone as amazing as you. I hate that you get beaten and if you were with me, I wouldn’t even think of touching you like that. I’ve always been there for you Syd. I’ve always wanted to be more than just your best friend, but didn’t say anything because I never found the right time. I’ve been right in front of you for forever, waiting for you to realize how much I love you.” He was embarrassed now and nervous to what her reaction was going to be. Sydney sat there for a moment, tears threatening to fall, but she blinked them back.
“Is all of that true?” She croaked out fighting the lump in her throat that kept tightening.
“It’s all true. It will always be true.” He replied softly smiling. Sydney just continued staring at him at a loss of words. No one in her entire life has ever said anything as nice and true as what Michael had just told her. She finally let the tears slide down her cheeks and smiled at him, seeing everything she had ever wanted in his eyes. She slid off her chair and went around the Michael and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly, not ever wanting to let the most perfect thing in her life disappear. After she pulled away Michael wiped away her tears and she felt it was the right time to tell him how she felt.
“Michael, I don’t know exactly what’s happening here, but after you said that last night, my mind went crazy and I couldn’t think of anything else but you and how much I love you. I guess I just kept ignoring it, figuring you would find someone better or I don’t even know. I just need you to know that I love you too, with everything I have.”
He smiled widely, still holding onto her, finally hearing the only thing he had wanted to hear.
“What would you do if I kissed you, right now?” He asked his heart racing ready to explode from the biggest risk he just took.
“Well,” She smiled, “I guess you’ll just have to try and find out.” He smiled again & started leaning toward her and she felt like she was going to pass out. When their lips met, tons of emotions poured out. She quickly returned his kiss and deepened it. When they finally pulled away, their lungs were burning from lack of oxygen. Breathing heavily she slowly opened her eyes and met the eyes of the man she knew she would spend the rest of her life with.
