Frustrated, more at himself than at her, he opened his laptop to iron out a few tiny details of his plan. A light rapping pulled him from the business world twenty minutes later. His stomach growled with anticipation. Zac hurried to the door, his hunger getting the best of him. When he opened it, nobody was there. There was a large white box with an envelope bearing his name. He glanced down the hall, seeing only the wisp of her hair. He knew without a doubt that this was from Macie.
Curiosity got the better of him and he brought it inside. He pulled the envelope free, tossing it onto the table. The paper tore like Christmas wrapping. He tugged at the flaps of the box and peered inside. It took his breath away. Careful not to break it, he pulled the rest of the box apart.
A papier-mâché couple in the shape of a heart jutted from the screen of a laptop. He turned it around, trying to figure out how she’d managed to do it. The top of the laptop was smooth. He looked at the paper couple again, shocked by the detail involved. She must’ve been working on this for days. Weeks, even. It took his breath away. He glanced at the keyboard. The original letters were gone, replaced by a message or a title spelled out in what appeared to be a random pattern—Beginnings. It was spectacular. But something else gnawed at him. He looked at the couple again. Then he realized. He should’ve seen it first. She’d printed their messages to each other and created this.
He sat back and stared at it, biting his thumbnail.
A knock at the door ripped him from his thoughts, or lack thereof. Zac opened the door, hoping to see Macie but was greeted by his forgotten dinner. He tipped the delivery guy and sat the paper bag on the coffee table, pulling out his meal as he glanced at the sculpture. It was powerful and intricate and unique and ... so Macie. Under pieces of discarded box, the edge of the envelope poked out. He’d already forgotten about that, too. He freed it from the trash and sat in on the coffee table. His stomach growled and the rich smells of the beef drew his attention away again. He took his time eating, then he stored the leftovers in the fridge. He picked up the trash and broke down the box.
If he was honest with himself, he was really just avoiding the envelope. Forty minutes later, he couldn’t avoid it anymore. Zac grabbed a microbrew from his fridge and sat back on his couch. The envelope lay on the coffee table, his name in calligraphy. Even that was a work of art for Macie.
It’s like ripping off a Band-Aid, he thought. That was one cliché he truly understood. He picked it up and slid his finger under the flap to open it. One page of white paper, tri-folded. That was it. He didn’t know what he was expecting. Pictures of their past when they’d gotten along? But a letter was how this started. It was how it would end.
Zac unfolded the paper and began reading.
Dear Zac,
This is probably my tenth draft of this. It took less time to make Beginnings.
Saying how I feel has never been easy. So, here we go.
When we first started chatting on Blind Friends, I did not know it was you. I can’t stress that enough. We started exchanging messages and I thought ‘this guy’s great’. We grew with each letter. I let my guard down. I let you see me. The real me. The one only my mother knows. The anonymity made it easier, but it was all for you.
Obviously, you know I didn’t stand you up the first time we agreed to meet. I was late because of work and I saw you sitting there. My world stopped. I almost kept walking. I almost shut everything down. But I couldn’t. Not after learning you were Guy. I’d see you every day until the wedding and probably after, and I couldn’t go through my life wondering about what might have happened if I didn’t try to put the past behind us. We spent so much time hating each other that we never got to know each other. And Lauren and Ford gave me the perfect cover.
So, I decided to see what would happen between us. I opened myself up to you in person. I reigned in my temper. I told you things about me I hadn’t shared with anyone else, and I think you did, too. I never realized how passionate you are, how caring, and how kind. You aren’t who I thought you were. You’re so much more, so much better than I will ever be. I fell hard and fast. And I don’t regret it. I regret lying, but I don’t regret falling in love with you. And I don’t regret the night we spent together.
I wish I could make it up to you. I wish you’d let me. But if you won’t, please treasure this small piece of my heart. Let it remind you of us even if you do regret it. Because some of us was pretty fucking great.
Love,
Chomper
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Macie worked at station the until two in the morning. Lauren was getting married in eleven hours and Macie had to be at the salon in eight. She looked like hell. The bags under her bloodshot eyes grew bigger each day. She’d actually lost a few pounds since Sunday, mainly because of a complete lack of subsistence. The last real meal she had was the sandwich Alex bought her.
And she would see Zac for the first time since he left her
