She nodded. “I can’t do it. I’m miserable there and I don’t want to go through that again.” Her lower lip trembled with the threat of tears. Willow was one of the strongest people I knew and to see her breaking down over this tore something up inside me. “I still don’t know what I want to do.” She pushed errant blonde hairs from her eyes. “But I know college isn’t right for me. Does that make me a failure?” She frowned at me, her eyes pleading with me to impart some enlightening words.
“You’re not a failure, Willow.” I took her hand in mine and brought it to my lips. “You’re the bravest person I know.” Dropping her hand, I continued, “I think it shows an incredible amount of strength for you to admit that this isn’t for you.”
“But you don’t think it makes me weak? A quitter?”
I shook my head. “You could never be weak, and you’re definitely not a quitter.”
“Thank you.” She whispered the words.
I couldn’t help but wrap my arms around her and hug her.
Willow and I had always been close, but the past few days had shown me how deep our bond ran.
Her happiness was mine.
Her sadness and anger.
All of her emotions were mine, and right now her relief was mine too.
***
Once our clothes were clean Willow dumped them out on the table.
She went to start shoving everything in the bag, but I grabbed her hand to halt her.
“We need to fold them first.”
She scrunched her face up in distaste.
Laughing, I said, “I’ll fold them.”
“Thank you kind sir.” She grinned as she hopped up on the table.
Her eyes were free of tears and now she was back to her typical happy, and peppy self.
I folded the clothes and set them in the bag. Willow offered to do it, but I didn’t trust her not to scrunch them up. At least if I did it myself I’d know it was done right.
Frank, the elderly man, had left to take his clothes home and gave us directions to meet him at an Italian restaurant once we finished.
Willow tilted her head to the side as I added one of her bras to the growing pile of clothes.
“Are you glad you came with me?” She asked softly.
I held a t-shirt in my hands and looked up at her. “’Course. There’s no place I’d rather be.”
And that was the honest truth. People always talked about a place being their home, but that wasn’t the case for me. Willow, she was my home. I hadn’t known that until she went to college, leaving behind a huge gaping hole where her presence had been.
She beamed at my words, hearing the sincerity in them.
She looked so pretty sitting there, clean faced with her hair wild around her shoulders, that I couldn’t help myself and had to kiss her.
I set the unfolded shirt down and stepped over to where Willow sat. She watched me with curiosity shimmering in her blue eyes.
I grasped her hips and she leaned down towards me.
Her lips parted to speak, but before she could utter a word I kissed her.
Kissing her was so natural that it felt like I’d been doing it forever, not like last night had been our first.