Twenty-One

"True love stories never have endings."

- Richard Bach

Four Years Later

"Eleanor, are you okay? Eleanor? Eleanor?" At first the voice seems muffled, but it slowly gets clearer and louder. I look up from my trance. I try to find Cameron's face. "Where am I? Where am…" I realize where I am. I'm sitting on the grass on the college campus. My book is resting in my lap. I look around. "Cameron? Cameron?" I sound very scared and concerned.

"It's okay…" His voice calms me. I turn and find his soft face. I hug him. "I just spaced out again. Sorry," I say, taking his hands.

"You don't need to apologize," he hugs me more. We sit there for a minute. The bell rings. I know that I need to leave, but it feels so hard to think of leaving his side. He takes my shoulders and tears well up in my eyes. "You'll be fine. Remember what we practiced. When you remember anything, just breathe and focus on the class. Got it?" I nod, even though I don't 'got it.'

I walk nervously down the long corridors. I try to keep my mind off things, but the hallway starts stretching farther. Everything goes dark, and Tessa comes into mind. And just like that, I black out.

When I wake up, I'm in the nurse's office. I sit up and look at her. Not again.

"I'm so sorry," I say, crying. The nurse looks at me with a solemn expression.

"Don't apologize." Again. Those same words. Don't apologize. Every time I would, they'd say the same thing.

Cameron bursts through the door. "Mr. Roberts," the nurse begins, but Cam pays no attention to her. He walks straight toward me. He takes my hands.

"What happened?"

I sigh. "Same thing as always. I blacked out."

"I'm sorry," he says, resting his head on mine. "I know it's frustrating."

"Mr. Roberts," the nurse says again. "You are supposed to be in class."

"I have a free period, Mrs. Jansen," he says. Mrs. Jansen purses her lips.

"Fine."

After I am recovered enough to keep my balance, we head out the door. "Come on," he says. "Let's get your missing work. I checked your schedule, and you have a free period, too." I sigh with relief. We stop at each class I missed. Each teacher scolds me, but that is all.

I shake my head after we exit the last classroom. "What is it?" Cameron asks.

"I just can't do anything anymore!" I exclaim, throwing my hands in the air. "I already had trouble before my mom died and that whole scenario, but now it's even worse! And I just don't know what to do!" I cover my wet eyes with my hands. He takes my wrists and pulls them away from my eyes.

"Yes. You. Can." He hugs me again. I don't object.

We walk outside with our things and Cameron starts talking. "I think we should have a picnic," he says. "We haven't had one in forever. Like, since we were six!"

I smile. "Okay."

We get in Cameron's car and drive to a small park. There's rolling hills everywhere. We choose the tallest one and park. We get a basket that Cam already has in his car and the blanket that he keeps in there.

We walk up the hill and eat the sandwiches that were already packed in there. "What were you doing? Planning this?" I ask.

"I didn't think you would say no," he says.

I laugh. After we finish eating, we stand up and look out onto the city. It's getting darker, and the day is almost over. Our free period was our last one, so we take our time. I look at all the buildings and restaurants and schools, and behind all of that is a lake surrounded by pine trees, and behind that, mountains. Cameron walks behind me. I ignore him completely. I hear him get down, so I turn around to see what he's doing.

I gasp. Cameron is on one knee.

"Eleanor Agnes Jones," he says. I'm crying. I cover my mouth with my hands. "I love you to the moon and back. I can't live without you. I realized that after Tessa died. You are the reason I breathe every day. Eleanor, will you marry me?" Cameron is crying, too. I breathe hard and fan my face.

"Yes!"

He stands up and I throw my arms around him. He hugs me harder than he's ever hugged me before.

And for the first time in forever, I feel legitimately, genuinely happy.