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Back The Companion Project Save as PDF
Chapters (89)
  1. Dedication
  2. AUTHOR’S NOTE
  3. ONE
  4. HENRY
  5. TWO
  6. EMMA
  7. THREE
  8. HENRY
  9. FOUR
  10. EMMA
  11. FIVE
  12. EMMA
  13. SIX
  14. SEVEN
  15. HENRY
  16. EIGHT
  17. NINE
  18. TEN
  19. HENRY
  20. ELEVEN
  21. TWELVE
  22. EMMA
  23. THIRTEEN
  24. HENRY
  25. FOURTEEN
  26. HENRY
  27. FIFTEEN
  28. SIXTEEN
  29. EMMA
  30. SEVENTEEN
  31. HENRY
  32. EIGHTEEN
  33. HENRY
  34. NINETEEN
  35. HENRY
  36. TWENTY
  37. TWENTY-ONE
  38. EMMA
  39. TWENTY-TWO
  40. EMMA
  41. TWENTY-THREE
  42. HENRY
  43. TWENTY-FOUR
  44. EMMA
  45. TWENTY-FIVE
  46. EMMA
  47. TWENTY-SIX
  48. EMMA
  49. TWENTY-SEVEN
  50. HENRY
  51. TWENTY-EIGHT
  52. EMMA
  53. TWENTY-NINE
  54. HENRY
  55. THIRTY
  56. HENRY
  57. THIRTY-ONE
  58. HENRY
  59. THIRTY-TWO
  60. EMMA
  61. THIRTY-THREE
  62. HENRY
  63. THIRTY-FOUR
  64. EMMA
  65. THIRTY-FIVE
  66. EMMA
  67. THIRTY-SIX
  68. HENRY
  69. THIRTY-SEVEN
  70. EMMA
  71. THIRTY-EIGHT
  72. HENRY
  73. THIRTY-NINE
  74. HENRY
  75. FORTY
  76. EMMA
  77. FORTY-ONE
  78. HENRY
  79. FORTY-TWO
  80. FORTY-THREE
  81. EMMA
  82. FORTY-FOUR
  83. EMMA
  84. FORTY-FIVE
  85. HENRY
  86. EPILOGUE
  87. ALSO BY CHELSEA CURTO
  88. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  89. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

“Want to hear the playlist I put together for our journey? There’s enough Blink-182, Simple Plan, The Ataris, and Third Eye Blind to satisfy your cravings.”

A small giggle tumbles from her lips and the wave of pride I feel almost makes me explode. I made her laugh. Okay, sure, it was barely a puff of air, and she probably only did it because she needed to breathe, but it’s better than nothing.

I’ll take it.

Small victories.

Little wins.

Another mile closer to our destination, her by my side.

“Before you serenade me with some of the greatest hits from the early 2000s which made up the majority of Now That’s What I Call Music! discographies from volume 1 to 10, there’s something important I need to tell you.”

Fear slithers down my back, replacing my fleeting euphoria with panic and foreboding.

“Okay…” I brace myself, preparing for the worst and dreading what she might share.

“I’m a terrible copilot. I can’t stay awake in cars and constantly fall asleep. You’re going to be on your own.”

I exhale, relieved at the admission. “Thank God. You can’t scare me like that!”

“You should have seen your face!”

“Because it was cruel! I thought you were about to open the door and roll onto the highway, road rash be damned! I thought you were about to tell me you’re secretly married.”

Emma lets out a full belly laugh and, holy hell, I love that sound. I don’t think I’d ever get sick of hearing her infectious happiness.

Cheerful, bright, and radiant, it fills up the enclosed space like a blanket on a chilly winter night, wrapping around me. Reassuring me. She’s not physically touching me, but I feel the lightness from my head to my toes. I want to lean into it. Bottle it up. Keep it for-fucking-ever.

“Do you forgive me?” Emma asks. She’s biting her lip, trying to stop a smile.

“Yeah,” I say automatically. “I do. Prop your feet up, Zebra Cakes. Get comfortable. I’ll let you know when we’re close.”

* * *

“Hey, Emma. We’re almost there.” I nudge her shoulder as her eyes blink open, a sleepy fog hanging over her. I turn down the music, Jumper playing through the car speakers.

“Already?” Her voice cracks and I hand her the bottle of water I grabbed from the back seat. She smiles at me gratefully, bright enough to light up a night sky.

“Yeah, we beat rush hour traffic.”

She takes a sip of the7 drink and almost spits it out when she looks out the window. “Holy cow, these houses are beautiful.”