I groan, sitting up on my bed and stretching my arms. A glance toward the clock on my nightstand tells me that it almost reaches evening. How long have I taken a nap?

These days, my sleeping schedule is ruined. I'm just so tired mentally and emotionally that I've lost track of time. Another unhealthy thing I've been doing is spending most of my time in my room, even though my parents and Aiden always check on me once in a while.

They've been having discussions with authorities, calling and ordering people as well as monitoring the media. Every time I walk downstairs, they would be cautious, as though they don't want me to hear about those fucked up news again.

I reach the bottom of the stairs and yawn, and when my eyes land on the person sitting at a table with Dad in the living room, I automatically halt.

Max.

He freezes as I enter the place. Our eyes meet, and there's a longing in those green eyes, which are wide opened now as he finally sees me again after God knows how long.

It might have been just a few days, but it feels like forever to me. I don't know about him, though.

Max is in the middle of playing chess with Dad. Aiden is watching TV, laying back on the couch. Mom seems to be in the kitchen, because I can hear her talking to our maid.

My eyes zoom in on Max. I don't know if it's because I haven't seen him for quite a while, but my heart beats like a drum in my chest just because of being in the same room with him.

He looks so good even though he's only dressed in a simple white t-shirt and jeans. My gaze darts on his black leather jacket draped on the couch.

How long has he been here?

Then the reality strikes as I look down at myself.

I just woke up, with my hair still messy and disarray, my clothes tangled, and this loose t-shirt I'm wearing feels too thin now that I'm not wearing a bra.

I haven't even washed up -- maybe I still have excess drool on my face.

Crap.

Before I know it, I'm tottering upstairs, hearing the sound of the chair leg being dragged as Max gets up. "Luna--"

I run into my room, shut the door, and lock it. I push my back against it, panting.

Oh, God, this is embarrassing.

"Luna," Max's voice echoes behind the door, and my heart thumps.

How long have I not heard his voice? Just the sound of it makes me want to cry.

"I'm sorry." Max's voice is hoarse as he speaks.

I feel something press on my door. It seems that Max is pushing his arm against it and resting his forehead too, because his voice is so close.

"I know that you still don't want to see me, but--" he pauses. "I just miss you so much." His voice is a whisper at the end of his sentence.

Tears spring to my eyes, and I swallow. I miss him too. So very much.

I take a deep breath and turn around, but before I can touch the doorknob, his voice echoes again.

"I'm not asking you to open the door for me," he says. "I just want you to know that I'm here for you, no matter what happens. I'll always be here for you."

I shut my eyes and lay my forehead against the door too, trying my best not to become too emotional, because my heart is about to burst.

"I'll go home now if you're still not ready to face me." His voice is now laced with pain, and my heart sinks. "But I'm not leaving you. I won't."

Silence falls, and before I can comprehend what's happening, there's nothing anymore from the other side.

My own loud heartbeat echoes in my ears. Max has left, leaving me with longing even more powerful than before.

The sound of a knock on my door fills the room while I'm sitting at my dresser. "Sweetheart, it's me." It's Mom's voice.

"Come in." I stare into the mirror, combing my hair.

I just had a warm bath, which helped me relax a little, but I'm still restless nonetheless. I know why. Only I can fix this. Only I can help my own heart.

Mom approaches me with a warm smile on her face, and while I'm still combing my hair, she stops my hand. She takes the hairbrush and does the rest for me.

Even though I'm not a baby anymore, she still treats me like her little princess.

"So Max was here," she starts, and I know where this conversation is going.

"Yes," I whisper with sadness in my voice.

Mom sighs, staring at me through the mirror. "Why are you torturing yourself?" Her voice is so soft, so gentle. "It's clear that you want to be with him too."

When I look down at my lap, Mom holds my shoulders and turns me to face her. She tilts my chin up, and the moment she sees unshed tears in my eyes, a frown touches her lips.

"Honey." She wraps her arms around me, pulling me into a hug. She then holds my hands and helps me get up from the dresser bench.

We sit on my bed, and I sigh. When I stare at her, a sad smile forms on her lips.

"Did you know that Max stood in the rain today?" she asks.

My eyes widen in surprise. "He did?"

Mom nods, and my heart drops. What if he got sick because of that?

"Yes, he did," Mom says. "And when I wanted to bring him inside, Aiden stopped me. He told me to wait a little longer so that he could see how serious that boy was. Oh, God, your brother--" Mom seems to run out of words. "He's just... impossible."

I have no words to say. I'm just as speechless as Mom.

"In the end, I couldn't stand it any longer." Mom shakes her head. "I brought Max inside. He took a shower while we cleaned and dried his clothes."

I know that Mom still has more things to explain, so I listen to her intently.

"Luna," Mom begins again. "That boy, he has such a good heart," she whispers, caressing my cheek.

And I unknowingly let my tear fall from my eye. Hearing all of this is just too much. Max has been waiting for me, so patiently.

"Why did he do it, Mom?" My voice breaks. "I've hurt him so badly. He deserves someone better. I'm just a stupid and troublesome girl. Max can get any girl he wants."

I can't hold my tears anymore -- they fall hard and fast onto my cheeks.

Mom's eyes brim with tears too. It must be painful for her to know that her daughter doesn't feel worthy of such love.

"But he only wants you." She wipes my tears, smiling softly. "What you were saying isn't true. Max chooses you, and that's because he sees something in you, something that makes his heart only have a place for you."

My heart wants to believe everything that Mom said. Is it true?

Will he be happy if he's with me?

"Life throws us obstacles, and anything bad can happen to us." Mom brushes her fingers against my cheek again. "But nothing hurts more than losing the people we love. You don't want to live with regrets for the rest of your life, knowing that you could have done something just to prevent them from leaving you forever."

With that said, Mom embraces me again, and I sob against her chest, knowing that I believe her.

Every word.

"You can leave me here," I say to my driver after stepping out of the car, making him nod.

When the car leaves, I turn around to see the view before me. The night breeze blows softly against my skin, and I inhale the fresh air. The Manhattan bridge and the river lie ahead of me.

Max's car is parked at the same spot where he'd brought me before.

This is the place where I poured my heart out to him for the first time after the incident at Rory's birthday party. And this is also the place where we used to gaze at the night sky above us, watching the moon and the stars.

Aiden told me that Max didn't plan to go back home straight away. He told me that Max wanted to get some fresh air outside, and I immediately knew where he would be.

My heart is beating fast as I approach his car. When I'm close enough, my gaze darts on him lying down on the driver's seat with his eyes closed.

Is he sleeping? But his brows are furrowing. Whatever it is that bothering his mind has snapped him out of reality, because he doesn't even notice that I came here.

I swallow and knock on the window of his car, making him startle and abruptly sit up. His eyes widen as he sees me, but then he snaps his head toward the front, looking lost.

What is he thinking about?

Silence.

A few seconds pass, and he still hasn't opened the door for me. He's still lost in his thoughts, his gaze still locked to whatever it is in front of the car.

So I knock on the car window again, and after a while, he finally opens the door, making me take a few steps backward.

He stares at me, and I can't read his expression. My heart starts to become restless, pounding inside my chest.

"Aiden told me that you're here," I start. "Well, he didn't really tell me the location..." I falter. "Because he didn't know, obviously. But I just knew that you would be here."

Oh, God, I'm rambling, stumbling upon my words. What am I talking about?

Our gazes lock, and again, I can't read his expression. He squints at me, his brows still furrowing, and I don't know whether he expected me to be here or not.

"I'm sorry." I take a deep breath. "I'm sorry that I pushed you away. I was thinking too much. I was so scared and confused that I ended up hurting you, and myself."

The breeze blows again, and I inhale as much as I can. Yet, my breath catches in my throat. I start to doubt that he would accept my apology, because he still doesn't show any reaction that he's pleased to see me.

"I feared Rory's threat so much. I could have done better," I continue. "I should have trusted the people I love and believe that we would get through it together. I was so stupid."

Max's chest heaves up and down, and I don't know what that supposes to mean. Is he angry? Is he mad at me?

"I'm sorry, I was wrong." My voice is shaking, and I'm struggling to make it sound calm. "I lied to you, and I lied to myself even though I knew how much you meant to me, Max."

I'm mustering all the courage I have in my body to say the next words, because I don't want to live with regrets.

"I missed you," I whisper brokenly. "I missed you so much that it hurt."

Max still doesn't say any word, and I swallow a lump in my throat. His chest still heaves up and down, even more rapidly than before. His jaw is tight.

Maybe it's all too late. He looks restless, like he's indeed angry.

Did he change his mind? Does he want nothing to do with anymore?

My heart sinks so low at the thought of that, and I'm trying hard not to break down despite all the chaos in my head.

"I know that I made a big mistake and that you may not want to forgive me, but I just wanted to let you know the truth," I rasp. "I'm so sorry, Max. I really am."

Max still doesn't move an inch nor speak, and again, I swallow hard. My heart is screaming, scolding me about how stupid I had been.

"You may not want to hear about any of this anymore." I ball my fist on my side, and it's shaking helplessly. "You have the right to be angry and to want to stay away from me. If that's what you want, I will respect that."

My vision is already blurry with unshed tears when I stare at him one last time. I squeeze my eyes shut, turn around, and walk away.

While every step that I'm taking feels heavy, I try my best not to cry, but I fail miserably. A lone tear falls onto my cheek because it just hurts so much to leave him.

I secretly hope that Max would chase me, but that's such a stupid and selfish thought.

"Did you think you could just say something like that and leave?"

I stop in my track.

Slowly, I turn around, and my breathing stops as I see his face harden.

"Why did you have to walk away? Did you know how much you make me go crazy?" he shouts, walking toward me. "When you knocked on my car just now, did you know how much that surprised me? I was so happy, I needed ten seconds to convince myself that I wasn't dreaming."

My pulse quickens, and my heart rate kicks up a notch.

"Did you know how my heart explode while you were talking to me just now?" He snaps. "I had so many thoughts running in my head, I was fucking scared that I would say something stupid that would ruin everything and made me lose you again. But now I don't fucking care about that because Goddammit, Luna, if I let you leave after you said all those things to me, I might as well fucking kill myself."

He pants, looking like the emotions inside him are eating him, and I'm speechless. He's now standing right before me, facing me up close.

"I wasn't about to leave," I blurt out but then realize that I was indeed giving him that kind of impression, so I curse at myself silently. "I don't want to leave. I want to be with you--"

Max's lips crash into mine, shutting away all my thoughts and words as he cups my cheeks. My knees go weak, and I grip his upper arm for support.

He kisses me hard, and I kiss him back with all my heart, which feels like bursting out of my chest.

All the problems I have to face are suddenly gone. All I can think, feel, see and hear is him as the world fades in the background. It's just the two of us.

All that matters is that I'm here in his arms, in this warmth that I missed so much.

I pull away, breathless. "I'm sorry, Max," I say again and again. "I was so stupid--"

"Shut up." He kisses me again, holding me tightly, as if he never wants to let me go. "I missed you." He presses his lips hard on mine. "I missed you so fucking much."

"I missed you too," I say between our kisses, now gripping his back as we get lost in our own world. "I love--"

"What did you just say?" Max pulls away at a sudden, disbelief in his eyes.

"I love you." I let out a soft cry, realizing that I'm finally brave enough to admit my feelings for him.

His eyes water, and that sight makes my heart explode even more. "Oh, God, Luna. I love you," he rasps, planting a short and hard kiss on my lips. "I love you." Another kiss. "I love you."

I love you, Max. My heart keeps saying those words over and over again. It has never felt this whole, this complete, like he's the missing piece.

It has never felt this bliss and contentment so powerful, it doesn't even care about anything else in this world.

I'm holding the man I love so tightly in my arms, and I'll never give up again.

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