Page 94 - It Ends with Us

Chapter Nine

I drop the journa l on my ches t. I’m surprised to feel tea rs runni ng
down my cheeks . Ever y time I pick up thi s journa l I thi nk I’ll be fine
—t ha t it all ha ppened so long ago and I won’t still feel wha t I fel t back
then.

I’m such a sap. It gives me thi s long ing to hu g so many peo ple
from my past. Espec ially my mother bec ause for the past yea r, I
ha ven’t rea lly tho ught about ev er ythi ng she ha d to go thro ugh bef ore
my father died . I kno w it probably still hu rts her.
I grab my pho ne to call her and look at the screen. There are four

missed tex ts from R yle. My hea rt immed iatel y skips. I can ’t believe I had
it on silent! The n I roll my ey es , anno yed with mysel f, bec ause I sho uld
not be thi s ex cited .
Ryle: Are you asleep?
Ryle: I guess so.
Ryle: Lily . . .

Ryle. : (
The sad face was sent ten minutes ago. I hi t Rep ly and type, “Nope.
Not asleep .” About ten sec ond s later, I get ano ther tex t.
Ryle: Good. I’m walking up your stairs right now. Be there in twenty

seconds.
I grin and jump out of bed . I go to the bathro om and chec k my
face. Good enough. I run to the front door and open it as soon as R yle
makes it up the stair wel l. He practically drags hi msel f up the top step ,
and the n stops to res t when he fina lly rea ches my door. He looks so
tired . His ey es are red and there are dark circles und er them . His
arms slip around my waist and he pulls me to hi m, burying hi s face in

my nec k.
“You smel l so good,” he says.
I pull him ins ide the apartment . “Are you hu ng ry? I can make you
somet hi ng to ea t.”