REMEMBER ME
LONDON PARKER
REMEMBER ME
Copyright © 2021 by London Parker
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without the prior written permission of the
copyright holder.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters,
businesses, places, events and incidents are either
the products of the author’s imagination or used in
a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual
persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely
coincidental.
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ONE
Anna stood in the doorway of her apartment. She
looked around, noticing all the things she had put in
place just so the apartment felt like home. She had
spent the past four years creating a space that was
her own; a space that made her feel at peace
whenever she arrived home from her busy day,
saving lives at the hospital she worked at.
That was the life she had grown accustomed to
living, but she now had to say goodbye. It was only
temporary, but she was still sad about leaving. She
loved living in New York, working at one of the
highest-ranked hospitals—New York-Presbyterian
Hospital—as one of the head surgeons. She had
worked so hard to get to the position she held. Yet,
after the three years of long hours to work her way
up in the hospital, she now had to go back to
Stockbridge for a month.
‘Why couldn’t you have asked me to go to Hawaii
for a month instead?’ Anna asked out loud as she
looked at the ceiling.
“I don’t think the ceiling is going to answer you,” a
voice replied.
Anna turned and locked eyes with her sister,
Stephanie. Stephanie smiled at Anna, and they
hugged at the doorway.
“I guess you’re right, but I suppose I was waiting
for her to answer me,” Anna laughed.
“I figured,” Stephanie replied sympathetically, “I
also know this is hard for you, but think about it as
a holiday—a paid holiday.”
“Yeah, paid as in I get to live at a place for free, but
having to put my job on hold unwillingly,”
“We both know how dramatic aunty Marie can be,
so just go with it,” her sister said.
Aunty Marie wasn’t really their aunt, but their great
aunt from their mother’s side. Because their mother
had passed away from cancer while they were still
young, she had been their go-to person whenever
they needed motherly advice.
It was helpful for them to have someone so willing
to help them out while they were growing up,
especially when their own father struggled. Even
though they used to all live in Stockbridge, close to
each other, Anna had moved away and never
looked back—it wasn’t a secret that she preferred
to be as far from Stockbridge as possible.
“That’s true, but… I don’t know. My head’s a
mess. I also feel bad for how long it had been since
I had talked to her before all of this happened.”
Stephanie rubber her sister on the shoulders
empathetically, nodding to show her understanding.
Together, the sisters head out of the building,
Stephanie grabbing one of the bags that had been
sitting in the hallway just outside Anna’s door.
“She knew you loved her, and she was so proud of
everything you have achieved,” Stephanie said
lovingly as she tried to comfort her sister.
“If she was so proud of me, then why is she making
me do this?” Anna asked as they reached her car.
Anna was referring to the fact that her great aunt
had left her house for Anna in her will, and though
Anna would willingly sell the house straight off the
bat, her aunt had made a note that Anna had to live
in it for a month before she can do anything with
the house.
It wasn’t something Anna really wanted to do; she
didn’t want to take a break from her job that she
loved so much, but she had agreed to go just
because she wanted to follow through with her
great aunt’s wishes.
“Maybe she knows that you need a push to give
yourself a break. You work so hard, we all know it.
You haven’t had a vacation in years,” Stephanie
said gently.
Anna hated that Stephanie was right. It wasn’t as if
she couldn’t go on holiday, it was just the fact that
she didn’t want to. She loved her job. She enjoyed
working and saving people’s lives. Anna didn’t see
the point in taking a break when she felt as if she
didn’t need one.
“A vacation means going to a foreign place, not
back to my hometown,” Anna replied as she rolled
her eyes.
It wasn’t as if she hated Stockbridge; she had lived
there for most of her life after all, but she knew that
there wasn’t much going on there. She couldn’t
even bear the idea of doing nothing all day
compared to her extremely fast-paced lifestyle.
“Well, maybe it’ll be good going back to your
roots,” Stephanie said as she shrugged her
shoulders.
“Agh, I guess I just have to accept it,” Anna replied
as she packed her bags into her car.
“That would be a good start. Maybe you will even
enjoy being there,” Stephanie said with a smile.
“Maybe. Anyways, thank you for looking after my
place while I’m gone,” Anna said while turning to
her sister.
Anna was two years older, and as the older sister,
she always wanted to look after Stephanie though
her sister wouldn’t outright ask for help. Anna had
asked her to look after her place while she was
away because she knew she needed a place to stay.
Stephanie had moved in with one of her friends
with her son a few weeks back, after her
relationship had crashed and burned, so Anna
thought that her sister could have some space for
herself while looking after her apartment.
“It’s a pleasure. It’s really helping me more than
anything,” Stephanie said with a laugh.
“Then I’m glad to be going away.”
She said goodbye to her sister, telling her that she
should visit her with her son, Ben, while Anna’s
still stuck in Stockbridge. Anna felt a little sad
leaving the city as she drove away from her sister
on the pavement outside of her apartment building.
She knew she wouldn’t be living in Stockbridge
forever, but she really didn’t like the idea of living
in a place that was so boring. She drove thinking
about what would be in store for her in
Stockbridge.
She hadn’t been back to Stockbridge for so many
years, and she knew that she would’ve never gone
back if it weren’t for her great aunts’ request. Anna
thought about the letter she had received just a few
weeks before, when the news broke about her great
aunts’ passing.
‘My dear Anna,
It’s time for you to let go.
It’s time for you to go back home and find yourself
Because you’re lost.
We’re all so proud of you but you need to be truly
happy.
I’ll always be here for you.
If you look for me, I’ll be there.
Love you always,
Aunty Marie.’
The letter was imprinted in Anna’s brain, and the
words worked around her head as she drove.
‘What could you mean I’m lost? What do you
mean I’m not truly happy?’ Anna asked out loud.
Anna wasn’t sure why Marie thought she needed to
go back home, back to Stockbridge, when she had
left because she no longer wanted to be there. She
had moved away because she wasn’t happy there in
the first place, so she couldn’t understand the letter
at all.
TWO
When Anna arrived in Stockbridge, she sat outside
of her great aunt’s house looking at the house she
had pretty much grown up in. She had spent so
much time there and in her mind it looked exactly
the way she remembered which caused her mind to
become overwhelmed with memories.
A flash of memories with her sister and her great
aunt overtook her mind, and without even realizing
it, tears started to run down Anna’s cheeks.
Quickly, she wiped her tears away as she shook her
head to clear her mind.
‘Just get out of the car and take things day by day,’
she said to herself as she grabbed the keys from the
cupholder.
She got out of the car, walking around to her trunk
to grab her bags. With a sigh, she walked up to the
walkway and let herself into the house. Dropping
her bags just beside the door, Anna looked around
the house.
Everything was in the exact place she remembered.
Even though the house now smelt like her great
aunt’s perfume. With a heavy heart, Anna walked
around the house, picking up pictures and looking
at everything that reminded her of her time in
Stockbridge.
She was saddened by the thought of having missed
so much time with Marie before her passing. Anna
had been so consumed by work that she had
neglected her visits to Stockbridge, constantly
excusing herself time and time again.
‘I’m so sorry,’ she whispered, as she stared at a
picture of her great aunt on the mantle of the
fireplace. She was overcome with emotions as tears
rolled down her cheeks.
She hadn’t realized how hard it would be for her to
be in Stockbridge. She wasn’t sure if she would be
able to handle the emotional baggage the house
brought. It wasn’t as if she thought it would be easy
moving back to her hometown, but she hadn’t
expected to feel so overwhelmed right from the
start.
Anna was sure that she wouldn’t want to move to
Stockbridge by the end of her stay, but she started
to internalize just how hard the process of going
through the house would be.
It had taken Anna just over three hours to get to
Stockbridge, and because she already felt
overwhelmed by the situation, she decided to have
a nap. Grabbing her bags from the doorway, she
made her way up the stairs and toward the guest
bedroom that had always been hers.
It was still the same as she remembered it, and she
knew that her great aunt had always kept it the
same in hopes that Anna would visit.
Anna didn’t even bother changing as she climbed
onto the bed, curling up into a ball as she closed her
eyes and fell asleep, trying her hardest to push the
flood of memories from her mind just so she could
rest.
********
It had been a few days in Stockbridge, and Anna
had never felt more alone. She didn’t want to get
too close to anyone because she didn’t plan on
staying in Stockbridge longer than the month she
had to, but she couldn’t deny that she was getting a
little lonely.
She hadn’t gone out, other than going to the local
grocer, and even that had just been a quick in-and-
out. She had started to spend most of her time
sitting on the patio facing the backyard just so she
could read the letter Marie had left her.
She had read it over and over again to the point
where the wrinkles in the paper had already started
to fade, making the paper thin and weak. She still
couldn’t understand what her great aunt had meant
by the letter. After all, her life was perfect.
She loved her job; it was what she had always
wanted to do, and although it’s time-consuming,
she knew that she wouldn’t want to do anything
else. She had invested so much of her time and
energy, working as hard as she could just to get
where she was and that was something she had
dreamed about since she had been a little girl.
Of course, the job was something that did not give
her a lot of time to have much of a social life, but
she didn’t mind so much because most of the
people she knew worked with her so they could
socialize on their breaks. It wasn’t a lot, but it was
enough for her.
Anna wanted to save lives. She didn’t care about
creating one of her own and she was happy with
that. She didn’t need to be surrounded by people on
the weekends, nor did she feel the need to party or
go to dinners. She was happy with her life, which
made Marie’s letter that much more confusing.
The more she thought about work, the more Anna
started to miss it, and so she decided to open up her
laptop to check if anyone needed her for anything.
Skimming through her emails, she saw a few people
asking for advice on certain operations, which she
happily responded to. She felt a pang of jealousy as
she thought about all the operations she was
missing out on.
She knew that—soon enough—she would be back
where she longed to be, but she also tried to
remember that maybe she should try to relax and
consider the time in Stockbridge as a holiday.
Sure, it wasn’t the type of holiday she had
envisioned for herself, but she hadn’t really had a
break in a while, and her boss had encouraged her
to take the month off when she had brought it up.
Replying to the emails in her mailbox didn’t take as
long as she would have liked, and she soon found
herself staring out into the yard. A flashback sprung
to her mind as she remembered her great aunt
hiding Easter eggs in the yard, creating a scavenger
hunt for herself and her sister.
She could almost picture herself running around in
the yard with her sister as they looked for their
Easter eggs while Marie gave them hints from the
patio. It was one of the many good memories she
had with her great aunt, and the pain of losing her
seemed to get stronger and stronger as the time
passed.
Anna heard a car pulling up on the street, and as
she walked around the house from the patio, she
saw a man getting out of a car and walking up to
the front door of the house next to her. He looked
extremely handsome from where she was standing,
and she wondered if he was moving in as she had
noticed that the house was empty.
She watched as he opened the door and went in,
coming out a few minutes later, looking happy. He
went to his car and started to pull out box after box.
Anna felt excited to have a hot neighbor, especially
considering she had been keeping to herself for a
few days. At least she would now have something
good to look at.
The new neighbor hadn’t seen her yet, so, for a
while, Anna just stood and watched, watching his
muscles flex every time he picked up a box and
took it inside, his brown sandy hair looking
extremely touchable in the sun. If she were a
cartoon, she knew she would have had drool
dripping down her chin.
THREE
Marcus had been searching for a house in
Stockbridge for a few months. He had lived in
Stockbridge all of his life with his family, but when
he moved out, he moved into a small one-bedroom
apartment.
Although it had been comfortable for a few years,
he had been doing rather well over the last year and
so he thought that it was time for him to get a
house; a house that he could potentially settle down
in. He had looked at every available house in
Stockbridge until he had found the right one.
Immediately after seeing it, he put in his offer
which, within an hour or so, was approved.
It took two months to get everything sorted, and
finally, the moving day had arrived. He had spent a
week packing everything up, slowly making sure
that he got everything packed away in time for him
to move. He arranged for a moving truck to pick up
his furniture while he moved his boxes. He was
excited to move, it felt like the best thing for him.
“I can’t believe you’re saying goodbye to this
place,” his friend Max said as he helped him load
his car the morning of the move.
“A bird has got to spread its wings at some point,”
Marcus replied as he carried a box of books.
“I just didn’t think you would move into a house at
this point of your life. You’ve been living the
bachelor life for so long now,” his friend said.
It wasn’t as if Marcus had an influx of women in
and out of his apartment—truthfully speaking, he
spent most nights either working or at the local bar
with Max and their other friend, Brian.
“I’ll still be living the bachelor life, but just in a
house,” Marcus joked.
“I still think it’s wild,” Max said.
“You think everything is wild,” Marcus pointed out
as he and his friend stopped and looked at each
other.
“Alright, I guess you have a point there,” Max
replied with a laugh.
The two men had been friends for so many years
that Marcus was sure there was nothing that either
of them didn’t know about the other.
“Have you seen who’s moved back into town?”
Max said changing the topic.
Of course, Marcus knew who had moved back to
town; she was his new neighbor. He was sure she
wouldn’t remember him, but the news of her
homecoming had traveled around the town, and
fast.
“Oh, yeah. I’ve heard,” he replied. He wasn’t sure
if Max knew that she was his neighbor or not, so he
decided to play it cool.
“Are you going to talk to her?” Max asked.
It wasn’t a secret between the two of them that
Marcus had had a huge crush on Anna growing up,
but she never showed any interest in him, and when
she moved away, Marcus got over it.
“Probably not. I doubt she even remembers me,”
Marcus replied.
“She probably does remember you. You tried so
hard to get her attention, constantly making a fool
out of yourself,” Max said as he began to laugh.
“Laughing at my failures? That’s so nice of you,”
Marcus said as he narrowed his eyes at his friend.
“Oh, come on. You’ve got to be able to laugh about
it now. It was so long ago,” Max replied.
“Yeah, yeah. Anyway, it looks like we’re done
here,” Marcus said as he looked at his car filled
with all of his boxes.
“Do you need help unloading and unpacking?”
Max asked sensing the topic change.
“Oh, nah. I can handle that on my own,” Marcus
replied, “thanks for your help though.”
“No problem at all. Let me know if you need any
more help,” Max said.
“Sure thing, thanks again,” Marcus said before Max
walked away.
Marcus got into his car and made the drive to his
new home. It wasn’t too far from his apartment, so
he was there within a few minutes, and after
looking around the place again, he happily started
to unpack his car.
Marching up and down his driveway, Marcus
carried box after box into his house, trying to leave
them in their designated area before moving on to
the next box. He was almost finished with the
unloading when he misplaced his footing on the last
step leading into his house.
He felt his ankle twist, pain shooting up his leg as
he fell and landed on his back. The fall itself wasn’t
that bad as there were only a few steps to start off
with, but he felt the pain in his ankle which he
knew wasn’t a good sign.
For a moment, he laid there, looking up at the sky
as he tried to breathe through the pain. He didn’t
try to move yet, as he wasn’t sure how the rest of
his body felt, noticing a small pain throbbing in his
head.
“Are you okay?” a voice asked from his side.
A woman stood before him, looking at him with
concern as she kneeled down. He knew it was
Anna right away, but as he had mentioned to Max,
she didn’t recognize him. Her hair was long—just
past her shoulders—as she looked over him. He
wondered where she had come from, but he didn’t
bother asking.
“I think so,” he replied as she continued to stare,
waiting for further response.
“Is there any pain?” she asked.
“A little on the back of my head but my left ankle
hurts the most,” he muttered as he tried to flex his
leg, the pain shooting up into his body, making him
regret the movement.
Anna moved out of his view, and he could feel her
hands on his ankle, pulling his jeans up to his knee
to get a better look. He winced in pain as she gently
touched the area. Tilting his head so he could get a
better view of her, he saw her nodding her head.
“Just as I thought. It seems as if you’ve sprained
your ankle rather badly. I suggest we get you to the
hospital,” she said in a matter-of-fact manner.
“Oh, I should be able to walk it off,” Marcus said
as he sat up, pushing most of his weight onto his
right side as he stood, his left leg off the ground so
he doesn’t put any pressure on it.
“Alright Mr. Tough Guy. Try to walk then,” she said
as she crossed her arms over her chest, challenging
him.
Marcus wasn’t trying to look tough—not really—
but he also wasn’t the type who was injured easily
and so he placed his foot on the ground taking one
step forward before crying out in pain. Anna came
to his side so he could shift his weight onto her
while lifting his foot off the ground once more.
“So, the hospital?” she asked with a little pride in
her voice.
“Alright, I guess so,” he replied, defeated.
Anna helped him walk to her car, “we can take my
car,” he said as she opened the passenger door of
her car.
“Oh, it’s alright. We can take mine. Just sit back
and relax,” she said with a smile as she closed the
door.
Marcus watched her walk around to her door. It
was clear she still hadn’t figured out who he was.
She climbed into the driver’s seat and put the car
into drive, before heading them straight to the
hospital.
FOUR
Although Anna knew she couldn’t assist her
neighbor herself—she technically was a doctor on
holiday after all—but the thought of helping
brought her a sense of joy as she walked the man
into the hospital. Just the smell of disinfectant and
hearing the sound of nurses and doctors talking
made Anna feel more at home.
“Just sit here while I get the nurse,” Anna said as
she helped the man into the hospital and into a
chair.
She hadn’t gotten his name yet, because the drive
hadn’t been that long, and he had been closing his
eyes tight as he dealt with the pain. She could only
assume that the attempt to stand and walk had
caused more pain than he had expected. She knew
his ankle wasn’t broken, but badly sprained.
“Good afternoon, could I please get a form to fill
out. My neighbor fell down his stairs and I think
he’s sprained his ankle really badly,” Anna said as
she walked up to the front desk.
“Good afternoon. Oh, shame. Here we go, once the
form is filled in, just give it back to me and a nurse
will take him to get looked over by a doctor,” the
woman replied with a smile as she handed over a
clipboard with a form and a pen.
“Thank you,” Anna replied before walking back
over to her injured neighbor.
There was something about him that she found
familiar but couldn’t put her finger on. There was
something about his eyes that reminded her of a
memory that seemed to be burning at the back of
her mind, but she couldn’t seem to figure out what
the memory truly was.
“Alright, so they need you to fill this form out and
then a doctor will come see you,” Anna said as she
sat next to him.
“Would you mind filling it in for me? I feel a little
shaky to be honest,” the man replied as he lifted his
hand midair to show her.
Anna almost wanted to laugh at the man because
he looked so strong when he had been carrying his
boxes, but now with an injured ankle he seemed
like a little boy. However, as a doctor, she knew
that pain can take over the body and be the only
thing you focus on.
“Alright, full name,” Anna said as she looked down
at the form with the pen in her hand.
“Marcus Bell.”
“What?” she said as the name brought all of the
memories that had been looming in the back of her
mind to the front, throwing her back into her
childhood.
“Finally clicked?” Marcus asked.
Anna turned to look at him, a soft smile on his lips.
She was so confused. As the memories flooded her
mind, she remembered going to school with
Marcus. He had been the class clown, always
cracking jokes and constantly making fun of Anna.
He wasn’t necessarily a bully, but he would tease
Anna for no reason. She had never really liked him
because of this, and she remembered avoiding him
in school.
“I’ll give you a moment,” he added as Anna
remained silent.
“How? I mean, how do you end up being my
neighbor?” she asked more to herself. She shook
her head as she realized that she would be living
next to Marcus for the next month.
It wasn’t as if she hated him. They shared a past,
and they had grown up since then. He had just
always rubbed her the wrong way. The phrase
‘boys with be boys’ echoed in her mind because
Marie always excused his behavior.
“Maybe its fate,” Marcus said jokingly.
Anna snapped her head around as she looked at
him, her eyes narrowing. He was good-looking and
that was something she hadn’t expected, but the
closer she looked at him, the more she could tell
that he seemed to be a little different from the
Marcus she had known.
He seemed kind, she could see it in his eyes.
Obviously, she knew people change as they grow
up, so instead of snapping back, she relaxed a little,
going with the joking demeanor that Marcus
seemed to have. Maybe they could be friends this
time around.
“Haha, fate that you sprain your ankle right next
door to a doctor that’s just moved into the area,”
Anna replied.
Although living next to Marcus wasn’t what she
had in mind when she had moved back to
Stockbridge, he didn’t seem to be as bad as he used
to be, so maybe Anna could get used to having
someone from her past being around her.
Maybe having someone from her past could make
things more comfortable. Sure he had teased her a
little, but it wasn’t that bad. The more she thought
about it, the more she realized how unenjoyable it
could be.
“Sometimes, things work out the way they should,”
Marcus said with a wink.
Anna felt a flush come over her. She wasn’t sure if
he was flirting with her or teasing her. Either way,
she hadn’t had anyone show her that sort of
attention in a long time. It wasn’t because she
didn’t want it, it was just because she was always
too busy to form any sort of relationship with the
opposite sex.
“You’re talking crazy, maybe we should get you
looked at,” Anna said as she rolled her eyes. She
wanted to laugh at him because it seemed as if he
was losing his mind a little with the pain he was in.
Even through his jokes she could see that he was
struggling.
“Maybe a little. Let’s do this,” he said as he leaned
his head back to rest.
Anna continued to fill out his form, asking him for
all of the information as he kept his head back and
eyes closed. Once the form was complete, Anna
walked back over to the receptionist and handed it
over to her.
“A nurse will be right with you,” the woman said.
“Thank you, please ask them to bring a wheelchair.
Hotshot over there can’t walk,” she joked.
“Haha, men. He’s lucky to have a girlfriend like
you, bringing him here while he acts like a baby,”
the receptionist joked.
“Oh, he’s not my boyfriend, he’s my neighbor,”
Anna corrected. She couldn’t even imagine being
with Marcus in that way.
“Oh, my mistake. You two just look like a couple,”
the woman said with cheeks flushed from
embarrassment.
“Haha, oh, no. Never,” Anna said as she shook her
head with a smile.
“I’m sure every woman in here would think you’re
crazy,” the receptionist replied.
Anna laughed a little before she made her way back
over to Marcus. She couldn’t blame anyone for
thinking she was crazy for not wanting to be with
Marcus. He was extremely good looking after all,
but she was only in Stockbridge for a month so
there was no point in thinking anything could
happen between the two of them.
Before Marcus could say anything to Anna, a nurse
came over with a wheelchair which made Marcus
groan.
“Can’t be hopping all over the place,” Anna joked
as she walked beside the wheelchair as they took
him through to see the doctor.
“Kill me now,” Marcus moaned in response.
FIVE
Marcus had kept quiet about who he was when
Anna found him, and the look on her face when she
finally figured it out was totally worth it. He wasn’t
sure how she would feel living next door to him,
but she seemed to have taken the news rather well.
He knew that he hadn’t been the best toward her,
but that was because he wasn’t sure how to act
toward her while having a crush on her. Marcus
wouldn’t say that he handled his feelings in the
correct way, but he had been young and dumb.
For a moment, his mind was completely focused on
the fact that Anna seemed to be fine around him,
though he was soon brought back to reality when
the doctor came into the room. He had been
wheeled in which made him feel like an invalid.
“Good day, I’m doctor Matthews,” the doctor said
as he held out his hand, shaking Marcus’s hand first
before also greeting Anna.
“Nice to meet you, although I would prefer not
being here,” Marcus replied.
“Well, let's get you sorted so we can get you out of
here soon then, shall we?” the doctor said as he
looked at the form Anna had filled out, “It says
here that you fell and injured your ankle?”
“It’s mostly my ankle. I did hit my head a little too,
but that isn’t too bad,” Marcus said.
Dr. Matthews leaned down and touched Marcus’
ankle, already knowing which one it was from the
form. Marcus winced as he felt the pressure from
the doctor’s touch, the pain coming back to him.
“Alright, your ankle is swollen, so I want to get
some scans of it to make sure nothing is fractured. I
also want to do an MRI just to make sure that there
isn’t anything wrong with your head,” the doctor
said as he stood.
“Oh, great,” Marcus said as he flung his head back.
“I’d be careful there if I were you,” Dr. Matthews
warned when he saw Marcus’s movements, “We
don’t want to find out that throwing your head back
like that caused further injuries after your fall.”
Marcus made sure to straighten up, which he could
see pleased Dr. Matthews.
“How long is it all going to take?” Marcus asked.
“About an hour for the scans and then we’ll take it
from there,” the doctor replied.
Marcus couldn’t believe his luck. The day had
started off so well; he had been moving into the
house of his dreams and now he was going to spend
his day in hospital. He wanted to hit himself for
falling, even though it had been completely out of
his control.
“Fantastic,” Marcus muttered.
“The nurse will be with you in a moment to get you
going,” the doctor said with a small smile, clearly
sensing the irritation in Marcus’s voice.
“Thank you, doctor,” Anna said before the doctor
left. She turned her attention back to Marcus once
they were alone, “Do you want me to call anyone
for you?”
Marcus thought about it for a moment; he knew he
should call Max to let him know what was going
on, but he also didn’t want to worry his friend for
no reason. He felt as if Max would just laugh at
him, which he could honestly do without.
“Oh, no. It’s fine. If you need to leave, I’ll just call
a cab home or something,” Marcus replied.
“Do you really think I’m just going to leave you
here?” Anna responded, her voice a little shocked.
“Well, I don’t expect you to stick around and wait
for me,” he said as he shrugged his shoulders.
“If I’m not calling anyone to come take my place,
then I’ll stay and take you back home myself,” she
replied.
“You really don’t have to do that. I’m sure you
have things to do,” Marcus said.
He wasn’t sure why Anna was being so nice to him.
He had teased her constantly when they were
growing up, so he expected her to not really want
to be around him. He wouldn’t blame her if she just
left him at the hospital, and so, when she shook her
head, he felt thankful and relieved that she had
agreed to stay. Although he was prepared to be
alone throughout the process, he really appreciated
the fact that she was willing to stay.
“I really don’t have anything to do today, so it’s no
problem,” she replied with a gentle smile.
“Are you sure? I don’t want to hold you up,”
Marcus said.
“Honestly, don’t worry. I actually enjoy being
here,” she said as she indicated to the area around
them.
“Oh, true. I guess this is where you belong,” he
replied.
“Definitely. Besides, you need the support if you’re
not going to call anyone,” Anna said with a small
shrug.
“Well, thank you for sticking around,” Marcus said
with a smile.
He was glad to have her with him, and even though
they hadn’t spoken in a very long time, he couldn’t
help but enjoy her company. She seemed to really
want to be there with him and not just because they
were in the hospital.
“You’re welcome. So tell me, what made you move
in next door?” she asked.
“Well, I didn’t know you were coming back to
Stockbridge when I purchased the house, first of
all. Second of all, I thought it would be good for me
to have a house of my own,” he said as he locked
eyes with her.
“I suppose there comes a time in everyone’s life
where they need to move on to greater things,”
Anna replied.
“That’s exactly how I feel. I enjoyed living where I
was before, but I thought that it was time for me to
level up, you know what I mean?” he asked.
“Yes, I know what you mean. Life is always about
improvement,” she said with a smile.
“Exactly! So, why are you back in Stockbridge?”
he asked.
Of course, he had heard all the gossip of her
coming back, but he hadn’t heard the reason behind
it. He wondered if she was going to stay there and
become a part of Stockbridge again. He liked the
idea of that the more he thought about it.
“I didn’t exactly want to come back, to be honest.
Marie, my great aunt, wrote me a letter that she left
in her will. I get her house, but before I can do
anything with it, I have to live in it for a month,”
she replied.
“I remember your great aunt. She used to be the
one person everyone could go to if they needed a
break of some sort. I’m so sorry about her passing,”
Marcus said.
“She lived a full life, so it’s okay. Being here is
harder than I thought it would be though,” Anna
said with a soft smile, a little sadness in her eyes.
“We can’t always run from our pasts,” he replied.
Before Anna got the chance to reply, the nurse
walked in, wheeling Marcus away so he could get
his scans done. He could see something in Anna’s
eyes that made him want to talk to her more, but
the moment had passed as she waved him off
before walking back to the waiting room. He had a
good feeling about her being around.
SIX
Anna didn’t think that bumping into Marcus would
stir up so many emotions in her. She was sure it was
because she was in a hospital, a place she called her
second home, and yet, she couldn’t do anything.
She couldn’t help anyone, and she longed to be in
her scrubs. It was the one thing in her life that was
truly permanent.
While she waited for Marcus to be finished with his
scans, Anna kept thinking of how things had
worked out. She hadn’t willingly planned on
moving back to Stockbridge, but within the first
few days of being there, she bumps into Marcus.
It was strange after the history they shared that
they seemed to get along so easily. Maybe it was
because she pitied him a little. After all, he had
fallen from the third step of a small incline. Anna
knew his injuries weren’t too bad—he was
conscious and talking so his head would be alright
—it was mostly just his ankle that had taken most
of the fall, which, in her mind, was a good thing.
Her mind went over all the things she would do if
she were his doctor, the feeling of longing was
overwhelming. She wanted to be in the hospital as a
doctor and not as a friend waiting for someone.
Anna was then distracted by her thoughts when her
phone started to ring. It was her sister.
“Hey Steph,” she said as she picked up the call.
“Hey Sis, how are things there?” Stephanie asked.
“It’s been pretty uneventful up until today,” Anna
replied. She knew her sister would want to know
about everything that had happened.
“Spill,” Stephanie said, her voice clearly excited.
“Well, you wouldn’t guess who my new neighbor
is,” Anna started, dragging out the suspense.
“Of course I wouldn’t. I don’t even know who lives
there anymore,” Stephanie replied.
“Let me spark your memory, because you do know
this person. He used to tease me in school,” Anna
said. She knew it was just enough for her sister to
put the pieces together and when she heard the
gasp through the phone, she knew her sister made
the connection.
“You’re lying!” she exclaimed.
“I’m not. I had to bring him to the hospital because
he injured his ankle while unloading his car,” Anna
stated.
“I can’t believe it! You know he used to have the
biggest crush on you?” Stephanie said, surprising
Anna completely as she sat waiting for Marcus.
“No he didn’t,” Anna replied defensively because
she knew there was no way he had a crush on her.
She didn’t believe that someone who used to tease
her could have had a crush on her. Anna never
believed in the phrase ‘boys will be boys’,
especially when it came to how they acted when
they had a crush on a girl.
Marcus never showed any real interest in her at any
point when they had been in school together. Anna
couldn’t help but think about what she would’ve
done if he had shown interest in her. Would she
have liked him back then?
“Oh yes he did. Everyone could see it,” Stephanie
said.
“You’re crazy. He used to tease me half the time
and ignore me the rest of the time,” Anna replied as
she rolled her eyes. Obviously, her sister couldn’t
see her doing it, but she couldn’t stop herself; it
was a natural reaction to what her sister had said.
She felt a little silly for doing it, especially as she
was sitting alone.
“Think whatever you want, but he really did,”
Stephanie said.
“Well, that was a long time ago, so it doesn’t matter
now. Besides, I’m only here for a month so we
won’t be getting close,” Anna replied.
“I still can’t believe you want to sell that house,”
her sister replied in disbelief.
Stephanie had been extremely vocal with her
opinions of the house. She had tried to convince
Anna into keeping the house, reminding her of all
the good times they had shared there when they
had been growing up.
Of course, after all the time they had spent at the
house and with Marie, Anna did cherish the house,
but if she didn’t live in Stockbridge, what was the
point in keeping it? Someone else could settle down
in it with their family, which made way more sense
to her.
“Come on, you know there is no point in keeping
the house with no one living in it,” Anna said, a
little frustrated because she had explained her
reasoning to her sister already.
“I know, but it could be useful one day,” Stephanie
replied.
“One day isn’t now, and I’m not thinking about
settling down here anytime soon,” Anna said,
“Listen, I have to go, the nurse is calling for me.”
A nurse had made her way over to Anna and
indicated that Marcus was done with his scans.
“Alright, say hi to Marcus for me,” her sister teased
before Anna hung up.
“Is he done?” Anna asked after putting her phone
away.
“Yes, he’s done with the scans, but the doctor will
be with him in a few minutes to tell him what will
happen next,” the nurse said.
“Oh, great. Thank you,” Anna said as she followed
the nurse to the same room she had been in before.
Through the small window on the door, Anna could
see Marcus laying down on the exam bed, his ankle
elevated and his head back. She could see that he
was in physical pain, which made her feel sorry for
him. It clearly wasn’t the best day for him.
She took a moment to look at him, taking in the
muscles of his arms, his strong jawline, and his
smooth hair which was out of his face while he had
one hand over his eyes to block out the light from
above.
“Hey,” she whispered as she entered.
Marcus moved his hand and blinked at her a few
times as his sight adjusted, a small smile forming
across his lips when he finally managed to see her
properly.
“Hey,” he replied softly.
Anna sat down on the chair in the corner of the
room while Marcus kept his eyes on her.
“How are you feeling?” she asked.
“Oh, not too bad I guess. Just wish I wasn’t here,”
he said as he looked away and stared at the ceiling.
“We’ll be out of here in no time. I’m sure you
haven’t broken anything, so you shouldn’t need
surgery,” Anna said nonchalantly.
“Well, I guess I can be happy about that,” Marcus
said a little sarcastically.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound so emotionless. I’m
just used to all of this,” Anna said a little
embarrassed.
“It’s okay. At least I know what’s most likely going
to happen,” he said with a smile when he looked at
her.
“I am a doctor, after all,” Anna joked as she went
along with Marcus and his attempt to make light of
the situation.
“It’s my lucky day. I would’ve been laying on the
ground outside of my house if it weren’t for you. I
probably would’ve tried to walk more and messed
up my ankle even more,” Marcus laughed.
“You do seem like the stubborn type,” Anna replied
with a smile.
She knew Marcus had always been the stubborn
type, she could only imagine how he was after so
many years had gone by, especially after seeing him
try to walk after his fall.
SEVEN
Marcus had spent the next hour in the hospital with
Anna, who had been right about his injury, which
he was glad about. Although he had to have a moon
boot placed on his ankle, he was grateful that he
hadn’t broken anything.
“Thank you again for waiting around,” Marcus said
as they left the hospital.
“Oh, it’s a pleasure. I don’t mind having any
excuse to go to the hospital, especially when I have
been off for the last few days,” Anna replied.
She didn’t look at Marcus as she spoke, instead
staring out the front window. She was focused on
driving, which Marcus could appreciate; he didn’t
want to get into any more accidents. He wondered
what Anna would do with the rest of her time in
Stockbridge. Before he could really stop himself, he
found himself asking her.
“What do you plan on doing while you’re here?” he
asked.
“I’m not really sure. I feel as if my aunt wanted me
to achieve something while I’m here, but I’m not
sure what that is. She left me a cryptic letter that I
don’t even fully understand,” she replied, the
confusion clearly visible on her face as Marcus
looked at her from the side.
“What did the letter say?” Marcus asked.
“She basically said that I’m not happy and I need to
let go,” Anna said, cutting the long story short.
“That’s interesting. I wonder what she means,”
Marcus wondered, more to himself than to Anna
because he really didn’t know her that well
anymore, so he couldn’t really tell her what he
thought of the letter. He wasn’t sure if she was
happy or if she had some past emotional baggage
that she needed to let go of.
“I’m wondering that too. I honestly don’t even
know what to make of it. I’m living the life I’ve
always wanted. I don’t know what I’m supposed to
let go of,” Anna said.
Marcus could hear the frustration in her voice, it
was clear that she really wanted to figure out
exactly what her great aunt meant. He wouldn’t
mind helping her figure it out after all that she had
done for him that day. But he wasn’t sure where he
would even start, considering they hadn’t been in
contact since they went to school together.
“Well, I could try to help you figure it out, but I
don’t know where I’d start after all this time,”
Marcus replied.
“Don’t worry. I’m sure I’ll manage,” Anna said, a
smile on her slips.
Marcus could only see the sides of her mouth lift
up, and it was at that moment he realized that he
still had feelings for Anna. They had been dormant
for years, especially because she hadn’t been
around for so long, but having her around sparked
something inside of him.
He didn’t want to allow himself to think that
something could happen between them because she
was only there for a month and she had never
shown any interest in him in the first place. There
was no point in thinking that something could
happen just because she had been so nice to him.
“If you don’t manage, you can call me. I’ll be more
than willing to help in any way I can,” he replied.
“Thank you, I appreciate that, but I think you’ll
need more help than I will,” she said, quickly
moving her hand to point at his moon boot which
made Marcus look down at his foot. He still
couldn’t believe that he would have to be in a
moon boot for the next few weeks, it really messed
with his plans as he was supposed to move into his
house.
“I guess you’re right. Damn, I forgot to call the
moving company,” Marcus said as he remembered
that his furniture was supposed to be delivered
earlier that day.
“I’m sure you’ll be able to rearrange a time for
delivery,” Anna responded reassuringly.
“I hope they’re not mad about me not being there
for the original time,” Marcus said.
He knew he should’ve called the company earlier,
but it had completely slipped his mind. He had been
so focused on the pain and the situation that he
hadn’t even thought about the fact that he hadn’t
finished his move. He was sure he would need to
call Max to help him complete the move now that
he wouldn’t be able to move around easily by
myself.
“I’m sure they’ll understand if you explain the
situation,” she said, clearly trying to calm him
down.
Marcus didn’t really want to tell the moving
company that he had twisted his ankle and fallen
down three steps while carrying a few boxes. He
didn’t want anyone to think that he wasn’t strong
enough. He couldn’t deny that he had a huge ego,
and facing the fact that he had fallen down such a
small flight of stairs and injured himself wasn’t
something he wanted to tell people.
“Yeah, I’m sure they will,” Marcus replied as they
pulled up outside of their houses.
“Well, I guess we’re here,” Anna said as she
switched off her car.
“Thank you again,” Marcus said as he opened the
door and started to work his way out of the car.
Anna quickly rushed around the car and grabbed
his crutches from the backseat before handing them
to him.
“You have to at least try to use the crutches, take
the pressure off your leg,” Anna said as she noticed
the disgusted look on his face as he took them from
her.
“This sucks,” he said as he placed his hands on the
crutches.
“Would you like any more help with anything?”
Anna asked as she locked up her car.
Marcus thought about it for a moment, and even
though he wanted to spend more time with Anna,
he knew that he couldn’t expect her to give up the
rest of her day for him. He could pull the ‘pity me’
card but he also didn’t think that would be fair for
her.
“Oh, no. You’ve done enough as it is,” Marcus
replied because he couldn’t bring himself to ask for
more help even when he knew that he probably
would need it. He wasn’t sure if he would be able
to continue unpacking his boxes without a set of
extra hands.
Marcus looked over at his front door and saw the
mess from the box he had dropped still laying at the
bottom of the stairs. Anna must have noticed his
staring as she went over wordlessly and cleared it
up, quickly walking into his house and placing it
inside.
“I think you’re going to need a little more help. I
can’t see you unpacking all of those boxes by
yourself,” she said with a smile.
“Oh, please. I’ll call one of my friends to help me. I
don’t want to waste your entire day,” he replied as
he started to walk toward his front door.
“I really don’t mind. I‘m pretty much doing nothing
here, so it’ll give me something to do,” she said as
she walked next to him.
He didn’t want to seem so weak, but he knew that
he would need as much help as possible; he was
already starting to feel uncomfortable with the
moon boot constricting him.
“Okay, well. I’d love some help if I’m not bothering
you,” he said as he showed her inside.
“You’re not bothering me at all,” she replied as she
walked over to the first box.
EIGHT
Anna spent the rest of her day helping Marcus
unpack his boxes. It was a lot more work than what
she had expected when she had volunteered, but
she didn’t mind it either. It felt good to help
someone, and not just by saving their life and
moving on to the next patient. Anna had spent so
much of her time just going from patient to patient,
never forming any real bond with anyone because
that could hurt her in the long run.
She knew better than to get close to patients, but
she knew she also took that approach with the
people around her. It had never been on purpose,
but over time, it had rubbed off into her personal
life.
The more she thought about it, the more she could
see that maybe—on some level—her great aunt
was right. Sure, she was happy with her job, but
could that be enough for her? Was it enough to just
save everyone she could while she spent most of
her personal time alone? She had been so sure that
her main focus in life was to just be the best doctor
she could be, but she wasn’t sure if that was the
way she should be living.
The day slipped by her quicker than she thought it
would, and she hadn’t had that much fun in a long
time. Although she would’ve preferred doing
something else with her day, she actually found
herself having a good time with Marcus. He would
make her laugh and even though he was a little
useless with unpacking, he still tried to make sure
the atmosphere was fun.
“So, how has it been for you? Achieving your
dreams,” Marcus said at around five in the evening
as they took a break from unpacking.
“I mean, I’m happy with my career path. I know
that for sure, but I can’t help but think that maybe
there is still more for me. Like, am I supposed to
just spend all my time at the hospital?” she asked.
She looked up at Marcus as she had been looking at
her hands. His eyes were watching her intensely. It
made her feel a little weird having him look at her
like that, and she quickly looked back down at her
hands.
“I can honestly say that, no, you’re not supposed to
be spending all of your time at the hospital. Surely
that can’t be healthy for you. Life is all about
balance,” Marcus replied.
She knew he was right, she needed to balance
everything out in her life, but she didn’t know how
to. She had been so focused on being the best
doctor that she could be that she had lost sight of
everything else around her. Mothing else seemed to
matter that much to her.
Maybe it was because she had spent so much of her
time focusing on doing better and being better than
anyone else that she had missed out on how to also
enjoy the simpler things in life.
“Do you think I’m too old to train myself to
balance out my life now?” she asked jokingly, but
desperately needing something she could actually
work with.
She dared herself to look at Marcus. She could see
that he was thinking about his answer as he stared
out into his backyard. They were sitting on his patio
having a break from all of the unpacking. Soon,
Anna would have to go home for dinner, but she
was too busy enjoying her conversation with
Marcus to think about that now.
“I think anything is possible if we just believe. I
think that if you truly want balance in your life, you
have to be the one to make that happen. It’s easy to
just say that you want that, but you also have to
push yourself to go after it,” he replied, looking at
her as he finished the sentence.
Anna looked at him for a moment, his eyes burning
into her as he got his point across. The depth of his
stare made her look away, her cheeks blushing as
she felt a new sensation course through her body. A
sensation she hadn’t felt for a long time.
“I think you’re right. I also think that I have to
head home and sort out something for dinner,” she
said, suddenly feeling the urge to get out of there.
“Do you not want to stay for dinner? I can order
anything you like just to say thank you for all of
your help today,” Marcus said gently.
Anna thought about it for a moment. The thought
of going next door and having dinner by herself
didn’t sound as appealing as having dinner with
Marcus. She wasn’t sure if she should allow herself
to get too comfortable with Marcus, but it couldn’t
be a bad thing to have someone who she could at
least spend some of her time with.
“I think that sounds like a good idea. I would love
some sushi,” she replied eagerly.
“Sushi it is. I know the perfect place,” Marcus said
as he pushed himself out of his chair and hopped
over to the pile of takeout menus he had brought
with him.
He handed the sushi menu to Anna for her to take a
look. Her mouth automatically started salivating as
she started to put together her choices. She hadn’t
realized how hungry she was until looking at the
menu. After all, neither of them had eaten most of
the day as they focused on unpacking the boxes.
Anna listed out all of the things she wanted while
Marcus wrote it all down, calling the restaurant
once they were both done with their lists. Marcus
smiled once he had ended the call.
“Why are you smiling?” she asked.
“The restaurant manager knows me, so he asked if
I had a family to feed that no one knows about,”
Marcus said with a laugh.
Anna felt a little embarrassed because she had
ordered a lot of sushi for herself. She was starving.
“I guess you can’t hide anything in this place since
everyone knows everyone,” Anna replied.
“It’s good though. We are all able to rely on each
other, and being unable to hide anything helps keep
people faithful,” he said with a wink.
“You’d hope that people would stay faithful
regardless, but I suppose you have a point,” Anna
replied. She wasn’t sure how she felt about having
everyone knowing her business; she was a private
person after all.
“I’m just teasing. No one is that bored, but I guess
with everyone being so close to each other, it helps
when you’re in need of some help,” he said with a
smile.
“I guess that’s true. I remember how much my aunt
used to help everyone around her,” Anna said as
she remembered the amount of people that used to
come over to the house while she had been there.
“She really did help a lot. All the time. My mother
loved her. It was a great loss to the community
when she passed away,” Marcus said with a sad
expression on his face.
Anna knew he was right. The funeral had been
filled with everyone from the town. Her great aunt
Marie had been a savior to everyone in the town,
always eager to lend a helping hand.
NINE
“Do you think you’ll ever move away from
Stockbridge?” Anna asked halfway through dinner.
They had spoken a little while waiting for the food
to arrive, but once it had arrived, they had both
been distracted by eating.
Marcus thought about her question; he had never
considered leaving Stockbridge before. He was
happy there, living the small-town life. He knew
that there were more things out there that he could
easily try, but he was content. Living in Stockbridge
was something he was used to, something that he
had never really felt wasn’t for him. Maybe if he
had ventured out more growing up, he would feel
differently, but he really did enjoy having everyone
he loved extremely close to him.
“Honestly, I don’t think so. This has been my home
for so long that I don’t think I’ll ever move away.
Maybe if I had to for a job or something that
required the move, then I would, but so far, this
town is my home,” he said with a smile on his face.
He knew that Anna didn’t seem to be the small-
town type, which wasn’t surprising to him, but
Stockbridge was technically her home too. She had
been raised there. It was only when she was given
the chance to move away did she take it with both
hands and never looked back.
Marcus hadn’t told anyone how heartbroken he had
been when she had moved away. He had never
been given the opportunity to really tell her how he
felt, and he had thought that he never would, but
having her in his life again made him think that he
could have been given a second chance. Maybe she
had come back, and he now had the chance to win
her over.
“I don’t think I was made for this town. Sure,
growing up here had been great, but I never truly
felt at home,” Anna said.
“I know. I remember the day you left. You were so
happy, and I guess everyone was happy for you
even though they wanted you to stay,” he replied.
He saw Anna look at him, her eyes searching his
face for something before she smiled gently and
turned her eyes away from him. Marcus wondered
what could be going on in her head. For a moment,
he wished he could read minds.
“I used to think that people wanted me to stay
because they didn’t think I would make it. I
suppose, at that age, I didn’t think people would
actually miss me. I was too focused on myself to
even care,” Anna admitted.
“It’s good to think of yourself. Sometimes, you
have to put yourself first. I just think you shouldn't
lose touch of things around you while you focus on
the end goal. Life can just slip by that way,”
Marcus said.
He watched as Anna nodded her head in
agreement. He could see that she felt a connection
to his words, after all, he could see that she wasn’t
truly happy even if she believed she was. When she
spoke of her work life, he could tell that she was
passionate about it but not truly happy. But he also
knew she couldn’t see the difference herself.
“I agree. I think that’s what’s happened to me. I’ve
lost touch with everything around me because I’ve
been trying to be the best doctor,” she said.
“You can still be the best doctor while having a life
of your own,” he replied.
She looked at him then with a smile on her face. He
could tell that he was hitting the nail on the head,
and he hoped that she would be more willing to
spend more time with him now that she was in
Stockbridge.
“I suppose I have to teach myself that. Maybe my
great aunt was right, maybe there are things I have
to let go of,” Anna said.
“She was a very smart woman,” Marcus agreed.
“She was. Well, thank you for dinner. I guess I
should be going,” Anna said as she stood to leave.
She had managed to finish all the sushi she had
ordered, and it had gotten late with all of their
talking.
“Thank you for everything. I really appreciate it,”
Marcus said as he stood. He wanted to lean forward
and hug her, but he wasn’t sure if that would be
appropriate, especially as they had just started to
talk again after all the years that had passed.
“It’s my pleasure. Don’t be afraid to call me if you
need anything else. I’m right next door after all,”
she said with a smile as she walked to the front
door.
“Thank you,” he said and after saying their
goodbyes he closed the door behind her.
He stood alone in his hallway for a moment. His
house was void of any furniture besides the two
garden chairs that had been left behind by the
previous owners. Of course, he had blankets and
pillows from his bed, so he slowly made his way up
his stairs to his room, taking his time as he struggled
with the weight of the moon boot. Once in his
room, he slowly put together a makeshift bed with
his pillows and blankets.
‘It’ll have to do,’ he muttered to himself as he
looked at his piece of work.
He knew it wouldn’t be comfortable, but it was
only for one night. His furniture would be delivered
the next day.
Marcus: Hey bro, do you mind coming over
tomorrow to help me with my furniture? I have
some news to share.
Marcus knew he couldn’t hide the fall from Max,
and he also wanted to tell his friend about seeing
Anna for the first time in years. He liked the idea of
having her right next door to him, especially after
his injury.
Max: Sure dude, that’s no problem. I’ll be over in
the morning, let’s say around 9 am!
Marcus: Thanks, see you then!
Marcus ran himself a bath, attempting to hang his
foot out of the bath as he climbed in and settled
into the water. It was hard, but he managed. After
he had washed himself, he got out and climbed into
his makeshift bed. He stared up at the ceiling as he
went through the events from the day.
It had gone nothing like he had expected it to, but
he was actually still happy. Sure, he would’ve
preferred not to have injured himself, but having
spent the day with Anna, it felt worth it. At least he
hadn’t broken anything, he thought.
The smile Anna had on her lips most of the day
circled around in his mind as he closed his eyes. He
couldn’t deny that she had aged well, her beauty
even more prominent than it had been when they
were younger. He would be mad to think that there
was a possibility of Anna spending more time with
him while she was in Stockbridge, but he hoped
that after the day they had shared together, she
would at least see that he wasn’t the same stupid
boy he had been when they were growing up.
He wished that he had been brave enough back
then to tell her how he felt but he had always
chickened out, feeling embarrassed by his feelings
time and time again. Would things be different if he
had told her back then?
Marcus went to sleep that night dreaming of the life
he could’ve had with Anna if he had just admitted
that he liked her.
TEN
It had been a few days since Anna had spoken to
Marcus. The day after his fall, he had a friend over,
so he didn’t talk to her at all. After that, he hadn’t
made any move to talk to her either. She wasn’t
sure why, and although she wanted to ask him
about it, she decided not to. After all, she hadn’t
moved to Stockbridge for a month to chase after a
man.
Anna decided that she would get out and find
something to do, as she had spent a few days just in
the house going through Marie’s things. It was
extremely overwhelming for her because it brought
back all the memories she had somehow pushed
aside.
She knew that she had pushed her life in
Stockbridge out of her mind for the longest time. It
wasn’t because she was ashamed of her past, but
because she knew that moving forward meant
letting go of the past. When she thought more about
it, she knew she had to let go of the guilt she
carried with her, the guilt of not visiting
Stockbridge when she should’ve.
Anna found herself standing outside of a local cafe
when she realized that she had just been walking
aimlessly. She went inside and ordered herself a
coffee before sitting down in front of the big
window that opened up onto the street. Anna
watched all the happy people passing by, laughing
and smiling as they greeted each other in the
streets.
She had pulled herself so far away from the
Stockbridge lifestyle that it shocked her for a
moment, but she knew that the town was one big
family. She watched as everyone greeted everyone
as they passed, something she wouldn’t see in New
York.
“Here’s your coffee,” a woman said as she placed
Anna’s coffee in front of her.
“Thank you. Uhm, just a quick question. I’m
visiting for a while and was wondering if there is a
communal pool or something I can go to?” Anna
asked the waitress.
“Oh, where are you visiting from? Well, there is a
pool at the local gym you could use, it's just a few
blocks away,” the waitress replied with a smile.
“I’m here from New York. Marie was my great
aunt so I’m here sorting out her estate. I’ll
definitely need to check it out then,” Anna replied.
“Oh, I’m so sorry for your loss. She used to come
here all the time. Surprisingly, she also sat right
there,” the waitress said as she pointed to where
Anna was sitting.
Anna all of a sudden felt an instant connection to
her great aunt, almost as if she were sitting next to
her.
“Thank you. I guess I’m a lot more like her than I
thought,” Anna said with a smile.
“It seems so. Don’t hesitate to ask for anything
else. I’ll be more than happy to help,” the waitress
said before she walked away.
It felt good to be around people that genuinely
seemed interested in lending a helping hand even
though there was no benefit for them. Anna was
used to people wanting to exchange their services
for something, tit-for-tat is what she had learned,
but Stockbridge was different. Everyone wanted to
help just because that was what they did. They
were people who looked after each other without
expecting anything in return.
Anna took her time drinking her coffee, really
trying to soak up the life of Stockbridge that
surrounded her. She could see why people
preferred to live there, and she wondered if she
could see herself having that calm lifestyle herself.
It would be a huge adjustment for her after all the
time she had spent living in the fast lane, but maybe
slowing down could be exactly what she needed.
She didn’t think too much into it. She wasn’t sure if
she could just uproot her life so easily.
Once she was done with her coffee, she paid and
left, making her way to the gym so she could check
out the pool. She knew she would need some sort
of physical activity to keep her busy, and she
hadn’t swam in a long time even though she used to
enjoy it a lot. When she walked into the gym, she
saw that there were a few class listings up on a
board. Nothing really stuck out to her, so she went
over to the reception desk.
“Good morning, I’d like to know if I’d be able to
use the pool without having a membership here?”
Anna asked the receptionist nicely.
“Good day, yes you can. You’ll pay 6 dollars for
every session. You can either pay as you go or pick
one of our deals where you end up getting a
discount,” the receptionist said as she handed over
a flyer with all the deals listed for Anna to look at.
She wasn’t sure how many times she planned on
using the pool, so a deal wasn’t the best idea for
her. She knew she was supposed to be on holiday,
so she didn’t want to feel as if she had to get her
money's worth if she went for a deal.
“I think I’ll pay per session. How does it work
exactly?” she asked.
“Well, you can just come in and fill in this form,
then at the end of each session, your total will be
added up. Each session is an hour, so if you swim
for two hours, you’ll then pay 12 dollars, so on and
so forth,” the woman said.
“That sounds easy enough. Thank you so much for
your help,” Anna said as she turned to leave.
“You’re welcome. Hope to see you here soon!” the
receptionist called.
Anna waved before she made her way back to her
house. She had walked instead of driving, and she
enjoyed the feeling of the fresh air against her face.
She couldn’t remember the last time she had taken
the time to walk around. Her life consisted of her
being inside of the hospital or within the small walls
of her apartment. Her phone started to ring, and
after seeing her sister’s name, she knew she was
going to be bombarded with questions.
“Hello,” she answered when she picked up the call.
“Hello, hello. Tell me what’s been going on there,”
her sister said immediately.
“No, ‘how are you?’” Anna asked jokingly.
“You’re clearly fine considering you haven’t sent
me any worrying messages, so update me,” her
sister said.
Anna knew her sister was finding anything and
everything to distract herself from her own life.
After all, it wasn’t going according to plan. She
didn’t want to bring that up though, so she went
along with her sister’s inquiry.
“Nothing has happened. I haven’t spoken to him or
seen him that much since I took him to the
hospital,” Anna said. She could hear the
disappointment in her voice, and she hoped her
sister couldn’t hear it.
“Well, that’s disappointing. Why don’t you go
check on him? Maybe he’s fallen inside of his
house and is dying,” her sister said.
“I’m sure he’s fine. I’m not here to check up on my
neighbors,” Anna replied.
“But that’s what they do in Stockbridge, and maybe
it's time you take a page out of their book,” her
sister said as if she knew everything, but Anna
couldn’t deny that maybe she was right.
ELEVEN
There was a knock at Marcus’s door. He hadn’t
been expecting anyone, and so he was shocked to
find Anna standing on the other side of the door.
He had thought that maybe Max had come to check
in on him because he was loving the fact that
Marcus couldn’t function at his full capacity
without help.
“Oh, hi Anna. I wasn’t expecting you,” Marcus
said when he looked at her. She was holding a tray
of glazed donuts.
He hadn’t bothered her for a few days, thinking
that she didn’t want to spend more time with him
than she already had.
“Well, I hadn’t heard from you, so I thought I’d
come by and see how you’re doing,” Anna replied,
“These are for you,” she added while holding out
the tray of donuts which Marcus took.
“Thank you, that’s very sweet of you. Would you
like to come in for some coffee or tea?” Marcus
asked.
“Some coffee and donuts would be great,” she said
with a huge smile.
Smiling back at her, Marcus moved out of the
doorframe and allowed her inside. He led the way
to the kitchen, Anna following behind him. He still
hadn’t gotten used to the feel of the moon boot, but
he was able to walk around his house without the
crutches.
“I like what you’ve done with the place,” Anna
said as she looked around.
“Oh, yeah. I asked my friend for some help over
the last few days, so we’ve been unpacking and
moving things around,” Marcus replied.
He went about getting two mugs out, along with
some instant coffee, sugar, and milk. He felt a little
awkward for some reason, maybe because he
hadn’t expected Anna to come over or because he
could feel her staring at him. He turned around to
look at her, quickly asking how she took her coffee
before turning his back towards her once more.
“How is your foot feeling?” she asked after an
awkward moment of silence had passed.
“Much better, I can't complain. Well, I could, but I
won’t,” he said with a laugh as he placed her coffee
on the kitchen table, indicating for her to take a
seat.
They sat down opposite each other, their eyes
darting from each other and then to other sides of
the room. Marcus didn’t know what was going on
between them, but it was definitely a little weirder
than their interaction the last time.
“It’ll take some time to get used to, but you’ll
probably find that by the time you’re used to it, it
will need to come off,” she said before taking a sip
of her coffee.
“It just sucks that I can’t be as mobile as I’m used
to. I have to ask for help more than I’d like,” he
replied.
“I’d be willing to help. You really don’t have to be
scared of asking me,” she said gently.
“It's not that I’m scared,” Marcus said with a laugh,
“I just don’t want to bother you when you’re here
for other reasons.”
“Honestly, there isn’t anything that you’d be
stopping me from doing. It would actually be nice
to have a reason to get out of the house and do
something,” she said
He looked at her and he could tell that she was
being honest. That surprised him. Maybe it was her
doctor mentality, or maybe she just really wanted to
help him if he needed it, but he could see that she
didn’t have a problem with helping either way.
“Alright, well, I appreciate that. I don’t need any
help right now, but I am meeting a few friends later
at the local bar for a few drinks. Would you like to
join?” he asked.
“Oh, that actually sounds good. I can’t remember
the last time I went out for a drink,” Anna said, her
face crumpling up a little as she thought about it.
Marcus couldn’t help but notice just how cute she
was, her nose wrinkling as she scrunched her face
deep in thought. He knew that she was exactly his
type, and although he was sure she wouldn’t be
interested in him, he still longed to know what it
felt like to kiss her. His mind went over all of the
things he had dreamt about the first day she had
shown up; it was more than he could handle as he
pulled himself back to reality.
“Great. I can introduce you to a few people and
maybe you can have some friends while you’re
here,” Marcus replied.
“I suppose that could be a good thing. It’s getting a
little lonely next door,” she admitted.
“I’m sure it is. You’re more than welcome to pop in
whenever you need some company,” Marcus said.
The words came out of his mouth before he had
time to even think about what he was saying. He
wasn’t sure if Anna would want to just hang out
with him, but he did like the thought of the two of
them spending more time together. He thought that
maybe after all the years that had passed, he could
finally make up for the way he had treated her.
“Thank you. I’ll definitely keep you to that,” she
replied with a smile.
“I look forward to it,” he said as he took a bite of a
donut before offering the tray to her.
Together, they sat and drank their coffee while
nibbling on their donuts. It didn’t seem as if either
of them was in a rush to move on with their day
and Marcus was happy about that. He wanted to hit
himself for not trying to be friends with her when
they had been in school. He had allowed his crush
to get the best of him.
“Well, I guess I should be on my way. I’ll see you
later tonight,” Anna said after a few minutes. They
had both finished their drinks and their donuts.
“Perfect. I’ll meet you just outside at 6 pm and we
can go together,” he said as he stood to walk her
out.
“Great. Oh, don’t worry about seeing me out,” she
said as she indicated for him to remain seated, “I’ll
see you later.”
Marcus sat back down and said goodbye, hearing
the door close behind her after a moment. It had
been nice of her to check in on him, especially
bringing him donuts. It made him wonder if she had
struggled to stop thinking about him as much as he
had struggled to stop thinking about her.
Although he knew that the evening wasn’t going to
be a date, he still couldn’t help himself from feeling
a little nervous. He hadn’t really expected to have
Anna back in his life, even just for a moment. With
the thought of having a night out with her, he felt a
little nervous.
Marcus: Anna will be joining us tonight.
Max: What? How did that happen?
Marcus: She came to check up on me, so I invited
her. She’s got no one here.
Max: Well, aren’t you a friendly neighbor? ;)
Marcus: It’s not like that, she’s just visiting for a
few more weeks.
Max: It could be perfect. You two can share a few
nights together without the commitment. She then
moves away and that’s it.
Marcus had never wanted to fool around with
Anna. He had always wanted more.
Marcus: Not happening.
TWELVE
Anna stared at herself in the full body-length mirror
that hung on her great aunt's bedroom wall. She
hadn’t spent that much time in the room because of
the memories that came with it, but she needed to
look at her outfit.
She knew it wasn’t a date, but she still wanted to
impress Marcus. She wasn’t sure what was going on
between the two of them, but she felt as if there
was something brewing there, and she was keen to
find out what it was. Maybe she could have a fling
with him while she was in Stockbridge. After all,
she hadn’t been intimate with a man for a long
time.
She stared at herself. The only dress she had
packed hugged her body in all the right places. She
was happy to find that she still looked good in a
dress as she hadn’t bothered wearing one in a
while. The little black dress hugged all of her
curves in the best way, and she couldn’t wait to see
what Marcus thought when he saw her.
‘Do you think this is okay?’ she asked as she picked
up her phone, scanned herself with the camera and
sent a quick video to her sister.
She knew her sister would say something that she
perhaps didn’t want to hear, but at the same time,
she wanted to know if it was a good choice. Her
sister would be honest with her, and if she said that
Marcus would lose his mind, then Anna knew she
had picked the right outfit.
Her phone buzzed and when she looked, she saw a
message from her sister.
Stephanie: WOW! I forgot you even had legs! You
look amazing.
Anna: Haha, you’re so funny, but thank you.
Stephanie: Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do! ;)
Anna didn’t reply to her sister because she knew
her sister was teasing her. Instead, she checked the
time, checked her outfit once more, and then
headed out of her house.
She had been counting down the hours since she
had seen Marcus. She even went to the gym for a
quick swim just to calm herself down. She didn’t
expect anything to happen between the two of
them, but she felt nervous and excited all at the
same time. She couldn’t understand why she had
never noticed Marcus before; it could be because
he teased her, she thought, while nodding her head
in agreement with herself. Of course, the teasing
hadn’t made him look good. Although it hadn’t
been that bad, it just pushed her away from him.
After locking up the house, Anna walked out onto
the walkway, already seeing Marcus waiting for
her. She couldn’t stop herself from blushing the
closer she got to him, because she could see the
look in his eyes as he looked her over.
“Hey,” she said as she stood before him.
“Hey, you look beautiful,” he replied. She could see
he had to think for the right word to say, which
made her smile.
“Thank you,” she said with a smile.
“You’re welcome. So, I would say I’ll drive us
there but that’s a bit of a problem,” he said with a
small laugh as he looked down at his boot.
Anna smiled because she could tell that he wanted
to drive them to the bar. It showed that maybe she
wasn’t the only one that thought that the night
could mean something or go somewhere.
“Don’t worry about it, I’ll drive,” she said as she
began to walk to her car.
Anna waited for Marcus to climb in. He struggled a
little with the moon boot, but eventually they were
in the car and on their way. There was a length of
silence between them, the energy around them
completely electric.
“Just know that my friends are a little crazy,”
Marcus said as they pulled up outside of the bar.
“Oh, I’m sure I’ll be fine,” she replied as she killed
the engine and climbed out.
Anna had forgotten that the town was so small. She
was still getting used to how quickly it took her to
get from one place to the other. She had to admit
that she enjoyed the fact that there wasn’t any
traffic; she didn’t miss that part of the city at all.
Marcus got out of the car and Anna followed him
into the bar. She walked behind him as he led the
way over to a group of people, none of which Anna
recognized.
“Guys, this is Anna. Anna, this is Max, Michael,
Mary, Stacey, and Devon,” Marcus said as he
pointed to everyone in the group.
Anna wasn’t sure if she would be able to remember
all of their names, but she nodded and shook each
of their hands.
“Nice to meet you all,” she said.
“So, I hear you’re the angel that saved Marcus
after his fall,” one guy said; Anna was sure his
name was Max.
“I’m no angel, but it was lucky I was around,” she
said with a slight blush in her cheeks.
She wasn’t embarrassed that she had helped him,
but she was embarrassed being called an angel. She
wasn’t sure if he had said it to get a reaction out of
her or if it was because Marcus had called her that
without her knowing. She was sure he wouldn’t just
call her an angel though; he didn’t seem like the
type.
“Well, you did save me,” Marcus said as he
presented her with a drink. He hadn’t asked her
what she drank, but he had managed to pick
something that tasted good as she took a sip.
“You’re welcome for that, and thank you for this,”
she replied as she raised her drink.
“You’re welcome,” he said with a smile.
“So, you’re here for a little while?” one of the
women asked, Anna wasn’t sure which one she
was.
“Oh, yeah. I’ve got about 3 weeks left,” Anna
replied.
She couldn’t believe that a week had already gone
by, and she wasn’t sure if she was anywhere near
figuring out what her great aunt’s letter meant. She
hoped that the fact that she was relaxing and
actually enjoying her life for the first time in a long
time meant that she was letting go and becoming
truly happy.
“But you used to live here?” the other woman
asked.
“I did when I was younger, but I haven’t been back
in Stockbridge for a few years,” Anna said.
“Are you enjoying being here again?” Max asked.
Anna couldn’t stop herself from looking at Marcus
and looking away before she replied, “I am.”
She could see everyone around them smile, which
made her blush, especially as she looked at Marcus
again, a smile on his face too.
“Well, while you’re here, we should all hang out.
I’m sure living next to a smelly man can’t be fun,”
one of the women said.
“Oh, that would be nice. I haven’t really hung out
with another woman other than my sister in the
longest time,” Anna replied.
She knew she would have to ask Marcus to confirm
their names for her before she met up with them
again, but she thought that having some more
company in Stockbridge would be good for her. She
hadn’t managed to maintain that many friendships
in the city, and due to the fact that nothing really
happened in Stockbridge, she thought that it would
be nice to finally have a few female friends she
could talk to and have girl’s nights out with.
THIRTEEN
“Anna seems to be having a good time,” Max said.
Marcus and Michael stood next to him at the bar.
“I think so,” Marcus replied as he looked over at
Anna who was standing with Stacey and Mary by
the karaoke machine looking at the songs they
could sing.
“How has it been with her next door?” Michael
asked.
Michael was a new friend to Marcus, but he knew
about the crush Marcus had had on Anna doing his
school days.
“I mean, she was there the day I moved in, but
since then, I’ve tried to keep my distance. I don’t
want her to feel as if she needs to look after me
because of this thing,” he replied as he pointed at
his boot.
“Why don’t you just enjoy having her around? She
seems to enjoy spending time with you,” Max said.
“I don’t want a short-term fling if I’m being honest,
but I suppose I could just have fun with her
around,” Marcus said.
He had never been the fling type of man. He
preferred being in a relationship. He had grown up
with a very orthodox, healthy outlook on
relationships and he wanted that for himself. Sure,
he knew that not every relationship was meant to
last, but he believed that if he didn’t just give up, it
meant that he was one step closer every time.
“Maybe talk to her about it, see if she’s on the
same page and take it from there,” Michael offered.
“I agree with him, see where her mind is at and go
from there,” Max said nodding in agreement.
Marcus wasn’t sure if he wanted to ask her what
she was thinking, even though it would make things
a lot clearer for him. He wasn’t sure if he was
reading too much into things or if she really did like
being around him, especially considering the fact
that she had sought him out that morning.
“What if there’s nothing between us? What if she’s
just looking for company while she’s here?” Marcus
asked.
He wasn’t sure how he should read Anna, because
technically speaking, they had started to get to
know each other all over again and on a different
level than ever before. They had managed to spend
a bit of time together just talking, but did that mean
that there was anything more between them?
“You’ll never know if you don’t ask,” Max replied.
Marcus hated it when his friend was right; usually
Max was the one asking for advice, which Marcus
preferred. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do.
Could he risk looking like an idiot by asking her if
there was something between them? He didn’t
know, but the more he thought about it, and the
more he looked at her, he really did want to know.
If he was just making it all up in his head, then he
would happily leave her alone for the rest of her
stay. But if there was something between them,
could that mean he could finally get everything he
ever wanted?
“Exactly, just ask her, man. The worst thing that
could happen is the fact that she says no and then
leaves in a few weeks. Then, you can move past it,”
Michael said.
“Alright, alright. I’ll ask her. But first,” he said as
he called over the bartender and ordered a shot of
tequila, “liquid courage,” he added, once he had
taken the shot and his friends were staring at him.
“You’ve got this!” Max said as he pushed Marcus
toward the group of women.
Marcus made his way over to them. His hands were
sweaty, and he could feel the current of nervous
energy pulsate through him as his body slightly
trembled. He felt as if he were a teenage boy all
over again. This time though, he didn’t plan on
teasing Anna.
“Hey, Marcus,” Stacey said as she looked up at him
from the book of songs they were still going
through.
At her mention of his name, all three women
looked up and stared at him. Anna tilted her head a
little to the side with a confused expression on her
face. He wondered if she could see how nervous he
was, he hoped not.
“Hey, ladies. Uhm, Anna? Could I talk to you for a
second?” he asked, his voice shaky.
He knew he shouldn’t feel so nervous—he was just
asking her a question—but he was a little scared.
He could handle rejection, but as he thought about
it, it was different with Anna. He had had a crush
on her for so long when they had been growing up,
and back then he had also been too scared to do
anything about it. This time, they were both adults,
which made it a little worse for him.
“Yeah, sure,” she replied.
Marcus indicated for them to step away from the
other two women, which Anna gladly did and
followed him to the bar.
“How’s your night going?” Marcus asked as he
worked himself up to the main question.
“It’s going well, thanks. And for you?” she asked
kindly, a smile lingering on her lips.
Can she see right through me? he thought to
himself.
“It’s going well too. Uhm, so listen, I know you’re
not here for that long, but I can’t help but feel that
there is something between us. Maybe it’s just me,
and if it is, then I’ve read the situation completely
wrong. But if there is, if you feel something is
there, would you like to explore that?” Marcus felt
as if he wasn’t making any sense, and he could only
hope that Anna understood what he was trying to
say.
Anna stayed silent for a moment as she looked at
him, her eyes scanning his face, lingering on his lips
a little before she locked eyes with him. Once
again, he longed to be able to read minds.
“I’m only here for another three weeks, after that
I’m going back to New York. Wouldn’t it be silly to
explore things between us?” she asked softly.
Marcus didn’t take what she was saying as a no,
which gave him hope. He could see that she really
was thinking about it.
“We could just enjoy the time we have, and then
when you move back, it’s done. We would’ve
shared three amazing weeks together and then we
go our separate ways,” he said with a little shrug.
“So just a fling type of thing?” Anna asked as she
wanted to be sure of the situation.
“Yeah, a fling type thing,” Marcus said while
nodding his head.
He watched her closely as she thought about it. Her
eyebrows furrowed as she thought, sucking in her
bottom lip as she bit down on her flesh. It was
driving Marcus crazy just seeing how plump and
full her lip was. He longed to nibble on it himself.
She had turned away from his gaze for a moment,
before snapping her head back to face him. Her
eyes softened and a smile took over her lips.
“If you can promise me that you won’t try to
convince me to stay when the three weeks are up,
then yes, I would like to explore what’s between
us,” she said.
“I promise,” he replied with a huge smile on his
face.
FOURTEEN
It all happened so quickly that Anna couldn’t even
wrap her head around it. Marcus’s sleeping body
laid naked next to hers, his back towards her as she
stared up at the ceiling and recalled the night
before.
“Okay, well, I guess we should enjoy the night and
when this is done, I go back to my place,” she said.
“That sounds good to me,” Marcus replied.
Anna hadn’t expected Marcus to approach her the
way he had, but she was also grateful that he had as
she had been feeling some type of way toward him.
It was new for her because she had never seen
Marcus in that way before but as the night went on,
she couldn’t stop herself from staring at him when
he wasn’t looking.
She noticed his muscles, his eyes, and the way he
looked at her. There was definitely some electricity
between them and when they got into her car at the
end of the night, it built with every passing second.
When they had arrived outside of her house, she
looked straight ahead for a second before turning to
look at him.
“Night cap?” she asked.
“Yes,” was all Marcus replied.
They climbed out of her car, and once they were
standing next to each other, Marcus reached out for
her hand. Hand in hand, they walked to her front
door and just as she was about to open it, Marcus
stopped her.
“Wait, there’s one thing I need to do before we go
inside,” he said as he turned her to face him.
He placed his hand on her cheek, wrapping his
fingers around the nape of her neck as he pulled her
closer to him. Their bodies were so close that they
were almost breathing each other’s air. Marcus
leaned forward, his lips brushing gently against hers
before he wrapped his other hand around her waist
and pulled her closer still. The kiss deepened
quickly as Anna’s body melted into his, her lips
shifting to mold his as they kissed.
For a moment, the rest of the world disappeared
around the two as they kissed, their bodies as close
to the other as possible. Anna couldn't stop the
moan from escaping her lips as Marcus trailed
kisses down her neck.
"I think you should open the door," he whispered
against her skin.
"Hmm," she replied as she turned to place her keys
in the lock.
She was in a dream-like state as she opened the
door and showed Marcus inside. His hands
remained on her waist as they shuffled inside. Her
mind was abuzz with thoughts of them being
together, something she had never really thought of
before.
"Would you like something to drink?" she asked as
she faced him.
"I think I'm already staring at a very tall glass of
water," he said with a wink as he leaned forward
once more, capturing her lips.
Anna couldn't help but giggle at his words. As
cheesy as it was, it seemed fitting for the moment
they were sharing. Although the moment was rather
serious for what it was, his comment made
everything seem more lighthearted. She was glad
that it seemed to take some of the tension inside of
her away. After all, she was crossing a line she had
never thought she would.
“You’re so cheesy,” she said against his lips.
“I actually can’t believe I said that,” he said with a
chuckle.
“Would you like to relax for a moment, or shall we
go to my bedroom?” Anna asked.
She had never really taken anyone to bed before.
She had never had a one-night stand or anything
along those lines, so the experience was all new to
her. She wasn’t sure how it all worked, but she was
eager to find out with Marcus. She couldn’t
understand why she had never seen it before, but
all of a sudden, she saw him in a new light.
“We can do whatever you’re comfortable with,”
Marcus said as he kissed her shoulders and up her
neck.
The feeling of him touching her sent shivers up and
down her spine. She wasn’t sure if she would
handle just sitting across from him, so she decided
that going to her bedroom was the best choice.
“Let’s go,” she whispered as she took his hand and
led him upstairs.
Anna had never been the confident type. In her job,
she was always completely confident and aware of
what she was doing, but outside of that, she was
clueless. She had never taken the lead or made her
feelings extremely obvious to a man, but she
thought that with Marcus, she could push herself
because she would be gone from Stockbridge in just
a few weeks. She could be whoever she wanted
because of that.
She wasn’t sure if she would consider trying the
long-distance thing with him, even if he wanted to.
She doubted she would have the time for that. The
more Anna thought about it, the sadder she got.
Even though she had only been there for a week,
she had really started to enjoy herself. She was
having more downtime than ever before. She was
actually hanging out with people and she was
having more time to look after herself. Her body
felt more relaxed, and so did her mind. Maybe
being in Stockbridge wasn’t as bad as she had
thought it would be.
Once they were in Anna’s bedroom, neither of
them wasted any time as they stripped out of their
clothes. She was glad to see that Marcus was just as
eager as she was as he got naked almost
immediately. Anna took a moment to appreciate his
body while Marcus did the same to her, they were
both in awe of each other.
“Are you okay?” Marcus asked her, pulling her out
of the recollection.
“I’m good,” she said, a blush forming across her
cheeks at the thought of the night they had shared.
Anna hadn’t realized that Marcus had woken up
while she had been thinking. She wondered how
long he had been awake without her knowing, but
she didn’t ask.
“How did you sleep?” she asked instead.
“Very well, and yourself?” he replied.
She was half sitting up in her bed, which Marcus
imitated, before he turned to face her.
“Also very well,” she replied. She felt extremely at
ease, but also a little conscious of the fact that she
was in bed, and naked with Marcus. Something she
hadn’t even dreamed of happening.
“I’m glad to hear it. Would you like to go out for
breakfast? Maybe we can talk about some things?”
he asked.
“Alright, that sounds good to me,” she said with a
smile.
“Awesome. I’m just going to pop across to my
house to shower and change. I’ll be back in 45
minutes,” he said as he climbed out of bed.
Anna stayed where she was as she watched him, his
naked body completely toned and muscled. She
watched as he pulled his clothes back on, her body
still covered with her sheets.
“I’ll see you later,” he said before he left.
“See you,” she called out. Once she heard the door
close behind him, she jumped out of bed and
proceeded to head to her shower. She wasn’t sure
what he wanted to talk about, which made her a
little nervous.
FIFTEEN
Marcus knew better than to get his hopes up about
there being anything more between him and Anna,
especially when they would only have three weeks
together, but after the night they had shared
together, he was sure that he actually wanted more.
Their bodies had fit so perfectly together that it was
hard to believe that they hadn’t been together
before that night. Marcus had spoken to Anna the
next day about what they were and where they
were going. They had both agreed that they had no
expectations, and once the three weeks were up,
that would be it. He could accept the way things
were, but he also couldn’t help but picture the way
things could be between the two of them if they did
make things work long-distance. Anna had told him
that she wouldn’t have time for that sort of
commitment, and he appreciated her honestly.
A week had gone by since they had gotten to their
agreement, and most nights they spent together at
either of their houses. He really enjoyed being
around Anna; she constantly made him laugh and
he had missed that feeling. It felt good to have
someone around him when he had been alone for
so long. Sure, he had had friends come and visit
him when he had been living in his small apartment,
but it wasn’t the same as having a partner.
“My sister and my nephew are coming into town
tomorrow. I think she’s going to stay with me for a
few days,” Anna said as they sat on her patio
together.
Marcus wasn’t sure if she was telling him because
she wanted him to join or if she wanted him to stay
away, and he was too afraid to ask which one it
was.
“Oh, that’s nice. I’m sure you’ll enjoy having
another woman around,” he replied.
“I think so too. I’ve actually been thinking about
giving her this house,” she said as she looked
around.
Marcus looked over at her. Her mind was clearly
busy with a whole lot of thoughts as she turned to
look out into the garden. He wasn’t sure what it
would mean if her sister lived next door. Would she
visit or would she expect her sister to visit her in
the city?
“That could be good for her,” Marcus replied.
Anna had told him about her sister and her
struggles. He knew that Anna wanted more for her
sister. She wanted to look after her even though it
wasn’t her job to do so. Marcus had figured out that
Anna felt guilty for her success while her sister
constantly struggled, and although she would never
admit it to anyone, he knew she wanted her sister
to reach her full potential.
“I believe so. She needs somewhere to go,
somewhere that’s hers,” Anna said strongly.
“I’m sure she will appreciate you thinking of her,”
he replied.
“I think Marie would be happy too. I’m still trying
to understand what she meant by her letter, but I
feel as if she would have wanted me to give
Stephanie somewhere to stay. Keep the house in the
family type of thing,” Anna said as she looked at
him.
“She was always the giving type. I’m sure she’ll be
proud of you for giving your sister this house,
especially after everything she’s gone through,”
Marcus replied as he smiled at her.
“It honestly surprises me that she didn’t give the
house to her in the first place,” Anna said.
“Maybe she felt that you needed it more,” he
replied.
He watched as she thought about it for a moment.
He liked to watch her think. Her facial expression
always gave her away. Marcus was sure that she
didn’t realize how much of her emotions showed on
her face. She hardly seemed to notice if she even
had an expression on her face at all. He knew that
he shouldn’t get used to her being around him
because soon, she would be going back to New
York, but he couldn’t help but enjoy having her
around the more she was with him.
“Maybe. I don’t think I ever truly understood my
great aunt, even after all the time we spent
together,” she said.
“I truly think we can never completely understand
other people. There’s so much going on in a
person’s mind that I don’t think anyone can truly
understand another person. I believe we can try as
hard as we want to just to understand the thought
pattern of another being, but it’s never that easy,”
Marcus said.
Marcus was surprised by his own words because he
had never been given the chance to be so deep with
another person. Maybe it was because he had never
had someone that truly listened to him the way
Anna did, or maybe it was because he had never
felt comfortable enough around a person to say
what was on his mind and how he saw things. He
knew a lot of people couldn’t handle the way he
saw the world. He supposed that was one of the
reasons why he had never had a long-term
relationship.
“I don’t even understand myself half the time. I
doubt I’d be able to truly understand anyone else,”
Anna replied as she looked straight ahead again.
He was smart enough to know that she was giving
him hints. It was clear that she wanted him to know
that she was still sure of her decision. Marcus
couldn’t help but wonder if she was just too scared
to open herself up to having someone there.
He knew being with a doctor would be hard. Her
lifestyle would be extremely different compared to
his, but he wanted to believe that if you found the
right person, everything was just naturally easy.
Easy to understand, easy to go with, and easy to
accept. He was sure that if he wanted to be with
Anna, he would have to show her rather than just
saying it. He just had to think about where his life
would take him with her by his side.
“I think a lot of people don’t understand
themselves. We’re all growing and learning as we
go. I do feel though, that once you find something
worth holding on to, that you should do everything
you can to keep it,” he said.
He hoped that Anna would understand his hidden
meaning. He wanted her to understand that he felt
that what they had was worth holding onto. He
wasn’t sure if he was being too much for her
because of their agreement, but at the same time,
he couldn’t deny that she had made him happier
than he had been for a long time.
“I think I know what you mean. Sometimes it’s
hard though,” she replied as she looked at him
gently.
He could tell that she was trying to tell him
something too, and he was sure he didn’t like it. He
knew she wasn’t the relationship type. He had
figured that out from the beginning, but it seemed
that she wasn’t even the type that wanted to try.
Marcus knew it was because of her job and how
busy it could get, but that wouldn’t even matter to
him. He'd be more than willing to make the
relationship work.
SIXTEEN
“So you mean to tell me that you and Marcus are
having casual sex? And once you leave here you
two won’t even try to do long distance?” Stephanie
asked.
Anna felt awkward due to the fact that Stacey and
Mary were with them. She knew she shouldn’t be
telling all of Marcus’s friends what was going on
between them, but her sister had brought the
conversation with them. They had been talking
about what had been going on since Anna had
arrived in Stockbridge, and due to the relationship
the sisters shared, Anna couldn’t hide what she and
Marcus were doing. But she didn’t want to talk
about it with everyone.
“That’s right,” Anna replied, keeping it short and
sweet.
“You two are mad. Have you not seen the way he
looks at you? That is not casual,” Stacey said as she
shook her head.
They were all hanging out at the local café. Anna
wanted Stephanie to get to know a few people
because she was still going to bring up the idea of
giving the house to her. Something about giving the
house to Stephanie and Ben seemed right to Anna,
and the moment she had thought about it, she knew
that it was what her great aunt would’ve wanted.
It wasn’t just about helping Stephanie, it was also
about keeping the house in the family. After
spending the last two weeks in Stockbridge, and in
the house she had half grown up in, Anna couldn’t
bear the thought of giving it to someone else. It
belonged in the family due to the memories the
house held.
“That doesn’t mean anything. He knows that I’m
not looking for something serious and considering
the fact that I will be leaving for New York in two
weeks, it means there is nothing more for us,” Anna
replied.
“So you wouldn’t even give him a chance?” Mary
asked.
Anna had thought about the possibility of trying the
long-distance thing with Marcus. After all, she did
like him, but she would be too busy to maintain
their relationship.
“This is how it would work: we would try long
distance for a while until Marcus would realize that
I really don’t have time. I’ll maybe come out to
visit once and maybe he’ll visit me once, but after
that, I will get busy with work, and he’ll slowly
realize that it’s not working. One day, he’ll call me,
tell me that it isn’t working for him anymore, and
that will be it. Why must I bother going through all
of that if I know it won’t work?” Anna asked the
women.
She saw that all of them were staring at her, their
eyes all held a little shock.
“You’ve really thought this through, but what if you
don’t leave? I can speak to Ciara, and I’m sure
she’ll be able to make a position available for you,”
Mary said.
Anna had thought about staying. She had begun to
really enjoy the small-town lifestyle, but she wasn’t
sure if she would give up her current life for a man.
She had never been the type to do that and she
wasn’t sure if she was ready to start just for
Marcus.
“So I must uproot my life for him? I don’t think
so,” Anna replied as she shook her head.
“You say you’ll be fine when you leave, but I know
you better than anyone else; you won’t be fine at
all,” Stephanie said.
Anna looked up and watched Marcus playing with
Ben. Marcus had taken it upon himself to distract
Ben so the women could talk, and although it
shouldn’t affect Anna, it did. Seeing him playing
with her nephew made her feel something. She
wasn’t really sure if she wanted children, but seeing
how Ben acted around Marcus made her sure that
if she did have children with him, he would be a
good father. It wasn’t the thought path she really
wanted to go down, but the more she stared at them
the more she couldn’t help herself. Maybe she
could see herself settling down in Stockbridge with
Marcus, maybe living a simple and calmer life
could be something she could enjoy. She wasn’t
sure. She would have to think about it more.
“Well, if I do stay, where would I live? The house
isn’t mine anymore,” Anna said as she reached into
her bag and pulled out the papers her sister needed
to sign.
Anna wasn’t sure if the lawyers would approve the
change of ownership before the month was up, but
she had gotten her lawyer to write it up regardless,
just so it was ready.
“What is this?” Stephanie asked as she looked over
the papers, complete shock on her face.
“Being here has made me remember all the good
times we shared, and I felt that it was only right
that you get the house. It should stay in the family,”
Anna said passionately.
“You’re joking. You’re giving me the house?”
Stephanie asked, double checking that she had
heard Anna correctly.
“Yes, I’m giving you the house. It’s the right thing
to do. I know that maybe you don’t want to live
here, but I thought it could be good for you and
Ben,” Anna said with a smile.
Anna watched as her sister began to cry, first from
shock and then from joy. Stephanie got up and
leaped across the table to hug her sister. Clearly
Anna had done the right thing.
“I can’t believe you’d do this for me,” Stephanie
cried as she hugged her sister.
“I’d do anything for you,” Anna replied as she
hugged her sister tightly.
“Mommy, why are you crying?” Ben asked.
Anna hadn’t even noticed that Marcus had brought
him back to the group, she had been so busy
hugging her sister.
“Your aunty over here has given us her house,”
Stephanie said with a huge smile as she let go of
Anna, leaned down and kissed her son on top of his
head.
“Are we going to move here then?” Ben asked
excitedly.
“We definitely are!” Stephanie replied.
“Yay, that means we can be friends now,” Ben said
as he turned to Marcus.
“That we can,” Marcus replied but Anna could see
there was something else in his voice. Sadness.
Her time in Stockbridge was almost up and the only
thing she would be leaving behind would be her
family. She knew that wasn’t what Marcus wanted.
She was sure that if he had it his way, Anna would
be the one staying in Stockbridge, but she had
worked so hard for so long that she didn’t see
herself giving up her achievements just yet.
She knew she could probably work in the local
hospital, but would that be enough for her? Sure it
would still be in the field she loved, but would it be
as high paced as she was used to? She doubted it.
“Thank you so much, Anna, you don’t know what
this means,” Stephanie said as she sat back down
with Ben in her arms.
“I’ll always be here to make sure you’re okay.
That’s how it works,” Anna said with a smile.
She was happy with the choice she had made,
especially when she saw how happy her sister was.
Maybe she was getting closer to finally being truly
happy. Her body was pulsating with joy as she
watched her sister hype up her son about their big
move.
SEVENTEEN
“Is everything okay?” Anna asked.
Marcus hadn’t realized that he had completely
zoned out. His eyes had been fixated on the chair in
front of him while his thoughts had wandered off.
His mind kept going back to the fact that their time
was running out. Anna’s sister had stayed in
Stockbridge for a few days, going over the house
and figuring out what she would need to bring with
her. She was eager to move as soon as possible.
“Everything is fine,” Marcus replied with a small
smile.
“That is the fakest smile I’ve ever seen. It didn’t
even touch your eyes,” Anna said with a shake of
her head, “Talk to me, tell me what’s wrong.”
Marcus wasn’t sure if he could tell Anna what he
was truly feeling. He didn’t want to put that on her.
He had started to allow himself to feel more for her
even though he knew that she would leave. It
wasn’t her fault, although it sort of was because it
was her personality that he couldn’t get enough of.
“No, it’s fine. Nothing is wrong,” he said.
Anna eyed him for a moment before she got up and
walked over to him, placing herself on his lap. They
were sitting in his kitchen after having their
morning coffee. Anna had spent the night at his
place.
“Come on,” she said as she kissed his cheek,
leaving a trail of kisses down his neck. He closed
his eyes and savored the moment. Soon she would
be gone, and she’d be taking her kisses with her.
“I don’t want you to leave,” Marcus whispered, his
feelings getting the best of him as he let his words
fall out of his mouth against his better judgement.
“Marcus, please,” Anna whispered as she hid her
head against his neck.
“I know I shouldn’t have said that, but that’s how I
feel. The past two and a half weeks with you have
been the best, and I don’t want that to end,”
Marcus replied, his voice soft and gentle as he held
her.
“Honestly, I don’t want it to end either, but it has
to. I can’t stay here, not after giving my house to
my sister and especially not with the fact that my
job is in the city,” Anna said.
“There’s a hospital here and then, there’s my
house,” Marcus said.
He knew he was putting his foot in his mouth
because he was saying everything way too early
into their relationship which wasn’t even proper.
He didn’t want her to feel as if he was pushing her
into staying, but he had thought about it and he was
willing to do whatever he could to make sure that if
she chose to stay, she would be well looked after.
“You’re asking too much of me, Marcus. How can
you expect me to give everything up just to move
here?” she asked as she pulled her head back and
stared into his eyes.
“It wouldn’t be about moving here, it would be
about being here with me,” he replied, his voice
was hoarse and filled with emotion.
He knew it was too early to say that he was in love
with her, but truthfully, he had been in love with
her for so many years. It had just taken them
meeting again for him to be able to actually tell her
how he felt.
“Being with you has been great. It is great. But I
created a life for myself in New York. I worked
hard for so many years to get where I am, that’s not
something I take lightly,” Anna said softly.
“I can’t help the way I feel, and if you think that
there is no possibility of us trying to stick this out,
then I think you should leave,” Marcus said as he
closed his eyes.
He hated himself for saying it, but he had to. He
had to let her go right then instead of allowing
himself to get any closer to her. It would hurt him a
little less that way.
“You want me to leave?” she whispered, her voice
filled with hurt, which made Marcus open his eyes
quickly.
“I can’t help the way I feel about you, and if there
is no hope for us, I think it would be easier for us to
end this now,” he replied, his eyes dropping down
to the floor as he couldn’t bear seeing the look in
her eyes.
“Okay,” she whispered as she climbed off of his lap
and walked upstairs. He listened as she gathered
her things, his eyes never leaving the floor as he
heard her leave his house wordlessly.
He knew he should’ve just gone with the way
things were. He should’ve just enjoyed the time
they had together, but he knew that he would only
end up hurting himself more. It wasn’t enough for
him to just be with Anna. He wanted more than just
a month with her, and he didn’t want to prolong his
pain by getting even more attached to her.
Marcus made his way up his stairs, going to his
bedroom to grab his phone from his bedside table.
He needed his friend. He needed to double check
that he had done the right thing.
Marcus: Bar, 15 minutes. Be there.
Max: It is 9 am?
Marcus: Then drink water, just be there.
Max: Okay, okay.
Marcus himself didn’t plan on drinking at 9 am, but
he also needed to get out of his house. He was sure
that Anna would call Stacey and Mary. He wanted
to avoid bumping into them, so he knew the bar
would be a safe place to meet. He needed to talk
through everything that had happened and even
though Max could act extremely heartless
sometimes, Marcus knew he would be there for him
regardless.
Marcus got ready, not even wasting any time
having a bath because he knew it would take too
long. The moon boot always got in the way.
Fifteen minutes later, he was at the bar with Max.
“I ended things with Anna,” was the first thing he
said as soon as Max sat down.
“Wait, what? Why?” Max asked, his voice mixed
with confusion.
“I’m falling for her, man, and I know if I spend the
next week and a half with her, it will only make
things worse for me when she leaves,” Marcus
replied.
“Wow, did you tell her that you wanted more?”
Max asked.
“I did and she basically said that I can’t expect her
to give up her life in the city to be with me,”
Marcus said as he summarized their conversation
from that morning.
“Oh boy. I didn’t expect this to happen. Why
couldn’t you have just thought with your penis and
left it at that?” Max asked as he shook his head.
“I tried to do that, I really did, but the fact that I
had a crush on her for most of my childhood made
it hard for me to detach myself emotionally,”
Marcus replied.
“Well, I guess you’re just going to have to let her
go and move on. You tried to make things work,
you finally experienced what it would be like to be
with her, and now you can meet someone else and
maybe settle down with them,” Max said.
The thought of not being with Anna killed Marcus,
but he knew Max was right. He had to let her go.
EIGHTEEN
“Don’t you think you’d be handling this a lot better
if you didn’t have any feelings for him?” Stacey
asked as they sat on Anna’s patio.
Once Anna had gotten back to her house, she had
called the two women who she knew would be
there for her. Her feelings were still reeling from
what Marcus had said and done. She didn’t want
things to end yet, but she knew that he was right.
Ending things before she left would make it easier
for both of them.
“Yes, maybe, but regardless of what I feel, I can’t
move here. My job has been everything to me. How
can I just walk away from that?” Anna asked.
“Anna, think about it. Have you ever felt this way
before? Have you ever been this happy?” Mary
asked.
Anna didn’t even need to say anything out loud
because she knew her new friends already knew
the answers. It was true, she had never felt the way
she did about Marcus for anyone else and she also
hadn’t experienced the amount of happiness she
had since being in Stockbridge. But was that
enough for her?
“Feelings can change so easily though. What if I
move here and then he realizes that he only
enjoyed our time together because it wasn’t
permanent?” Anna asked.
“Do you really believe that? I think he knows just
as well as you do that if you were to stay in
Stockbridge, you would be changing your entire
life. I don’t think he'd ask you to do that unless he
was truly serious about you,” Stacey replied.
“I agree. Marcus has never been the type of man to
mess around. He says what he means, and he
means what he says,” Mary added as she agreed
with Stacey.
Anna knew they were right about Marcus. She had
learned that he was a very honest and open guy,
which was one of the things she really liked about
him. She knew that she had feelings for Marcus,
she couldn’t deny that. Since being in Stockbridge,
she had managed to truly find a version of herself
that she liked. Even though she loved her job in
New York, she didn’t like the person she was.
Maybe it was because she had never let anyone in
before, but whatever it was, Marcus made her feel
things she had never felt before.
“I know he’s a good guy, but I’m giving up
something I’ve worked so hard for,” Anna replied.
“Okay, sure, but are you happy? Will you be happy
to leave this all behind and go back?” Stacey
countered.
She knew the answer was no and just then the
words from her great aunt’s letter flashed before
her eyes.
‘It’s time for you to let go.
It’s time for you to go back home and find yourself
Because you’re lost.
We’re all so proud of you but you need to be truly
happy.
I’ll always be here for you.
If you look for me, I’ll be there.’
She hadn’t realized that her great aunt had always
been there for her, especially in the time she had
been in Stockbridge. She had been in her dreams,
but every morning she would wake up without fully
remembering what had happened. Her great aunt
had been pushing her towards Marcus somehow,
the thoughts of him running through her mind at
every waking moment.
She had let go of so much of the stress she carried
with her, she had let go of all her expectations and
she had found herself to be the happiest she had
ever been even when she hadn’t realized it. Stacey
and Mary were right, she wouldn’t be happy if she
left.
“I’ve honestly been the happiest while I’ve been
here. I thought I was happy, but I’ve slowly realized
that I’ve been lying to myself. I wanted to believe
that focusing all my time and energy on my job
would make me happy, but I’ve been lonely and
being here has really opened my eyes up to that,”
Anna replied.
She didn’t like to admit that everything she had
worked so hard for wasn’t making her as happy as
she had thought it would. It made her feel as if she
had wasted so much time and had missed out on so
much.
“It’s not too late to change the way you live your
life. Trust me, I thought I was happy when I lived in
the city but being here has really helped me see
what life is truly about,” Stacey said.
Of course, Stacey had told Anna about her move to
Stockbridge, and how much of an adjustment it had
been. But even after everything she had achieved
while working in the city, Stacey strongly believed
that she had only truly known what she wanted out
of life when she had moved.
“Being here for a month compared to the rest of
my life is a huge decision to make,” Anna replied.
“No one is rushing you. You still have a week and a
half, so think about it. I mean, truly think about it,”
Mary said.
“I will. I think I need to go for a swim so I can clear
my mind,” Anna said.
She felt a lot better than she had when she had
arrived home after leaving Marcus’s house, but she
knew that there was no way for her to just spend
the rest of the day talking about him. She needed to
clear her mind and truly think about what she
would do next.
Maybe she could stay in Stockbridge. She had
never thought about it before, especially after she
had moved, but things were different for her now.
Going back to the city would mean she would be
completely alone.
“A swim could do you some good. When you’re
more relaxed, come out with us. We can have a
girl’s night,” Mary said with a smile as both she and
Stacey stood to leave.
“That would be nice. I’ll give you a call later,”
Anna replied as she hugged her friends and walked
them out.
As she stood at her front door, she saw Marcus
arrive home. He quickly glanced over at her but
turned his head to face his house. She knew she had
hurt him that morning, but she needed more time to
think about things.
She went inside and grabbed her things before she
headed for the local gym. Once she was changed
and ready, she sank into the water, her body
relaxing before she started doing her laps. She
knew working her body would allow her time to
think everything through, and that was just what
she needed. She didn’t want to say goodbye to
Marcus, she wasn’t ready to let go of the life she
had started to experience in Stockbridge, but could
she move in with him so soon? Maybe she could
live with Stephanie for a while before moving in
with Marcus or she could finally take a leap of faith
and go after the man who she had started to fall for.
The thought of loving Marcus and spending the rest
of her life with him made Anna feel a sort of
happiness she had never felt before. How could he
have been there all along and yet it took her so long
to figure it out?
NINETEEN
There was a knock at the door, so quiet it was
almost left unanswered. But the longer it went
unanswered, the louder the knocking got, until it
was more of banging than a knocking. Marcus
hadn’t been expecting someone. He hadn’t made
plans with Max and he hadn't spoken to Anna in
three days. She had made it a point to avoid him
which was hard for him but at the same time he
appreciated it.
When he finally got to the door and swung it open,
he was shocked to see Anna standing there with a
tray of donuts in her hands.
“Anna, what are you doing here?” he asked. He
was surprised to see her and even though she still
had a week left in Stockbridge, Marcus had been
prepared to never see her again.
“There has only ever been one thing that I’ve been
sure of, that was the fact that I wanted to be a
doctor. I remember the day I decided that being a
doctor was my dream career and since then I never
looked back. I moved away, I studied as hard as I
could, I worked as hard and as long as I could just
so I could be the best doctor around. I wanted to be
the best. I thought that it would make me happy but
that’s not true anymore. I’ve never truly been
happy, not until I came back here and started
spending more time with you,” Anna said, her
words rushing out as she only took one deep breath
when she was finished.
Marcus was confused, not by what she was saying,
no that was very clear, but he was confused as to
why she had tried so hard to push him away.
“Okay,” Marcus said as he waited for whatever was
about to happen next. He didn’t want to get his
hopes up that she was saying what he thought she
was saying. He needed her to say it.
“I don’t believe that leaving Stockbridge, that
leaving you, would be the right thing for me to do. I
have never given myself to another person, not
truly, but being with you has made me believe that I
can share my life with another person and that
everything will be okay. Maybe working in a small-
town hospital will be exactly what I need because
the only thing I know for sure is that I have fallen
for you,” Anna said, her chest deflating as she
stood there watching Marcus take in everything she
said.
“Are you saying that you’re staying?” he asked, his
voice a little shaky because he was scared he had
read it all wrong.
“I’m saying that I’m staying,” Anna replied with a
smile.
Marcus couldn’t trust himself as he stood and
stared at her, her words traveling around his head
as he stood there in silence.
“So you’re staying and you’re going to be with
me?” he asked. He sounded a little dumb, but he
wanted to make sure that he understood the
situation before he allowed himself to fully react.
“That’s right. I’ve spoken to Stephanie, and I’ll be
staying with her and Ben for a while, just until we
get our feet on the ground with our relationship and
then we’ll take it from there,” she replied with a
small shrug.
Marcus couldn’t believe his ears. He had thought
that after Anna had left his house three days before
that he wouldn’t see her again, but here she was
telling him that she was staying to be with him. She
was going to move to Stockbridge to be with him.
He couldn’t believe it.
“Sorry, I just need a moment to take this all in,”
Marcus said as he shook his head a little, bringing
himself back to the present moment.
“Take all the time you need,” Anna replied.
She stood waiting patiently for him, the tray of
donuts still in her hands as she stood there watching
him. He searched her face for any reason he
shouldn’t believe her, but he came up empty, she
was telling him the truth. She had chosen him and a
life in Stockbridge rather than going back to the
city.
“Come in. I think I just need to sit down for a
moment,” Marcus said.
He felt as if he were having a dream as he walked
into his lounge and took a seat. Anna followed him
as she sat in the chair opposite him, laying the
donuts on the table as she waited for him to gain
control over his thoughts. He had been hoping that
Anna would realize that she had feelings for him,
but he had also just accepted the fact that she
would be leaving so he was overwhelmed with
emotions.
“Are you sure that staying here with me will make
you happy?” he asked.
“Yes, I know that if I were to leave and never know
what our future could be like, I would always
question my choices. I am the happiest I’ve ever
been and that’s because of you,” she replied with a
smile.
“You don’t understand how long I’ve been waiting
for this,” he said softly as a smile grew on his lips,
“Get over here,” he added as he waved his arm to
her.
She smiled as she stood up and walked over to him,
falling onto his lap when he gently yanked on her
arm. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he
looked up at her.
“You’re with me?” he asked.
“I’m with you,” she replied.
Marcus captured her lips with his as he pulled her
into him. His whole body relaxed as she pressed
herself against him, his heart soaring in his chest.
He was extremely happy that she had realized what
they meant to each other before it was too late.
Marcus knew he wouldn’t have stopped her from
leaving if she hadn’t shown up on his door; he
wasn’t going to force her into something she didn’t
want.
“You don’t know how happy I am right now,”
Marcus said as he came up for air.
It felt so strange that just a few days before, they
were sitting in the same position in his kitchen and
everything had been so different. He knew that he
would’ve had to let her go that day, but as she now
sat on his lap kissing his face, he was extremely
happy.
“I’m not going to deny that doing this scares the
hell out of me, but I have faith in this, in you and in
us. It’s going to take some time to get used to this
life, but if you’re willing to stick by my side, I know
it’ll all be worth it,” she whispered.
“Now that I have you, I’m never letting you go,”
Marcus replied.
“I’m glad to hear that,” Anna replied.
She cuddled up to him, and the feeling of having
Anna was so much more than Marcus had ever
imagined. He had always wanted her, but she had
always been a little out of reach. Maybe it had all
to do with timing, he wasn’t sure, but he would
thank his lucky stars every day for the rest of his
life knowing that he finally got everything he
wanted. There was still so much that was unknown
to them when it came to the future, but he was sure
that as long as they were together everything would
be fine.
EPILOGUE
It had been two months since Anna had decided to
stay in Stockbridge. It was a decision that had been
easy to make the minute she knew that her life
wouldn’t be the same without Marcus. She knew
that everything happened for a reason and she was
glad that she had gone down the path she had. Of
course, maybe if she hadn’t been so focused on
becoming a doctor, she would’ve been with Marcus
sooner, but she believed that everything worked out
just the way it was supposed to.
“Aunty Marie would’ve been so happy to see the
person you are today,” her sister said as they hung
out on the patio.
Her sister had moved to Stockbridge right at the
end of her month of being there, mostly because
she needed to get her things in order and also
because the lawyers were very strict with sticking
to what the letter had said. Once the month was
over it was really easy to transfer the house into
Stephanie's name and of course, she had agreed to
allowing Anna to stay at the house while her and
Marcus figured out their relationship.
“I think so too. It’s strange to think that she saw me
better than anyone else did, and yet, I hadn’t
visited her for so long. It still haunts me that I
allowed so much time to go by without seeing her,”
Anna said, a hint of sadness in her voice because
she would never be able to let go of the guilt she
carried with her for not being more active in her
great aunt’s life as the years went by.
“She was happy to see you happy, that’s all that
mattered to her. She knew you loved her,”
Stephanie replied.
Anna knew her sister was right, but it didn’t take
away from the fact that she had been so focused on
becoming a doctor that she had forgotten the real
meaning behind life. Everything had changed for
her since she had moved back to Stockbridge, and
although she wished she had realized things a little
sooner, she was still happy to be back in her
hometown surrounded by people that loved her.
Stacey had managed to get her a position at the
local hospital which meant she had a lot more time
on her hands because the shifts weren’t as hectic as
they were in the city. Everything was so much
calmer for Anna and she enjoyed it more than she
thought she would’ve. She had been so used to
things being fast paced that when she had finally
slowed down, she realized that it was the one thing
she had been missing from her life. Well, that and
Marcus who sat in the garden playing with Ben.
His moon boot had come off and he was able to
play with Ben properly, it made Anna long for
children of her own. She had never really given
having children of her own that much thought, but
with seeing how good Marcus was with her
nephew, Anna thought that he would make a great
father.
“I wish I had gotten the chance to say it to her one
last time,” Anna replied, her mind going back to the
conversation she was having with her sister.
“You can tell her. Every day while you’re in this
town, you can tell her you love her. She hasn't truly
left us, has she?” Stephanie said with a smile.
“I guess you’re right. This town is filled with Aunty
Marie,” Anna said with a smile.
Everything in her life had turned out completely
different from what she had expected, and yet,
Anna was the happiest she had ever been. She still
loved being a doctor, but she really had lost herself
while giving all of her time to everyone around her.
Her great aunt had been right about everything she
had left in the letter, even though Anna hadn’t
believed it at the start.
Moving had been such a huge thing for her to do.
She felt as if she was giving up her life, but really,
she had gotten her life back in the end. She still
couldn’t believe how everything had worked out.
She had been so certain that she had been living the
life she wanted for herself, but it turned out that she
had the exact opposite.
“Exactly, doesn’t it feel like coming home being
here?” Stephanie asked with a smile.
Anna could see how happy Stephanie was, and she
was so happy that she had given the house to her.
She could see that moving to Stockbridge had also
been a good choice for her sister and having her
family there with her made everything so much
better for her. She wouldn’t have asked her sister to
move there if she had decided to just keep the
house for herself, but she knew that giving her
sister the house was the right thing to do.
“Honestly, I thought moving here would be the
worst thing to do, but it does feel like coming home.
Especially living in this house. I mean we used to
play there too,” Anna said as she pointed to where
Marcus and Ben were.
“I know! It’s as if we’ve done a full 360 and ended
up where we were supposed to be all along,”
Stephanie replied.
“Mommy, mommy, mommy! Look what I made
with Uncle Marcus,” Ben exclaimed as he ran over
to them.
Both Stephanie and Anna looked at the Lego car he
had built.
“Oh, wow. That’s amazing, but don’t you think it’s
better to play with your Legos inside? You don’t
want to lose any pieces, do you?” Stephanie asked.
“Uncle Marcus has shown Ben over here how to
put things back in a box if he’s not using it instead
of leaving it on the ground,” Marcus said teasingly
as he ruffled Ben’s hair.
Anna’s heart grew in her chest as she watched how
Ben reacted to Marcus. It was as if he wanted
Marcus to be proud of him. Anna knew Ben was in
need of a father figure and she was happy that
Marcus could be that for him. Marcus was a great
man and she knew that he would only teach Ben
how to be the best version of himself, especially
considering he had opened Anna’s eyes to the best
version of her life.
“Well, maybe you should bring the box in and we
can get ready for lunch. I’m starving,” Stephanie
said as she stood and headed inside. Ben ran off to
collect his box, so it was just Anna and Ben.
“Shall we have one?” Anna asked as she pointed to
Ben.
“Really?” Marcus asked excitedly.
“Yes, really,” she replied.
“Let’s go right now. Let me put a baby in you,”
Marcus said as he moved closer and kissed her.
“Not right now,” Anna giggled, “but soon. I think
very soon.”
“I like the sound of that,” Marcus said as he took
her hand, kissed her knuckles, and led her inside
with Ben leading the way.
Anna felt on top of the world as she sat around the
dining room table with the love of her life next to
her and her family around her. She said a mental
thank you to her great aunt because if it weren’t for
her and her letter, Anna wouldn’t have even been
there.
**********
Not ready to leave Stockbridge yet? If you haven’t
already, be sure to catch up on the other stories in
the
.
ALSO BY LONDON PARKER
The
romance)
(Ciara & Tony)
(Deacon & Stacey)
(Mary & Michael)
(Amy & Dean)
FREE GIFT
Hi, reader! As a special thank you for buying this
book, I want to send you another book, completely
free, to your email. We all like free books,
especially when they are hot and steamy :-)
This is book is exclusive to my readers and cannot
be purchased anywhere else. When you download
the book, I will also send you updates on new book
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Click on the cover or
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I started writing as a way to help process my
feelings, and it has since turned into a love affair
with words and conveying thoughts and feelings
that would otherwise never be expressed. We all go
through situations in our lives, and knowing that
someone understands or can empathize or
sympathize just makes whatever you are going
through that much easier to bear. I hope my stories
help provide a comforting hug, a reason to smile,
just the right amount of spice and confidence to be
the badass that you are.
I have a ton of new heart-gripping, tease-you-out-
of-your-pants stories lined up for 2020 and 2021, so
stay tuned!
Stay connected!
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Document Outline
- FREE GIFT
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- EPILOGUE
- ALSO BY LONDON PARKER
- FREE GIFT
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
- Stay connected!
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