Salvaged

You know home isn’t really about what color your couch is or what you hang on the wall... Home is about knowing you are in the right place with the right people.

It seems that what we’ve overcome is what ultimately molded us into the people that we are instead of where we’ve come from.

One step at a time we moved toward each other and toward the next thing that waited for us. Tomorrow, I would wake up and make sure I took better care of her than I had the day before and she would do the same for me. That’s what love looked like.

Instead of walls to keep everyone out, ones that were heavy and exhausting to lug around everywhere, I now had doors, and it was up to me who I decided could come in and out of them. That was far easier and a lot less lonely. Everyone liked company now and again.

The woman that survived all of that knows life is a precious thing, that time is limited, and none of it should be wasted on people that want to cause you pain.

It’s not about calling the shots, it’s about me doing what’s best for her because in the long run, what’s best for her is what’s best for me.” And the reverse was true. She wanted whatever it was that was going to make me happy because that was what made her happy. I was pretty sure that was what the definition of true love broke down to.

He was heartbreakingly understanding and unendingly considerate . . . like he always was.

I sighed. “It scares me because my heart has been wrong before.” She snorted and her tone was sharp when she told me, “No, your heart was listening to what someone else was telling it to do. This is the first time it’s been able to speak for itself. Listen to it, little sister.

Plus, I wanted a kiss . . . just one. A single kiss that I wouldn’t regret later on down the road. One I’d asked for. One that was mine. One that wouldn’t make me kick myself and say “I should have known better” because I did know better but I was asking him to kiss me anyways. I wanted a kiss that was given, not taken.

I could do one day at a time because I was finally in a place where I realized how very lucky I was to still be here making my way through the days, be they good or bad. I might not implicitly trust myself to do the right thing, but I did know if I stepped wrong and stumbled, there were plenty of people around me waiting to pick me up. For the first time in my life, I had a safe place to fail, which made me strong enough to want to try and live again.

Good things will find you if you are open to them.

All the women I know that landed a good man had to give them a little push in the right direction at one point or another. Sometimes it takes a nudge to get the knight in shining armor to drop his shield.” I

Hard to watch where we’re going when our eyes are on each other and not on the path we’re taking.

You kissed, Wheeler, as in the guy who just canceled his wedding to a raging she-beast?” Her