On
her way back to Putnam County, Stella had a lot of time to think about the way
that her parents had treated her. She knew that she had made the right
decision, but the tears kept coming anyway. It felt like she had lost a piece
of herself that morning when she had been banished by her father. She knew that
until he could come to terms with his own issues surrounding Buckley that she
could never go home again. She could never see her sister or her nephew and
while she knew that being with Buckley was more than worth it, the thoughts
that were flooding her mind all at once were threatening to drive her to the
edge of her sanity.
She sobbed the entire way to
Buckley’s trailer and after knocking on the door, collapsed into his arms and
told him what had happened. Not wanting his mother to start asking too many
questions and of course wanting to get her to a calm place – he put her back
into her car and drove her home to her apartment. Once there, he carried her to
her bed and lay with her while she told him everything that had happened. Most
importantly, he listened to her cry, stroked her hair, and gently kissed her
forehead while she did. He let her cry, which in this moment is what she needed
the most.
When she was spent and could cry no
more, he held her.
“It’s going to be alright,” he
whispered.
“I know. I just hurts.”
“It’s going to hurt. It’s supposed
to hurt. They hurt you. You’re allowed to feel the way you’re feeling.”
She looked up into his eyes and
forced a smile. “Why can’t they just let me love you.”
“You don’t need their permission.
You want their blessing. That’s different. You’re probably never going to get
it. You are just going to have to learn to be strong and live your life for
you, Stella. You don’t need anyone’s approval but your own. You aren’t doing
anything wrong and you aren’t hurting anyone.”
“Aren’t I hurting them?”
“They’re hurting themselves. And
they’re hurting you. And for what it’s worth, I’m really proud of you for
sticking up to them finally. You are being really brave.”
“I don’t feel very brave.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m a blubbering mess.”
“I still think you’re brave.” He
said as he kissed her cheek.
She laid her head on his shoulder
and closed her eyes. “I love you, Buckley. You know that, right?”
“I love you.” he replied as he held
her tighter. “Always.”
Stella was very sad in the week
leading up to New Year’s Eve, but she got on a party dress and put on a brave
face in order to greet her friends when the time for the party at Herlin Hall
came. There was a great deal of
excitement surrounding the fact that Lottie was bringing the rough cut of the
documentary she had made about the gators and was planning on showing it at the
party that night. Rhodes couldn’t wait to see the film, but he was also excited
to see Lottie again. Sadly, married life hadn’t changed him all that much. He
was still a cad at heart, although at that point he had remained faithful to
Selena.
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