Andrew could only imagine the worst. The unknown struggles of her journey— he couldn’t even begin to grasp what possibility could have happened to her family. All that he knew was that Camilla was a fighter and she had more perseverance in her soul of anyone he ever knew.
As she began to gain her consciousness, a brightness overcame his face. His smile widened, his eyebrows raised— it was almost too much to handle. The way she said his name— it had a ring to it. It’s own meaning more and it’s own feeling.
Her arms around his shoulders, the warmth of her body, the way his neck nuzzled in perfectly with her’s— it was bittersweet. Almost like a memory, the only difference was their inability to separate. They clinged to each other for what seemed like minutes. Andrew attempted to form some sort of sentence, but was unable to break the silence. It was comforting to just have her in his arms, no words or fighting.
Choking on his words, he managed to break the hold. Not because he wanted to let her go (because he promised himself he never would again) but because there was more to what was going on. He had to speak with sincerity. Andrew locked his focus on her eyes, as he began to spit out whatever he could conjure up, “I— just. I never thought I’d see you again. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for being an idiot and I’m sorry for even letting you leave. You don’t have to forgive me, but god, I’m so glad you’re safe.” He was evidently rash with his words and his pleas, but it didn’t matter. His words and her presence brought tears to his eyes— ones he fought back so he could relish in their moment.
It all felt so real. Too real, that a slight panic had crept its way into the back of her mind. She kept waiting for herself to wake up, to realize how she had only been dreaming again and wake up with moss in her hair and dirt embedded under her fingernails from the forest floor. But it didn’t. The world didn’t warp or tremble, but it was steady, warm, comforting even and she suddenly felt so very heavy in his arms.
Feeling the gentle pressure of being pushed back, confusion briefly flitted across her features before she had taken in Andrew’s expression. Staring into his eyes, she anxiously anticipated the words that would come flooding from his mouth. Two years. It had been two whole years and the world had crumbled around them until it was nothing more than a shadow of its former splendor. She had gone over all the possibilities in her head of what could have happened to Andrew. That he would have moved on and started his life anew amidst the chaos. That he would have found happiness, even in the darkness and that he would do more than just survive, but that he would live just as she would have always wanted for him. But part of her, deep down, hidden in the crevices of her sub-consciousness where she dare not dwell too long, Camilla hoped he had not forgotten her. A veiled selfishness needed to believe that he was as miserable without her as she was without him.
--But the words that followed did more than alleviate the palpable tension that infiltrated her still sore muscles, they made her laugh. A soft, sweet melodic laugh that she had not thought still survived within her. Searching his familiar orbs, a smile had spread across her chapped lips, eyes crinkling at the corner. “Shut up.” The words had left her mouth before she could even comprehend what she was saying. “Just shut up.” She repeated, this time her voice coming in clearly. “You have nothing to apologize for. I should have never left.” Guilt. It was not a feeling Camilla was accustomed to, but she felt it in threatening to drown her in this very moment. “I never should have left. I will never make that mistake again.” A promise, one that she would use every fiber of her being to uphold.
