ACT ONE â CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
2021
"Emily?"
The blonde woman spun around, startled by the sound of her name. Emily's heart remained thudding against her chest, even after her eyes landed on Natalie.
"Nat," she breathed, "Sorry for not saying anything, I just had to get out of there. I don't think these reunionâ"
Mid-sentence, Natalie cut her off abruptly wrapping her arms around Emily. For a moment she was stunned, however it didn't take her long to return the warm hug.
"I don't ever want to lose you again," she quietly admitted.
Emily didn't know how to respond to Natalie's statement. She couldn't find the words to articulate the way she felt.
In a way, the two of them were still the teenagers whose plan crashed in the middle of nowhere. The girls that were just trying to survive.
Emily allowed her eyes to close, enjoying the comfort of the embrace. Natalie's eyes were watering, but she didn't allow a single tear to fall. Brushing off the weight of emotion as her having just drank a bit too much.
After a few more moments, Natalie broke the hug. Emily offered her a slight smile, "Wanna walk me home?"
"I thought that Tai drove you," Natalie looked at her a bit quizzically.
Emily nodded, "She did...I'll just send her a message."
Natalie mindlessly intertwined her fingers with Emily's as the two of them walked under the streetlights.
Emily didn't live far from their old high school, which felt like both a blessing and a curse to Natalie. This moment felt perfect, it reminded her of when they were first together.
Despite the on again off again that they always seemed to fall back into, Emily knew that Natalie was her one.
Nothing would ever be able to change that. No matter how much at times she willed it to.
"Do you remember that time after our last soccer practice when you told me you understood me?" Emily asked as they continued to walk hand in hand down the sidewalk.
An amused smile pulled at Natalie's lips, "I remember. God I was being so obvious and you still weren't getting it."
Emily laughed, "I knowâ it's kind of ridiculous to think about now."
Natalie had so clearly had a thing for Emily long before the plane crash and Emily would have reciprocated that if she hadn't been so stuck in her own world.
They returned to a comfortable silence, until Emily cleared her throat, "Do you think we would've gotten together if we hadn't crashed?"
Natalie looked into Emily's eyes, "Yeah...I do. I don't really believe in fate or whatever butâI think the universe would've found a way."
"I guess so," Emily shrugged.
"I would've asked you to prom, you would've said yes," Natalie explained, her mind traveling over all of the possibilities.
A small smile spread across Emily's lips, "Is that so?"
"Then you would have gone away to school and we would've broken up for a while...but we'd find our way back to each other and maybe even gotten married despite your parents' wishes."
Emily smiled at the thought, "I wish we could've lived that life. Gotten married, maybe raised a kid or two."
Natalie swallowed, eyes dropping to the sidewalk, "We still could..."
Emily's breath caught in her throat, and she could not help but to pause mid-step, "That's insane," she chuckled softly.
Natalie paused beside her, "Anymore insane than our plane crashing in the wilderness and us hunting each other down?"
Emily's eyebrows tugged together, "Well when you put it like thatâ"
"Let's do it, Emy," Natalie breathed, holding both of Emily's hands, "It's you and me, always."
"Natâwhat would people think? What would I tell my parents, our friends?"
"We're grown ass women, Emily," Natalie rationalized, "It's not like we're nineteen years old, who gives a fuck what they think?"
Emily laughed, "You're insaneâwhere would we go, Vegas?"
Natalie shook her head, "I don't think we can afford Vegas. The court house will do."
"Are you serious?" Emily arched an eyebrow at her. Seconds later realization washed over her, "Holy shit. You are."
"We've done far crazier shit, Emy," Natalie noted.
Gently, Emily held either side of Natalie's face, "Okay fuck it, let's do it...but it's gonna have to be a tomorrow thing. We're both at least buzzed and the court house is closed."
Natalie laughed, her smile finally reaching her eyes. Softly she captured Emily's lips, and when they pulled away she leaned her forehead against the woman's.
"I love you, Emily Jensen."
Emily smiled softly, "I love you too."
The rest of the walk back to Emily's house felt warm and exciting. She felt like a teenager again, she felt as happy as the moment when she and Natalie had kissed for the first time.
Maybe she was just drunk, or maybe this was the best moment of her life.
They walked up the steps of her front porch and Emily leaned against her front door as Natalie kissed her again.
"Ash might actually hurt you," Emily laughed breathlessly, "You should probablyâ"
"I think I can handle Ash, Emy," Natalie breathed, and Emily nodded, pushing open the front door.
"Emily!" Ash yelled out, "Helpâ"
The girl's eyebrows tugged together, "What's wrong Ash?"
Before she could even her finish her thoughts people swarmed around her and Natalie pulling them away into the dark of the night.
Author's Note:
Dun! Dun! Dun!