My Butterfly

for it to slow down and turn, but it never did. Instead, the car stayed on a straight path.
    My foot slowly fell off the gas pedal and hit the brake, causing Lou to come to a stop. Then, I sat back in my seat and let my head fall against the headrest. Moments later, a big smile edged its way across my face, and I glanced out the window and up into the heavens.
    “Gonna see some stars tonight, Jules?” I asked out loud.
    Then, I set my eyes onto the gravel road again and stepped on the gas.
    “It’s a good night for it,” I said to myself, smiling a wide, happy grin.

Chapter Forty-One
    The Chase
     
     
    I made my way across the creek slab and pulled off to the side of the road. There was a black sedan already waiting there. I smiled, reached into my backseat and then climbed out of the truck.
    It was dark, but there was still a piece of the moon in the sky, so I could make out her silhouette on the hood of the sedan. She was sitting up, and her face was turned back toward me.
    “Hi, Jules,” I said.
    She seemed to hesitate before she spoke.
    “Hi,” she eventually said.
    Her voice was cheerful. She didn’t seem surprised. It made me smile wider, as I walked toward her.
    “Mind if I take a seat?” I asked, when I reached the car.
    “Not at all; it’s a rental,” she said, patting a spot next to her on the hood.
    I nodded my head and chuckled to myself.
    “Aah,” I said.
    My eyes traveled from her hand to the color in her eyes. Then, I cautiously climbed onto the car’s hood, leaned my back against the windshield and made myself comfortable, all the while, trying my best to conceal the object in my hand.
    “Did you know I was here?” she asked.
    There was a suspicious air attached to her question. I was quiet for a second but then turned my face toward hers.
    “Of course. Where else would you be?” I asked.
    I watched her pause in what looked as if it was a thought.
    “But how? I never…,” she started.
    “Oh, you want to know how I knew you came at all?” I asked.
    “That would be a start,” she said, shooting me a coy smile.
    “You promised,” I said.
    “Wait, you remembered that?” she asked.
    “Of course, and from the looks of it, you did too,” I said, gently elbowing her arm.
    “A promise is a promise,” she said so softly I almost didn’t hear it.
    There was silence for a second then—that perfect kind of silence, when it almost had a hum of its own.
    “But seriously, how could you have known?” she asked.
    I paused and met her eyes again. She looked puzzled. I missed that puzzled face of hers. I missed all of her faces.
    “Did you see the camera guy scanning the crowd?” I asked.
    “Umm…yeah, I guess I might have noticed him,” she said, slowing shaking her head.
    “Before the show, I gave him a photo and asked him to look for you,” I said.
    “You didn’t?” she demanded.
    “I did,” I said. “And turns out, he’s got a good eye.”
    I gave her a wink, shrugged my shoulders and then sent a wide grin up into the heavens.
    I felt her eyes linger on me before, eventually, her head fell softly back onto the windshield.
    “You never cease to amaze me, Will Stephens,” she said, laughing softly to herself.
    I listened to her soft laughter until it faded. Then, there was silence again—well, except for the crickets and the tree frogs. It had its place, but I wasn’t much for the quiet in this stage of the game.
    “Did you hear the last song?” I asked.
    She took a moment before she spoke.
    “I did,” she eventually whispered.
    “I meant every word of it,” I said.
    “It’s a beautiful song, Will,” she said, slowly nodding her head as she spoke. “And how does ‘the one’ feel about this song?”
    My head shifted to the side, and my eyes darted to her eyes. She looked serious. But it was too late to stop the smile already squeezing past my lips.
    “I don’t know, Jules, how do you feel?” I asked, chuckling to myself.
    I watched her let out a slow, uneasy breath before she locked her stare onto the moon again.
    “You’re the one, Jules, and I should have told you years ago, but I knew it wasn’t the right time. I knew that you weren’t ready yet.”
    Her eyes quickly darted toward mine again.
    “Ready?” she asked. “Will, what…”
    She let her words trail off.
    “Jules, you’ve always been the only one for me,” I confessed.
    I stopped then. I knew I had to tell her everything now, but I had to start from the beginning. I sucked