Page 160 of Promise Me Nothing

My decision to stay was definitely about Wyatt. About our connection and the amazing love I feel from him.

But it was also about other things as well.

Reading those letters, the ones Wyatt was able to get put together with just a few hours notice… knowing that the people who wrote those wonderful words actually care about me, want me around, believe in me…

Something inside of me just… clicked.

I finally feel like I deserve that.

That I deserve to be surrounded by people who love me.

That I deserve to find a place that I belong.

Staying in Hermosa Beach isn’t as risky of a decision as I originally thought it was going to be. Because when I look at my true options, the paths life has presented to me, the choice is clear.

Head back to a place where I have almost nothing.

Or stay here.

A place that affords me the chance to live near family.

Build friendships.

Find love.

Maybe that’s what Frost meant in that poem that I hate so much. About picking the path less travelled.

It isn’t about picking the one that’s harder. That’s filled with branches and limbs and things that will make me trip and fall.

It’s about choosing to go a different route than I normally would. Seeking out something better. Something more meaningful.

Because the path I’ve walked my entire life has been filled with nothing but pain, raw emotion, broken promises and feeling like nothing will ever work out.

This time, I chose the path less travelled byme.I’ve never gone down the road that’s filled with love. The one overflowing with people that want to walk the path by my side.

And I don’t doubt at all that Wyatt will be one of those people, helping to pull those limbs and branches out of the way when I think I might trip and fall.

It won’t always be perfect. I can’t assume that I won’t get hurt. But I’ve decided to take that risk.

I’m going to start believing in promises.

And that includes believing Wyatt when he says he wants to promise me everything.