Free Kickoff for Love by Amelia Whitmore Page A

okay. You need to go to parties with your friends. You need to keep those people close. I saw you tonight, around the fire. You looked so happy. I won't take that away from you, we’d both resent me for it. I need you to have a happy life because I love you too. But that doesn't change anything.  I'll still end up hurting you. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I did that." I said, shaking my head. 
    "You're hurting me now, Ashley." He said, his voice pleading. "Don't you see that you're running? That if I let you leave right now I won't get you back? I don't want that. I am happy with you, alright? I'll go with you to see a therapist or something, but I won't let you go. I can't let you go." He said, wrapping his arms around me and squeezing me to his body. 
    I sobbed into his shirt. "I don't know what to do." I said, clinging to him. 
    "Let me stay." He whispered, kissing my head. "Just let me stay.”
    I sat there, clutching his shirt in my fists, battling with myself on what to do. Should I stay, for once, and be selfish? Or run, like always, because it's best for him?

CHAPTER NINE
     
     
    Andy's POV

'She loves me?' I kept repeating to myself in my head. If it's love, then she won't leave. She'll let us be together, and I'll help her be happy. Promises to her kept running through my head, but none of them seemed to fit. How could I promise her things would be okay when she's so terrified of herself? I always knew she was strong, but here, seeing her on the brink, was heartbreaking. 
    'She loves me. She won't push me away. She loves me. She won't push me away.' I kept praying. Maybe if I said it enough, it'd be true. 
    "Ashley, baby, let me stay." I said against her hair, dropping a kiss afterward. She took a ragged breath and pulled away a little, looking into my eyes. 
    "I can't promise you anything, but I can't leave you. I'm sorry, it's so selfish of me, but I can't." She said. A look of sorrow in her eyes, sorrow for me because she's staying. I had all I could do not to yelp with joy. 
    I pressed a kiss against her lips. "I love you, Ashley. Believe me when I say that. We'll make it work, I promise." I whispered to her. 

 
    CHAPTER TEN
     
     
     
    Ashley's POV

I felt so bad for telling Andy I'd stay. Not that I had any intention of not staying. I couldn't help feeling as though I'd let him down in some way, making it so that he'd missed a chance at happiness. I love him. Which is weird, because I didn’t even see it coming? One second, I was fine just dating him. The next I felt like my heart was beating so hard it would fall out of my chest. What did that football player do to me?
    "Talk to me." Andy murmured against my hair. We'd been sitting on my front porch for the past half an hour in silence. 
    "I don't want to hurt you, Andy. I can't help feeling like I did something wrong when I said I wouldn't leave.” I whispered, looking into the distance. 
    "Please don't change your mind.” He said, panic seeping into his voice. 
    I gave him a half smile and cupped his cheek. "I won't change my mind. I'm just worried that you'll change yours.” I explained. That was the truth of it. No matter how awful I felt about agreeing to be with him, it just made it even harder that he could leave at any moment. 
    "I'm not about to change my mind.” He said, his arms squeezing me closer to his body. I nodded and we sat in silence for the next few minutes. 
    "Do you want to meet my brothers?" I asked randomly. 
    He glanced down at me, almost confused. I explained a bit. "Sorry, that kind of came out of nowhere. I'm tired of being depressive. I feel like I'm trying to get sympathy or something. Right now, I just want to go inside and be with my brothers, and feel normal for a little bit.”
    Andy stood and held his hand out to help me up. "Come on then, I'd love to meet them.” He said as I grabbed his hand. 
    We walked inside to find that they were all eating dinner. "Richmond,” Dad