One month was all it took to conclude the case and gave the man what he deserved. Under the circumstances, Avery and I had a rough introduction but we eventually became each other's strength to fight this case. If it wasn't for her, I may still be battling on the losing end. 

Today, I walked out of the courtroom feeling as though a large weight had been lifted off my shoulders, allowing me to breathe and move on with life. 

It's over. It's finally over.

From behind, Leon held onto my hand, giving a light squeeze as he smiled at me. Tears rolled from the corner of my eyes and I let out a breathless laugh while gripping onto his hand tightly. I had never felt so relieved in my life. It comforted me immensely to know that I could finally leave this behind me and look forward to the future. Turning towards my side, I saw Avery leaving with Gabriel and I hurriedly remove my hand from Leon and ran towards her. 

"Avery!" I called, trying to get her attention. 

She halted her step and pivoted around to face at me. Her blue eyes glistened with tears as they brimmed with relief and happiness. "Rachelle, thank you." She pulled me into a hug, squeezing me in her embrace. "Thank you so much." 

"I should be the one thanking you." My voice turned slightly hoarse from an urge to cry while laughing. 

"I'm so glad to have met you." Her voice cracked. I nodded against her shoulder and realised that within this dark period of my life, I made another genuine friend. She's just a tad bit rude, but I'll still consider her good and somewhat likeable. I'm kidding, Avery's actually pretty amazing in every way. 

I stood where I was and felt a hand circle around my waist, pulling me back. My head tipped back and saw Leon smiling tenderly towards me. He planted a kiss in my hair and said, "Let's go home."

I nodded and we returned to his apartment. 

-

"Shall we head out for dinner?" he suggested. 

"Can we stay at home? It's troublesome for me to move around," I chuckled, pointing to the crutches beside me. 

"I don't mind carrying you around," he said funnily. "Princess carry or koala cuddle?" 

"Neither!" I reached my hand out to push his arms away but he was stronger than me and he reached to hold onto my waist. Flashing me a mischievous wink, he tickled my sides and a peal of laughter burst out of me as I struggled to get off his grip. 

"Stop it!" I laughed with tears pooling at the corner of my eyes. 

"Kiss me to stop," he grinned. 

I forcefully pulled the back of his head and crashed my lips on his. His hands immediately stopped and rested against the arc of my hipbones. He slanted his head slightly, deepening the kiss. Removing one of his hand from my hip, he reached for the curve of my neck and held me in place while he continued to taste my lips relishingly. 

When he let go, he whispered to my lips, "What would you like to have for dinner, little squirrel?" 

"Hmm," I pondered for a moment before I grabbed his arm and leaned against it. "What about sushi?" 

"Too much of a hassle." A slight frown pulled at his lips. "Something else?"

"Let's just have them delivered," I grinned, swaying his arm side to side. "I'm seriously craving for sushi right now." 

-

We lay in the couch watching a movie rewind while waiting for our sushi delivery. It took longer than expected and my mind was starting to regret wanting sushi. Sighing, I rested my head on Leon's chest and listened to his heart pounding strongly in steady rhythm underneath his sturdy chest, I whined softly, "I'm getting sleepy already." 

"I'll wake you up when the food's here," he said softly. His hand smoothed over my head and down the length of my hair. 

"Leo," I murmured. 

"Hmm?"

"Thank you for being here for me."

"I'll always be here for you, sweetheart," he whispered, voice slightly nasal as he took in a deep inhale and kissed the top of my head. 

"I want to play my cello again." 

"I'm sure you will," he assured. 

"Talking about that, you'll be graduating soon," I mentioned. "What are your plans?" 

"Um," he exhaled. "I'm currently working on a project for a big company. They offered me a position." 

"That's great!" I placed a hand on his stomach and pushed myself up. Leaning close to him, I pulled on his arm and tried to get him to tell me more about it. 

Yet, his expression dulled slightly, looking as though he didn't want to talk about it. My heart kind of guessed what it was, but I asked regardless, "Is it because you would have to move state again?"

His hazel eyes found mine, studying me as he tried to assess my expression. My heart dropped a little at his impending departure because beyond us, lay our dreams. I suddenly remembered the time when Tyson mention of Leon's exceptional results, and he had already received different invitations from different companies. A smile lifted from the corner of my lips as I looked at him. 

"Tell me," I nudged gently. 

"Yes, I'll have to move state," he admitted, his voice was low and careful. "And it's going to be relatively far away from here."

"Then, you should move," I said firmly. 

This time, it definitely felt different from the previous. Then, I wasn't mature enough to understand so I felt betrayed and thrown aside. Considering the fact that we had stuck with each other for most of our lives, I simply couldn't accept that he had decided to move on to a life without me. 

But I guessed entering college made me understand more about dreams, goals and how to adult. Above all, it was because I love him and sometimes love meant letting go. Instead of feeling all the negative emotions as I did back then, I wanted him to chase after his dreams because he deserved nothing less than the best. I also hoped to be as supportive as I could, even if it meant that I'd always be trying to catch up to him from right behind. 

"I'll move when you've recovered fully," he said, holding onto my hand. 

"You have nothing to worry about, I'm recovering really well," I beamed. "Dr Jansen also mentioned that I can return to school in the coming semester!"

"Really? That's really amazing!" His eyes lit up in pleasant surprise. His tone softened thereafter when he asked, "What about you? What are your plans after college?"

And, I choked up.

I thought about how my carefully crafted future goals felt like a beautiful snow globe that had been dropped by a pair of careless hands. All those dreams and hope that used to reside within had shattered and fallen apart within split seconds when the fragile glass impacted the floor.

I had big plans.

With my splendid results, my instructors were pushing me to join auditions for big orchestras in the country. I, too, had wanted so badly to be part of them and stand a chance to perform in the most magnificent stages all around the world. But my life had to come with a twist, consequently causing me to lose my ability to play my cello. 

It wasn't that I'll never be able to play it again, but the relearning process felt so frustrating. It pained me so much to feel so helpless when I failed to do what I loved the most. Cello had been my everything and I played it since I was six. I was so sure that it was love at first sight because, since the first time I walked past a music school and heard someone playing it, I had bugged mom for a week straight before she decided to send me to that music school.

Since then, I lived for every performance and all the chance to play it. That was how much passion I had for music and cello. Losing the ability to play was almost comparable to having my limbs severed with all the pain being mine alone to bear. 

"Rae?" 

Jarred out of my thoughts, I blinked. "I'm sorry, I was just trying to think about your question," I let out an awkward laugh and my hand raised to grip onto the back of my neck. 

"You can talk to me." He cupped one side of my cheek. 

"Do you think I'll ever play the cello as well again?" 

"Sweetheart, I'm sure you will. I also believed that you can play it even better than before," he answered endearingly. "You're the most hardworking, beautiful and brave person I'd ever met." 

By the time he finished his sentence, my cheeks were already damped with tears. My arms shot forward to fold around his neck, hugging him tightly. Leon also circled his arms around my body and held me close to him as he ran his hand down my back. "I love you, Rachelle." 

"I love you too, Leon." 

✿

What's your calling?