Fall From Grace by Michelle Gross

Our first goodbye wasn’t our choice.
Our second was…
What do people say about third chances?

I would never forget the moment I met Noah at six years old,
nor would I forget the way I grew into myself next to him; with him.
I didn’t want to forget the way he kissed me for the first time or the way we were two kids pretending it was okay to do adult things.
What I did want to forget was the reason I walked away… and how he had to let me go.
Loving you had a consequence that was too much to bear.
Now I was an empty shell, half of who I was, who I wanted to be…
And I came back home after four long years and this time, I knew you weren’t going to let me go.
I’m afraid… because remembering why I walked away from our love in the first place was the hardest part of all.
But in order for you to understand my relationship with Noah, I have to start from the beginning… Before our love had a price, before they called our love “puppy love”, before I fell from grace…
I was the happiest when I was with him.
Funny how my feet felt like lead the days I left you, Noah… But now that I was back, they only felt like running.