His eyes did the same, glancing from person to person...friend to friend. Each one had a similar look on their face, smiles of approval and enjoyment. Slowly his eyes drifted to the one beside him. The smile on her face immediately brought one to his own. The song ended, a small pause before the next one began.
From the first words of the song his heart began to pound. If the words of a song had ever touched his heart, this was definitely the time. It was everything he wanted to say to her, everything he had always wanted to say to her. As the words floated through his head he thought about the memories of their life together.
"Joshie give it to me," Faith whined, jumping in an effort to reach the teddybear he was dangling above her head. "Reach for it," he teased, watching as she tried her hardest to grab at the bear. She finally grasped the leg, giving it a tug as he also tugged to keep it from her grasp. The stitches ripped, leaving Faith with one stuffing filled leg in her hand while Josh held the rest of the bear.
She had gotten it when she was a baby. Since then it had always been her favorite. As she looked at the contents of her hand her chin began to quiver, her now teary blue eyes looking up at the boy in front of her. "Faith, I’m sorry," Josh whispered, his wide eyes moving from the remains of the bear in his hand to the girl in front of him, "Don’t cry. I’ll fix him, I promise."
A tear rolled down her cheek as she nodded her head. "It’s OK, Joshie," her meek little voice whispered. He took the small stuffed leg from her hand, leading her over to his mother’s sewing basket. He rummaged through the basket, retrieving a needle and a spool of red thread. They sat together on the bottom of the stairs, Josh carefully stitching the bear’s leg back on as Faith sniffled beside him.
Minutes later Josh held the bear in front of Faith, watching the smile that lit up her little face. "He’s all better," Josh proclaimed proudly as Faith ran her tiny fingers over the bright red stitches. She giggled happily as she hugged him, holding the bear protectively in her arms.
His eyes focused on her again, her fingers unconsciously playing with the golden locket around her neck. He smiled just knowing that she cherished it enough to still wear it. Even now, many years later. His mind drifted back to that Christmas as he continued to watch her.
"Josh, can you reach it," Faith asked as he carefully placed the angel on top of the Christmas tree. "Got it," he replied, jumping down off the chair to stand beside her, "whatcha think?" She smiled, reaching over to take the hand of her best friend. "We did good," she giggled watching as he laughed and tossed an arm around her shoulder. "We sure did. Mom is going to love it," he replied. "It’s going to look great at the party tonight," she whispered with a smile. "That reminds me," he said, pulling on her hand to follow him.
He led her to his bedroom, sitting her down on the bed as he made his way to the closet. "Josh, what are you..." Her words trailed off as he reappeared with a large box wrapped in red and green paper. He smiled as he handed it to her, watching her bright blue eyes move from the box up to meet his. "Merry Christmas," he whispered, sitting beside her, "are you gonna open it or what?"
She looked at him another minute before her fingers set to work on the paper. Finally she shed the box of all its wrapping. "Reach inside," he whispered as she lifted the lid and pulled the teddybear out. "Aww, it’s so cute," she giggled happily as her fingers ran over the bear’s soft fur. "Reach in his pocket," he urged as her eyes found his again.
Her fingers moved to the tiny pocket on the bear’s overalls, slowly retrieving a small gold locket. "Oh Josh," she whispered as she looked from the locket to him. "Open it," he whispered, watching as her fingers very carefully opened the locket to reveal the picture inside. "Aww, I’ve always loved this picture of us," she whispered. "I know you have. Now no matter where you go or what you do, you can carry me with you." She smiled at him leaning over to kiss his cheek. "I’ll always carry you with me," she whispered as he hugged her.
As she pulled back she lifted the locket up to him. "Will you," she whispered, watching as he smiled and reached over to take it. She lifted her hair, turning so that he could clip it behind her neck. "How does it look," she asked, turning so that he could see. "Perfect," he replied as she grabbed her purse beside the bed. "I couldn’t forget you, now could I?"
He chuckled as he took the envelope she held out for him. He carefully lifted the flap, pulling out the card. He read over it quickly before opening it. Two tickets slid out into his hand, and his eyes flew up to meet hers as he read them. "Faith, how did you..." She smiled, before cutting him off. "I knew you sold your tickets to Jake Newman to get me my Christmas present, so I bought them back for you. Even though I still prefer you singing "Thriller" any day." He shook his head, looking at the Michael Jackson tickets he held in his hand. "Tyler has a big mouth," he chuckled as he pulled her into a hug. "Merry Christmas Joshie."
He watched her get up from her place on the couch, heading down the hallway. His eyes scanned his friend’s faces, each of them confused and a little concerned. He stood up, quietly making his way in the direction she had gone. As he walked, his mind drifted over countless memories with her...his best friend. Lately, she was more than the little girl that use to give him her last chocolate chip cookie. She was a woman that held a place in his heart that no one else could touch. A woman that he had fallen in love with.
He could still hear the music from up the hall as he lightly knocked on her door. A moment passed before the door slowly opened. He could see her red eyes, and he knew that she had been crying. Everything in him wanted to hold her right now, kiss her, and tell her he loved her. Instead he moved closer to the bed, taking a seat beside her. He looked over at her, two old familiar teddybears resting in her lap. "Still got those old things," he whispered as he watched her finger trace over the bright red stitches on one of the legs.
She nodded her head slowly, her eyes never lifting to meet his. "Faith," he whispered, his hand reaching over to slowly lift her chin. He looked into her teary eyes, his heart breaking at the sight. "I’m fine. Really I am," she whispered in that familiar meek voice she always used when she was upset.
"Faith, talk to me. It’s just Josh," he whispered, pulling her into his arms as he softly kissed her damp cheek. His stomach twisted into knots as he held her close to him. He wanted so badly to be able to hold her forever. He wanted to be the one that captivated her heart the way she had his.
"I’m scared to," she whispered, relishing in the comfort of his arms. "You don’t have to be afraid of me," he whispered, stroking her hair. "Josh, if I tell you this it could change everything. I can’t lose you," she whispered, more tears finding their way down her cheeks. His own eyes had begun to get misty, but he pulled back to meet her eyes. "You will never lose me. Please tell me."
He couldn’t explain the pain he felt, seeing her hurting this way. All he wanted was to make it stop. He noticed her hands were shaking, so he reached down to take them. Slowly her eyes lifted up to his once again as she took a deep breath. "Josh..." His eyes never left hers as he nodded his head. "Josh, I..." she paused, her eyes falling to his thumbs as they gently massaged the back of her hands, "Josh, I love you." He leaned forward, gently kissing her forehead, all the while his mind was racing.
What did she mean by that? He knew that she loved him, they had been best friends since they were kids. There was no questioning that. He knew what he wanted it to mean, what he prayed that it meant. His heart beat quickened as she scanned his face for some sort of reaction. "Josh, I...well...I’m in love with you."
He felt like jumping up and down, like dancing in pure glee. "I know that you probably..." "Are in love with you too," he interrupted, watching her shocked blue eyes focus on him. Neither of them could say anything, but the boldness in what she did next shocked him.
She reached up, pulling him close to her as their lips crashed together. He pulled her closer as her hand found its way into his hair. He pulled away slowly, almost painfully to look at her. New tears fell from her eyes, but this time they weren’t tears of pain. They were tears of happiness...tears of joy...tears of love.
"I would’ve never thought you felt this way," he whispered to her as he held her close to him. "Josh, I’ve loved you forever. The years we’ve spent together only made me love you more. You were the one that I could always count on to get me through anything, and I still can. You touch something inside of me." He snuggled her closer to him as he rested against the pillow. "You touch everything inside of me," he whispered as he looked down at her, gently kissing her lips again.
He pulled away slowly, watching her eyes flutter open. She looked up at him, their eyes locking. Her hand slowly came up to caress his cheek, a smile tugging at his lips as he turned his head to kiss her hand. "You’ve always been my hero," she whispered to him. His eyes turned back to her again, placing a gentle kiss on the tip of her nose. "As long as I can remember...everything from sewing on teddybear legs to picking up the pieces of my broken heart...you’ve always been right there for me. All I ever had to do was reach out to you."
"I love you. I would sew on a million teddybear legs for you....even if the idea of needles makes me queasy. My days of picking up your broken heart are over though." She smiled up at him, kissing his lips once again. "I hope Meredith didn’t think I didn’t like her song," Faith whispered, suddenly worried about her exit, "That song reminded me of you. I didn’t want everyone to see me cry." He leaned down, placing feather light kisses on both of her eyes.
Slowly he stood from the bed, extending his hand to her. She reached out, placing her hand in his. He led her from the room back to rejoin their friends. Their two hearts were now joined...in a new love that had always been just within their reach.
Song Credit: Meredith Edwards "Reach"
