Page 14 of Elijah

“Yeah, see ya.”

“But Eli,” Lucas said before I could hang up.

“What?”

“Don’t let the opportunity go if you still have feelings for her.”

Before I could respond, he was gone, and the line went dead.

I slumped back and looked up at the ceiling as steam from the shower started to filter from the cubicle into the bathroom. Maybe Lucas was right, maybe I should consider trying to talk to Amy about what she thought she’d seen, but somehow, I doubted she’d listen. As I ripped off my sweat soaked running vest, I looked down at the ornate heart tattoo on my chest, it was the one I’d had for her and the one I had never considered getting rid of, even when things had started to get serious with Mia. The heart had a lock and key which hung from a ribbon and had the words; ‘When my heart met yours it knew’ written inside itand it was still the favourite of all the tattoos I had. My arms were covered, but I had one tattoo on my body – the one for Amy, over my heart.

When Mia had asked about it, I was ashamed to say I’d passed it off as a generic tatt that had no meaning, but she wasn’t stupid and she knew I’d been married, so it didn’t take a genius to figure it out. Sweet Mia had never questioned it and accepted the tattoo as part of me.

As I looked at the words, my real heart clenched because it was true. The minute I saw Amy I knew she was mine, would always be mine. Even at seventeen I knew she was it. The one. What a fool I’d been, because she wasn’t, we were finished, and as much as it hurt, it was a fact that was never going to change.