Page 72 of Total Obsession

“Go on,” he said. “I’d love to see it.”

“Okay,” I said, finding encouragement in his words.

I turned and opened the top drawer to my nightstand. I pushed aside a few items and found the little album I’d created at the bottom. I pulled out the item and laid it on the bed. It was a simple black leather photo album, but inside was what had really taken me the most time. I pushed it towards Axe and held my breath.

He ran his fingers over it before opening it to the first page. Inside were candid photographs of time we’d spent together. I had this feeling that Axe wouldn’t like to be photographed, so I’d been discreet about the angles I’d chosen. Sometimes it was just our thighs pressed together when we were seated next to one another. Sometimes it was his hand atop mine. I’d managed to sneak a few candid shots of him in the background.

He flipped through each of the photographs not saying a word as he looked at them. My anxiety began to increase as I waited for him to say something.

Finally, he looked up at me. His expression was soft. “You took all of these?”

I nodded my head. “You remember I always wanted to go into photography,” I said to him.

He nodded his head. “I remember.”

“Well, that didn’t really pan out, but I still love taking photos. And, I wanted to create something special for you. There’s no sense in me buying you fancy clothing or extravagant trips. It seems like you can afford all those things on your own. I wanted to give you something that money couldn’t buy, I guess. I wanted you to see how much all of this means to me,” I paused again before adding, “and how much you mean to me.”

“I love it,” he said to me, and I breathed a sigh of relief. “I can’t believe you went to all this trouble to take all these photographs. I can’t believe I didn’t even notice.”

I shrugged. “Phones make it easy these days.”

He turned the back cover over on the album and my eyes widened as I saw what was there. He was too fast for me, though, and he carefully peeled off the little Polaroid print out that had gotten itself stuck to the leather of the album.

“What’s this?” he asked.

“Oh,” I said reaching for it. “It’s nothing. It’s just something I’ve held onto,” I said, desperate to get it back.

Would he judge me for holding onto the photo of us together from when we were kids for all these years?

Would it bring back horrible memories for him?

My heartrate was at an all time high.

He turned the photo over and studied it.

“You probably don’t remember,” I started to say but he cut me off.

“Of course I remember.”

“Oh,” I said, not sure what else to say in this moment. I felt so embarrassed.

“You’ve kept it all this time?”

I nodded my head slowly. “I guess I never gave up hope that I would find you again one day. I guess I was always just trying to hold onto you, even though I was the one to push you away.”

He put the little photo down on top of the album. He raised his green eyes to me and wrapped his hand around the back of my neck. I didn’t fight him as he pulled me closer, not for a kiss as I’d come to expect from him, but for an actual embrace.

“Zoey Campbell,” he whispered. “What are you doing to me?”

twenty-three

AXE

"You'll be pleased to know that you were missed at the premiere, Mr. Galliway," I said, walking into the dark room.

He would have said something, but his voice was muffled by a whole lot of duct tape.

"Awe, something to say?" I asked. He glared at me from behind his beady little eyes, and I chuckled as I pulled on a pair of leather gloves.