Page 94 of Fight Or Flight

His face grows serious, and he reaches out to tuck a wayward strand of hair behind my ear.

“You’re not surprised, are you?” he asks.

I shake my head.

Not even a little.

For a girl who was adamant about skipping her eighteenth birthday, Eric gave me the best gift of all…his heart and his love.

A smile ticks the corners of his mouth and he brings his other hand to my face. Cradling my cheeks, he bends his head and touches his forehead to mine.

“I love you, my pretty little hurricane.”

Savoring those words, I close my eyes and as a smile fills my face, I feel a tear slip from the corner of my eye.

“Oh, and one more thing!”

He releases his hold on me, and my eyes spring open. Nothing, and I mean nothing he says or does now, can make this day any more perfect.

He, himself, could not be any more perfect.

It’s like heaven can read my mind and is set to prove me wrong because Eric then pulls my mother’s locket out of his shorts.

A gasp immediately flies out of my mouth and I reach to take it from him.

Ever since I found the gold locket in the bottom of my mom’s purse, I have worn it every day except for three days ago; I was running late for school and forgot to put it on. When I got home, I immediately ran to my room to grab it, but it wasn’t on my dresser. I tore the room apart and when Eric came home from work that night, I asked him to help me go through the trash, thinking maybe I dropped it in there when I was helping Lauren clear the dishes the night before. I was devastated and everyone told me it would turn up eventually, but I still asked Riggs to call a plumber to see if I had dropped it down the drain.

Closing my fist around the dainty heart, I lift my chin and stare in awe of Eric.

“Where did you find it?”

He flinches slightly, which causes my eyebrows to pull together.

“So funny story…I sort of had it the entire time. I grabbed it from your dresser the other day when you were in the shower.”

He did what—why would he do that?

“That doesn’t make sense. You searched the garbage with me and…Eric, your dad paid a plumber to snake the drain!”

“It’s fine, I reimbursed him for the plumber.” He shakes his head. “Side note, plumbers make bank, if the Army thing falls to shit, I’m going to play with pipes.” He cocks his head. “I’m sorry, I wanted to surprise you.” Tipping his chin to the locket in my hand, he asks, “May I?”

I don’t know if I’m angry, annoyed, shocked, or just totally in awe of him. I open my palm and he takes the locket from my hands; his big fingers fumble a bit as he tries to open it. Once he finally has the heart open, he turns it around, revealing two photos. On the left side of the locket is a photo of my parents that I’ve never seen before. If I had to guess they were around the same age as we are when it was taken and the smiles on their faces…I’ve never seen anything so beautiful. Before I can ask him where he found the photograph or who took it, my gaze wanders to the right side of the locket. I stare at the picture of me and him, and tears soon blur my vision.

“I had it engraved too,” he says, turning it around. I blink, releasing the tears and clearing my vision so I can read the words etched into the gold.

Near or far,

Together forever.

“Are you mad?”

Mad?

No.

I’m totally in love with you.

Wiping my cheeks with the backs of my hands, I step closer to him.

---