Page 48 of Secrets That Bind Us
“Thank you, Mr. Cushing.” I say with a nod, grabbing my backpack and heading out the door.
“You’re really leaving?”
I blow out a breath. Fuck. I forgot he walked me here. “Dean-“ I barely get his name out when he grabs me by the hand, leads me out the office, into the lobby, past the trophy case, and out into the late chilly October morning. The best kind of mornings. There’s still fog rolling around the ground and it smells like rain. Goosebumps break along my thighs and I wish I would’ve gone with pants this morning but Jake’s voice in my head was loud today. Besides, I kind of wanted to show off the little, barely there hickies Dean left on me.
“When?” He asks, unaffected by the chill, blue eyes blazing bright.
“Soon.”
“How soon?”
I look up and meet his gaze. Beautiful and violent, and still, serene in his anger and frustration. Dean Carson, my ruin. Mine. I shrug. “Halloween. Maybe sooner. I have a few modules left to complete and then the state exit exam and I’m done. Jake already has an apartment in New York; I’ll be staying with him and his roommates until my dorm room is ready for me.”
“Be my girl.”
“Huh?” I go weak in the knees so quickly I almost fall over.
“Be my girl.” He repeats. “Verity, I love you. I’ve been in love with you most of my life. You’re already mine, but just say you are for me. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to prove that you’re mine. I’ll knock you up right now. I’ll take you down to City Hall and have Judge Mason or Reverend Bishop marry us so we’re bound for eternity.”
“You’re crazy.”
“Only for you, Ver.” His gaze is so intense I feel like I’m boiling inside. “This entire weekend was a dream come true for me. I want that. Every day of our lives, I want that. I want you. I don’t want to miss anything you do ever again. I want to see you rise; I want to be your biggest supporter. I want to make you coffee and tea while you’re writing and listen to you talk about your characters like they’re real people because I know they are inside your head. I’ll be delusional with you. So please, baby. Be my girl. Say you’re mine.”
“Dean…” I whisper as he takes my hand in his large, warm calloused one and I shake my head and when tears well into his eyes, thinking I’m going to reject him, I finally add “I’ve always been your girl, you giant.”
With a laugh, he envelops me into a tight hug, then shrugs off his letterman and drapes it over me. “Now it’s official.”
I laugh. “Oh, we’re goin’ steady?”
He grins. “Abso-fuckin-lutely we are, Ver.” His smile drops in an instant, but the intensity of his gaze doesn’t relent and my heart fills with hope like the stupid girl I am. “We’re going to figure all of this out. Okay baby? You trust me?”
And for some reason, I really do trust him. Because I’m a stupid, stupid girl, madly in love.
Chapter Twenty
Savannah
Present Day
Savannah Marie Huntington was not like other girls her age.
Well, shethoughtof herself not being one of them. Sure, she loved the internet, the clock app, and maybe, quite possibly, even watched make-up tutorials on YouTube…on occasion. But what she means by not “like other girls” is that Savannah Marie knew she was different. Quiet. Reserved. She liked Stephen King novels, psychological thriller movies, and anime (thanks to her Uncle Jake, who is not her mother's sibling, but merely her best friend). She also preferred sushi to pizza, and (never tell anyone this) nights in with her little brother rather than social school functions where she was forced to participate.
More importantly, Savannah Marie was wildly observant. And incredibly sneaky about how much she actually sees. And hears.
Which meant she knew things she shouldn’t.
Like when she first noticed her dad, mom, little brother, and all of her living grandparents had brown eyes, curly brown hair, and were freckle-less. Whereas she had bright blue eyes, straight black hair, and freckles.
Savannah knew.
The year Savannah turned eight, she asked for noise-canceling headphones for Christmas. She’d seen her mother purchase, then wrap them. She knew exactly which box to open on Christmas Eve, as was the tradition set forth by her grandmother: one gift on Christmas Eve – the rest on Christmas morning. She would never tell her mother that the rest didn’t matter, although she did make sure her parents knew she was grateful for her other gifts on Christmas morning.
Savannah always wore those headphones. Always had them close by and made sure to always keep them charged. Except… she didn’t always havethem turnedon. No, see– Savannah loved to turn themoff– especially when adults were talking.
Because as a child, she realized something else: adults aren’t very honest.
But they’re also very oblivious.
