Page 109 of Bullet
Holy shit. This is happening. She’s finally mine.
Bullet has been acting odd this evening. He invited me to his room, but he seems nervous. I don’t know why he would be, though.
What if Dad told him to leave me?
I don’t think he would. Not after the chat we had, but he could have changed his mind.
“Are you okay? Do you need anything?” I ask him.
He shakes his head. “No. I just need you.”
I smile, moving to sit beside him on the bed. “I’m glad you called. I know it’s been hard with my dad hovering, but I’ve missed you.”
“You know I would never take you away from your father, right?”
“I know.” I swallow hard. “That’s why you took the knife for him, right? He told me what happened.”
He reaches out, cupping my cheek. “I couldn’t stand the thought of you losing another parent, so when he went out on his own, I had to follow. I couldn’t let you feel that pain again.”
“You didn’t consider something, though,” I tell him.
“What’s that?”
“I had been living for two years without my dad. If he had died, I would have been upset, but I feel like I had already been grieving him. Losing you would have ripped me to pieces. I wouldn’t have been able to survive without you.”
“Harlee…” He leans forward, pressing a soft kiss to my lips.
I hate that he is hurt right now. I want to fall into him the way I always do, but we still have a few weeks before he will be healed enough for that. For now, I settle for the love he pours into his kiss.
When he pulls back, resting his forehead on mine, I leave my eyes closed.
“I don’t know when it happened, but you have become the single most important person in my life. I never want to think about my mom’s death as anything positive, but I think that somehow that brought us together. I don’t know if you would have ever seen me if it hadn’t happened. I hate that she’s not here right now, but I know her spirit is.” I whisper the last part.
His hand cups my cheek, making my eyes open. “Your mother always knew it was going to be me and you. I didn’t know it then, but I know it now. She used to always ask me to do things for her that would put me in your path. I won’t lie and say I loved you since the moment I met you. If I did, you shouldn’t want me because you were only a child then, but I will say that Eleanor was smart to help us build the friendship we had. It is the reason I was so prepared to step in and be the anchor for you. She already planted the seeds. I only wish she were here to see how they grew.”
“She told me that if we were meant to be, that it would happen,” I admit. “I would cry in my bedroom about how unfair it was that you were so much older than me. That you wouldn’t even look my way. She would remind me that she and Dad were several years apart too, but that they had to wait until they wereboth old enough to understand what they wanted. I thought having you was a pipe dream.”
“Now it’s your reality. If you want it to be, that is,” he growls against my ear, making me giggle.
“I do.”
“Forever?” he whispers.
“Yes.”
“Good. There’s a present for you in my closet. Will you grab it?”
My heart feels giddy at the thought. I jump up, grabbing the wrapped box, bringing it back to the bed. I crawl back into my spot, holding it over our laps.
“I love surprises.”
He laughs. “I know.”
“Of course you do. You know me so well.”
“Well stop stalling and open it.”
I smile wider as I carefully undo the bow and remove the wrapping paper. When I open the box, I’m shocked.
