Page 21 of My Vows Are Sealed

“Tell him I love it,” she chuckled as she folded it back up and took her backpack off to put it in the front pocket. “I’m going to tape it up in my locker.”

I smiled. “He also named that little platypus after you. He said it’s because you’re the one who told him what it was.”

That made a fresh round of tears well up in her eyes, and before I even realized what I was doing, I pulled her into my arms, squeezing tight. For a second, she stiffened, but then she relaxed and slid her arms around my waist, resting her head on my chest and wetting my shirt with her tears.

As much as I tried to suppress the way I felt about her, in moments like this, I couldn’t. When I had her in my arms like this, it felt like everything was right in the world, even though the reality was that so much was wrong that I didn’t even know how tobeginto fix it.

“Tell me how to help you, Dar,” I murmured. “It kills me to see you like this.”

“There’s nothing you can do,” she said through her tears.

“Promise you’d tell me if there was?” I pressed.

She nodded.

I sighed. “Just please promise me you’re not going to blow Kate and Ash off. They’re good friends to you, and I can’t stand the thought of your dad taking that away from you. You need people like them in your corner.”

“Why do you care so much?” she sniffled as she backed away from me.

“Because you’re my friend,” I said.Because I want you to be so much more than my friend.

No. I couldn’t go there.

Forgive me, Lord,I prayed.Help me to keep my thoughts about her pure. And please, help her. Protect her. Give her strength and help her to see that she’s not doing anything wrong.

“And because when someone I care about hurts, it makes me hurt too,” I told her. “What your dad’s doing and saying isn’t right, and I just…I can’t let him take your friends from you. It’s not fair. Not when he’s never even met them.”

“He doesn’t want to. He doesn’t want to know they exist. If it was up to him, he’d grab some stones and go all first century on them.”

“Pretty sure the Bible says something about he who is without sin casting the first stone,” I chuckled humorlessly. “And your dad definitely isn’t without sin.”

“No one is,” she sighed. “I won’t stop talking to them. I promise. Kind of hard anyway since Ash is in my English class and I have Bio with Kate.”

I smiled. “Good.”

“Can you tell Nate I’m really sorry I can’t be in the kids’ service for the next couple of weeks? And tell him I miss him so much. I can’t stand him thinking I’m not there because I don’t want to be.”

“I’ll tell him. I promise. And, I mean, if I just happen to bring him into youth group on Sunday, you can’t help it if he gives you a hug, right?”

Her smile lit up her whole face, and for the umpteenth time in the past week and a half, it took every ounce of self-control in me to stop myself from kissing her. Instead, I just pulled her into my arms again.

Why did I have to develop feelings for the girl I couldn’t have? I didn’t know how I was supposed to keep this up for another day, let alone the next two years until I could get out of this school.

Chapter 6

Darla

Pull Me Out

“Darla?” came Kate’s voice from behind me. “Brendan? Is everything okay?”

I took a deep breath before letting go of Brendan. Then I wiped my eyes and turned to look at her and Ashton. I knew it was stupid because I hadn’t even known them for two whole weeks yet, but they were already two of the best friends I’d ever had. They were the only people I’d ever met who just accepted me without questions or judgment and who didn’t care who my father was or how I’d been raised.

“Oh, my God, honey. What’s wrong?” Ashton gasped.

“Can I give you a hug, hon?” Kate asked me.

Another lump formed in my throat and I knew I’d start crying again if I tried to talk, so I just nodded. Kate pulled me into her arms and squeezed tight, and then I felt Ashton’s arms wrapping around me from the other side. And just that simple gesture did it. All of my efforts to keep the waterworks from starting up again were for naught. They just let me cry for a minute before Ashton finally broke the silence.

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