Page 68 of Three to Fall

That’s crazy.

Tulip:

Maybe. But if I could get out of here and come to you, would you do it? Would you marry me?

Tulip:

Please. I don’t want to marry a man I don’t know or love. I can be a good wife to you. I can cook and clean. I can get a job somewhere to help support us. I just need somewhere to go when I leave here. I just need you to say yes. Please don’t leave me here.

My eyes welled with tears for how desperate she’d been to get out. I knew the feeling all too well.

Golden:

I want to marry you. But you don’t have to get out. I can come to you. Ethereal Eden sounds amazing.

Tulip:

No! I know you want a family who accepts you. I know you’ve never had that. But I can’t stay here. I want to travel the world. I want to see things. Meet people.

Golden:

People and things are overrated.

Tulip:

Not to me.

Tulip:

I’ll come to you. Somehow. I’ll figure something out. And then we’ll get married. Have babies. Create our own family. Together.

Golden:

Okay.

Tulip:

Okay? Really?

Golden:

I’m Xan.

Tulip:

Alice.

I scrolled right through the rest of the messages that were dated right up until the day we left the commune. My fingers shook violently as I opened the last few threads of Alice and Xan’s conversations.

Tulip:

Xan! You are never going to believe this, but stuff went DOWN during the night. BIG HUGE STUFF. I’m out. Oh my God, I’m so giddy I can’t even talk. If there’s typos in this message, I’m sorry, I can’t even blame my sore fingers. They’re all because I’m currently flying down a freeway, getting the hell away from Ethereal Eden. FOREVER.

Golden:

What? Are you serious?

Tulip:

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