Page 136 of All I Ask
“You can count on that.”
She touches Derek’s arm on her way out and I hold back as much as I can. I try to be brave and strong because I chose this. I kept saying I wanted to have the power to make choices and now I want to take that back. Choices are dumb.
Give me consistency and Derek.
He makes his way over to me, pulling me to his chest. “She’s a wise woman.”
I nod, breathing in his musky scent. I close my eyes, committing it to memory so that on the nights I’m missing him, I can remember this. The way his arms hold me just right, his chin rests on my head as I melt into him. There’s the faint scent of the ocean that’s ever present and then his cologne. It’s everything that makes me happy.
“I have a surprise for you,” he says after a few seconds.
“Yeah?”
“Are you all packed?”
“Almost.”
“I should’ve figured.” He chuckles. “Get your bags because we won’t be coming back here.”
“What?”
“Just go with it, Tea.”
There’s so much that I still need to do, but then none of it matters as much as the man in front of me. So, I toss a few more things in the bag while Derek waits patiently. I know I forgot stuff, but he’ll be driving down with the girls in two weeks and I can have him bring whatever I need. At least that’s what I’m telling myself.
My mother said she’s leaving the apartment as is, so when I come back, I don’t have to worry about housing.
After ten minutes of checking the apartment over again, I’m as ready as I’ll be. We head to the car, both of us quiet but finding ways to touch the whole time. When we get in, I can’t keep silent anymore.
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.” I can hear the smirk in his voice.
“You could just tell me.”
He turns to look at me, grabbing my hand and lacing our fingers together. “I could, but then I would ruin the fun.”
“You and I have a very different version of fun.”
I hate being left in the dark. I also know he used to love tormenting me with things he knew that I didn’t. The more I pushed, the worse it was.
“Maybe, but you make it too easy to make you crazy.”
We drive through town and when we turn down Sycamore Street, I know exactly where we’re going.
The house.
Sure enough, he pulls into the drive and releases my hand. “Come on.” We get to the front door and he hands me the key. “Open it.”
“You want me to open the door to your house?”
He comes around behind me, holding the key with me, and we turn it. I wait for the scary beady eyes to stare at me when the door opens, but they’re not there. Instead, the house is completely cleaned out and it smells like fresh paint.
“Go in,” he urges.
I enter the space, still waiting for the creepy dolls to pop out, and when he flips the light on, I can’t breathe.
It’s breathtaking.
