Page 16 of Never Gone

I didn’t know how or what to do but I refused to leave without her. No matter what it took and how long, Marley would be mine.

For good.

Marley

He loved me. He actuallyloved me. I had been waiting years to hear him tell me those three little words. Three words that were small but held such an impact, I almost confessed my feelings for him at the same time but something stopped me.

As soon as I pulled into the driveway of my tiny two-bedroom home, I killed the engine and slipped from the vehicle. Before I could get into the house, my phone rang.

“Hello?” I answered, placing the phone between my ear and shoulder.

“Did you talk to him?”

I sighed; thankful it was Tawny calling. I was so out of sorts that I never even checked the display before answering.

“I tried to, but it was awkward,” I grumbled, kicking the door closed and threw my bag on the kitchen table.

“Awkward,” Tawny repeated. “How?”

“I don’t know, Tawn. I have no idea what’s going on.” I slipped off my flats and placed the phone on the table before pressing speaker on the small screen. “He told me he loved me.”

“He didn’t.” Tawny whistled. “Girl, this is insane.”

I scoffed. “Tell me about it.” I went into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of wine from the fridge before pulling a glass down from the cupboard. “He also told me to move to the city with him. And then he proceeded to retract that and say that he would move here for me.” I grabbed my phone and moved to the couch before slumping onto the soft cushion. “But I don’t want that.” I took her off speaker and brought the phone to my ear. “I just want to be happy.”

“I know,” she said gently. “Trust me, I know. Do you think he’s sincere?”

“I…” Suddenly the front door opened with a bang. I let out a sharp scream, jumping to my feet.

“Marley? What was that?” Tawny yelled from the phone.

Atlas stood at the doorway, his hair unkempt and his suit disheveled. My blood burned through me at seeing him in my home.

“It’s Atlas,” I murmured into the phone, not taking my eyes away from him. “I have to go.”

“Geeze, go fuck and get it out of your system. You two are a mess and I’m not at all jealous.”

I laughed. “Bye, Tawn.”

“Love you girl. Byyyyyyye.”

I hung up, placing the phone on the coffee table. “What are you doing here?”

“I was going to wait.” He took a step toward me. “I was going to give you space like I know you need.” He unbuttoned his suit jacket, pulled it off his broad shoulders and placed it on the back of a dining room chair. He turned to me and started rolling up the sleeves to his black dress shirt.

I swallowed hard, the veins in his thick forearms, twitching with each movement.

The air crackled and fizzled between us. The chemistry we had felt as kids was nothing like it was now. It was more. It was intense. And it was damn near mind blowing just the same.

“I can’t move to the city with you, Atlas. My life is here. And your life is there.” I backed up until I hit the wall behind me.

He closed the distance between us, leaning his hands against the wall on either side of my head. He caged me in, his hot breath fanning over my head. “I’m not leaving here without you. And I know you said that I would end up resenting you but that won’t happen. You are more important than some job. I haven’t been happy in years, Marley. I’ve lived life through a fog. It’s like I’ve been looking through someone else’s eyes because it’s not where I want to be. I want to get married. Have kids. I want to be happy.”

My heart stuttered that he had used the same words I just said to Tawny. “I don’t know what you’re telling me.”

He gave me a small smile. Reaching out, he ran his finger down the length of my jaw before cupping my nape. “I love you, Marley. I should have told how I felt when we were kids, but I know I loved you then and I mean it even more now. I want you. I want to grow old with you. I want to spend the rest of my life making up for the seven years that we’ve lost. I want to give you the world. We can have a room just for your candles.”

I laughed lightly.

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